One vote in tight race for council seat

It could be the tightest race in the local body elections.

Two experienced Dannevirke councillors seeking re-election to Tararua District Council have just a single vote separating them for the final spot, according to preliminary results yesterday.

In one corner, there is Carole Isaacson, sitting on 1157 votes and, for now, she has a sport in the northern ward.

In the other corner is Jim Crispin. He’s got 1156 votes.

However, the pair now wait with bated breath until later this week when the final results are released, once special votes are counted.

On Saturday, initial preliminary results showed just 18 votes between Isaacson and Crispin.

Electoral officer Sandy Lowe said the council received 105 special votes and of those, just 42 had been validated by the Electoral Commission.

Once the remaining votes had been validated, they would be sent by courier to Christchurch, where they would be put through the vote-processing centre. Only then would the final result be known.

Lowe said both parties had been kept in the loop about the situation. ‘‘They’re very understanding and I’ve given them realistic timeframes. They know it will come when it comes.’’

The final results should be known by the end of the week.

Lowe said she was unsure what would happen if the final result ended in a draw.

‘‘To be honest with you I don’t know [what happens]. I will have to do some research ... but I haven’t looked in to it yet.’’

Tararua Mayor Tracey Collis was re-elected, ahead of James Harold and Mitch McHardy.

The north ward elected Erana Peeti-Webber, Kerry Sutherland, Sharon Wards, with the final position to be decided.

The south ward elected Raylene Treder, Shirley Hull, Alison Franklin and Peter Johns.