CANDIDATE SEEKS RECOUNT IN DEARBORN JUDGE RACE
Candyce Ewing Abbatt missed unseating Dearborn’s 19th District Court Judge Mark Somers by just a couple hundred votes. So it’s no surprise she has filed petitions with the Secretary of State seeking a recount.
In a front page story in Sunday’s Dearborn Press & Guide, Abbatt tells the paper that while she doesn’t believe the outcome of the election will change, she owes it to her supporters to address what she says are “concerns about the outcome of the election.”
“After evaluating the election data by precinct and speaking with those who have expertise on these matters, I requested a recount based upon statistical aberrations in some of the results,” Abbatt tells the Press & Guide. “While I am not counting on a change in the outcome, I felt that I owed it to my community and my supporters to address concerns about the outcome of the election, given that it was so close.”
Somers defeated Abbatt by 228 votes, 17,077-16,849.
Abbatt, who was seeking her first public office, told the Press & Guide that even with a highly-competent city clerk and staff, computer error is still possible. Abbatt said a recount will put all doubts to rest about the outcome, so both sides should be pleased with the request.
While final campaign expense figures aren’t due until Dec. 4, records through Oct. 21 reveal that the race for this judge seat was an expensive one. Quoting an amended pre-general election campaign finance summary page, the Press & Guide said Abbatt received $161,055 in total contributions for her campaign from April 15, 2008, to Oct. 21, 2008. Abbatt spent $126,779.11 on her election bid, leaving the campaign with an ending balance of $34,275.89, according to the report.
Somers, meanwhile, received $41,204 and spent $32,135.32 on his re-election bid, leaving his campaign with $9,069.38, according to pre-election figures the paper quoted.
For the Press & Guide story, click HERE.