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YOUNGSTOWN -- Amber White held on to win Youngstown City Council's 7th Ward seat by nine votes, with two-term incumbent Basia Adamczak saying she'll pay for a recount and may take the matter to court.
White becomes the first independent candidate to win a Youngstown council race in 28 years.
On the night of the election, White was ahead of Adamczak, a Democrat, 672 to 654 -- an 18-vote lead -- with Republican Josie Lyon receiving 335 votes.
When provisional and late-arriving absentee ballots were counted and the results certified Thursday by the Mahoning County Board of Elections, White had 679 votes to 670 for Adamczak, with Lyon getting 339 votes. That cut White's lead in half, but she still won by nine votes.
There were 31 people who voted provisionally, but six of them weren't counted because of problems with their ballots, said Tom McCabe, board director. Also, there were 17 absentee ballots that were outstanding on election night. Of those, only four arrived at the board, he said.
After the results were certified, White thanked her family and friends as well as the board for "assuring that the elections are fair."
She also thanked the residents of the 7th Ward for backing her.
"I take this responsibility with grace, humility and honor," White said.
She added: "Those who supported my opponents, the election is over and we must now come together and solve the issues of the ward."
An automatic recount is done when the margin of victory is no greater than 0.5 of a percent. White beat Adamczak by 0.56 of a percent.
Adamczak said she'll pay for a recount, which is about $50 to $60 per precinct. There are seven precincts in the ward so the cost will be about $350 to $420.
"I owe it to my supporters and the rest of the my constituents to pay for a recount," she said. "There are other potential options after the recount. This bridges the gap a little more."
If the recount doesn't change the outcome -- and a hand-count by the board typically upholds the results or finds a vote -- Adamczak said: "After that, I'm going to follow the advice of my team and legal counsel to see what steps we'll take. It could go to court."
Adamczak declined Thursday to discuss details of a legal challenge.
White said of Adamczak contesting the results: "It's her choice to do that and that's fair. That's how campaigns are run. It was very close."
The race for the 7th Ward seat was the most expensive and contentious in the city.
Besides Adamczak, the other six incumbent council members were overwhelmingly re-elected.
Before the election, the board of elections raised questions about the residency of five of the six people living in the ward at a house at 2354 Mount Vernon Ave., including White's stepdaughter. Five of them registered to vote between Oct. 5 and Oct. 10.
The issue was raised in a formal complaint filed by Adamczak with the board.
McCabe said Thursday that there were no issues at the location as two people voted from that address.
There were also concerns raised to the board by Adamczak and Christopher Travers, a Lyon supporter, about the number of people registered to vote at 2803 South Ave., White's former address.
Five people registered between Oct. 6 and Oct. 10 there, and a total of six people asked for absentee ballots, McCabe said. He added that house has a transient population.
A total of six people voted from that address, McCabe said.
"I'm confident those people live there," he said.