Warner unseats Blake in Franklin Ward 3 in tiebreaker drawing

FRANKLIN — After a nervous hour watching the recount, City Clerk Michelle Stanyan declared the city council race between incumbent Valerie Blake and challenger Al Warner in Ward 3 remained a tie, with each candidate receiving 153 votes. The result was quickly decided through a lot drawing, with numbers 1 through 10 pulled from a pumpkin trick-or-treat pail. When Blake drew a 1, she didn’t need to hear Warner’s number 8 to know the outcome. Warner will be the new city councilor for Ward 3 starting in January.

The result was met with quiet cheers from some audience members at the Elks Lodge on Monday night. Both candidates received hugs from their supporters. Before speaking to the press, Warner pulled out his phone excitedly, saying he needed to text his wife.

Despite the excitement around the win, Warner grounded the conversation by focusing on preparing for his new job.

“Until then I’m going to continue to be a presence, paying attention, discussing the issues,” he said.

Blake said while she is disappointed by the result, this is not the end of her work in Franklin. Her last couple of months on the council will be spent advocating for economic development, and especially paying attention to funding for the Opera House. After January, she will continue her advovacy in different ways.

“This does free up some of my time to help on other projects that are important. Economic development, revitalization. Clearly, that's the way to go,” she said. “I will definitely continue to work on those things. I am not going away.”

The recount was performed by a team of the other two Ward 3 City Councilors Leigh Webb and Ed Prive, as well as Ward 3 Moderator Cameron Temple, and Ward 3 Clerk Debbie Gibbs. Stanyan oversaw the process. Blake and Warner also stood, watching, while their attorney representatives observed. Blake said at first she didn’t know she needed a representative, but got one because she heard Warner did. Blake was represented by ex-husband Bob Lynn, retired chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and Warner was represented by Bruce Marshall, former Ward 1 city council candidate.

“What am I missing?” she said. “I wanted to make sure if I can, I will.”

While there was a lot of excitement in the room, the audience of roughly 30 people were chatting with each other, so much so the noise was disrupting the recount team. Mayor Desiree McLaughlin and Councilor Timothy Johnston (Ward 1) walked around the room to bring the noise down. Eventually, Prive yelled out, saying he couldn’t concentrate due to the background noise.

Ken Ackerson, a Franklin resident for 55 years, shared why he attended.

“I’m more excited to hear the verdict than to watch the process,” he said.

After the Ward 3 recount was finished, another was conducted for Ward 2, requested by candidate Sam Jacobson. The result was the same, with Tom Boyce winning 136 votes to Johnson's 130. Ward 2 City Councilors Vincent Ribas and Olivia Zink were part of the recount team, as well as Ward 2 Assistant Moderator Glen Feener, and Ward 2 Clerk Janet Desrochers. Boyce, not present, was represented by Bob Desrochers.

Jacobson said he had confidence in the election and staff running it, so he did not expect a change in the results. He said is considering a run for council again next year.

“I'm looking to stay involved. Whether it's through the city elections next October, or, you know, some of the boards throughout the city,” he said.

Both recounts produced the same results as the original count, reaffirming election integrity. Stanyan emphasized this following the recounts.

“New Hampshire is fantastic with their elections. We take a lot of pride in it, being first in the nation and other things like that,” she said. “With us having the paper ballots, we have that great form of backup that you witnessed this evening.”