Two Incumbent Aldermen Behind In 10th, 43rd Wards
(CBS) -- The counting is complete in two more Chicago aldermanic races, and in both cases, the incumbent is behind.
In the Southeast Side 10th Ward, Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Susan Sadlowski Garza has defeated incumbent Ald. John Pope by an 89-vote margin out of 11,405 cast. On the lakefront, in the 43rd Ward, attorney Caroline Vickery has unseated incumbent Ald. Michele Smith by six votes, with 6,791 votes to Smith's 6,785. The results are still unofficial.
Chicago Election Board spokesman Jim Allen said that in the 10th ward, a failed vote cartridge was to blame for the delay in the count. The seals were broken and a new cartridge loaded with poll watchers from both candidates and the media present. In the 43rd Ward, Allen said, an election judge left a memory stick in the back of a vote computer, which had to be retrieved from the poling place.
Although all precincts have been counted in the two races, Allen said the totals could still change considerably before the results are declared official. The Board of Elections still has to count provisional ballots and late-arriving absentee ballots, which can trickle in until April 21, so long as they were postmarked before election day.
The loser is expected to demand a recount.
Citywide, four precincts of 2,069 remain uncounted.
No results will be offical until the proclamation on April 23, according to the Chicago Board of Elections.
