By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Recounts for the state’s general election were completed Monday with no changes to the posted winners, though in some cases a few votes were changed.
The final recount was for Grafton County Commission District 3 in which Plymouth residents Katie Wood Hedberg, a Democrat had 8,936 votes in the unofficial general election results over Omer Ahern Jr., who had 8,823 votes. The recount did not change the outcome with Hedberg winning but narrowed the margin between the two.
Though not a subject of recount, a Constitutional amendment to raise the age of retirement for judges from 70 to 75 did not quite pass the two-thirds majority needed for passage on a vote of 452,311 yes to 237,224 no.
There were recounts for 10 State Representative districts but none changed significantly and in three cases, requests were either cancelled or called off.
Many of the recounts were in Hillsborough County.
For Manchester Ward 2, which is Hillsborough District 17, two seats were up for grabs and go to two Democrats, Linda DiSilvestro the top vote getter and David J. Preece who beat Republican Ben Prescott both in the election day results and in the recount 2,368 to 2,332.
In Hillsborough District 24, which is Manchester Ward 4, Democrats Chris Hebert and Donald Bouchard will serve the voters after the recount confirmed he beat Republican Donald Bouchard.
Voters in Nashua’s Ward 5, which is Hillsborough District 9, chose Democrats William Dolan, Sanjeev Manohar and Santosh Salvi over Republicans Paula Johnson and Robert Dion.
In Manchester’s Ward 12, which is Hillsborough District 18, Democrat Jessica Grill and Republican Steven Kesselring will serve with Kesselring beating Democrat Julie Smith by nine votes. Also not successful was Republican Juliet Belle DiPietro.
Voters in Springfield and Sunapee elected George Grant, a Republican over Linda Tanner, a Democrat with Tanner picking up one vote in Sunapee and Grant picking up three votes in Sunapee in the recount. It did not change the outcome.
In Campton, which is Grafton District 7 Janet Marie Lucas, a Democrat, beat Jon Gablinske, a Republican for the single seat 1,057 to 1,034.
In Strafford County District 4 which represents the voters of Barrington and Strafford, voters chose three to represent them in the House out of six who ran.
Incumbents Heath Howard (4,200), a Democrat and Republican Len Turcotte (4,349) will return to office and Democrat Cassandra Levesque (4,286) will serve the district over defeated Republican candidates Kurt Wuelper (4,184), Seamus Carey, (4050) and Democrat Adam Mullholand (3,906) in a very tight race which in recount, favored Levesque over Wuelper.
