OGDEN -- City Councilman Jesse M. Garcia isn't conceding defeat to challenger Neil K. Garner, who appears to have won the Ward 1 seat by a razor-thin margin of 18 votes, according to unofficial results.
Garner received 381 votes to Garcia's 363 during the general election that drew a 14 percent voter turnout in Ogden.
Garcia, who is serving his fourth term on the council, said Wednesday the race is still too close to call and he is waiting for 114 provisional ballots cast in Ogden to be counted.
"It's too small of a margin (to concede)," he said.
Provisional ballots, which are issued at the polls if a voter's eligibility is in question, must be verified by 5 p.m. Tuesday, said Gloria Berrett, who is Weber County's election administrator.
The Ogden City Council, acting as the board of canvass, will certify on Nov. 17 votes cast in the general election, said City Recorder Cindi Mansell.
A dozen provisional ballots were cast in Ward 1, which means Garcia would still fall short of victory even if he received all of the votes.
However, those votes could be enough to bring Garcia close enough to ask for a recount, Mansell said.
Garcia can't currently ask for a recount because he didn't lose by 10 or fewer votes, based on the unofficial vote tally, Mansell said.
The vote difference to seek a recount has to be 10 or fewer because there are 10 voting precincts in Ward 1, which generally encompasses inner-city Ogden.
There was a 20 percent voter turnout in Ward 1 for Tuesday's election compared to a 15 percent turnout in 2005 when Garcia last won re-election, Mansell said.
Garcia said he isn't surprised the vote margin is so close.
Garner had strong voter support in his neighborhood in the southeast section of the ward, Garcia said.
He said he believes he ran a strong campaign and worked hard in hopes of being re-elected.
Garner said he's pleased to have tentatively won the race.
"Ogden is truly a wonderful place to live," he said. "I'm humbled by the opportunity and support I have received."
In other city races Tuesday, former Councilwoman Susie Van Hooser received 3,577 votes to defeat Mark Hains for At-Large Seat A. Hains got 2,551 votes.
In the Municipal Ward 3 race, incumbent Doug Stephens, with 808 votes, defeated Patrick Dean, who received 561 votes.
Bart Blair was unopposed for At-Large Seat B after his opponent, David Phipps, was disqualified last week for failing to file a campaign finance disclosure statement on time.
Related link: This article is a topic of discussion at Weber County Forum.
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