By Bridget Manley and Andrew Jenner, publishers
With all precincts reporting unofficial results after polls closed at 7 p.m., the Democratic slate of candidates appears to have won a sweep in the four-way race for three seats on the city council. Mayor Deanna Reed earned 8,113 votes, the most of any candidate.
A total of 15,051 votes were unofficially counted by about 9:30 p.m., but another 2,351 provisional ballots had yet to be counted and could affect the final outcomes of all races on the ballot.
According to Tuesday night’s unofficial returns, city vice-mayor Laura Dent was also re-elected, with 7,497 votes. Nasser Alsaadun finished third with 6,503 votes and is poised to become the first refugee elected to city council. Alsaadun would replace Councilman Chris Jones, who lost in the city’s Democratic primary election this past June.
Independent candidate Javier Calleja finished fourth, earning 5,976 of the votes counted so far in his first run for public office.
“Same-day registrations provided some challenges for us,” said City Registrar Mark Finks on Tuesday night. “The numbers that popped up were at precincts where we weren’t expecting them … but our officers of elections did a great job, handled it. Everyone that was in line that needed to vote was afforded the opportunity to vote provisionally.”
After a recent change to Virginia law, same-day registration allows voters to register and vote provisionally on Election Day. At Smithland Elementary School, 399 people took advantage of same-day registration, while the Simms Center had another 120 same-day registrations.
All told, more than 2,300 votes cast provisional ballots – enough to possibly alter the outcome as it stood on Tuesday evening.
Finks said his office has until Friday, Nov. 15, to certify official results from the city’s precincts, though he hopes to complete the process sooner.
Howley, Snyder & Seigle lead school board race for three seats
In the race for city school board, also featuring four candidates for three seats, initial results – not including provisional ballots – have first-time candidates Tim Howley and Matt Snyder finishing first and second, with 7,135 and 7,021 votes, respectively.
Kaylene Seigle, only incumbent in the race, was in third place with 6,151 votes. Seigle was first elected to the school board in 2016.
Howley and Snyder will replace outgoing board members Deb Fitzgerald and Tom Domonoske.
As of Tuesday evening, Hazzar Maria Pastor Perdomo was fourth in voting, with 5,700.
Thanks for reading The Citizen, which won the Virginia Press Association’s 2022 News Sweepstakes award as the top online news site in Virginia. We’re independent. We’re local. We pay our contributors, and the money you give goes directly to the reporting. No overhead. No printing costs. Just facts, stories and context. We value your support.
