PITTSFIELD — There will be a citywide recount after Councilor at Large Melissa Mazzeo filed for one on Friday afternoon.
Mazzeo lost her mayoral bid last week to incumbent Mayor Linda Tyer. Friday at 5 p.m. was the deadline to file for a recount.
City Clerk Michele Benjamin said Mazzeo submitted 10 signatures of support for a recount from each ward, which must now be certified. Then, Benjamin will have to schedule a meeting of the Board of Registrars, hire poll workers and gather groups to conduct the recount.
The recount will likely take place in council chambers and is unlikely to happen next week, Benjamin said. Mazzeo and Tyer will both be permitted to have observers in the room, she said.
Ballots will be hand-counted, Benjamin said, and will likely take between four and six hours to sift through.
The last recount was in 2015 and was only in Ward 5, she said.
Mazzeo was unavailable for comment.
Tom Sakshaug, Tyer's campaign manager, said the race wasn't close enough for a recount to change much. Mazzeo lost by about 529 votes.
"There is no way she can recover that," he said. "Previous recounts showed how accurate the machines are."
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@berkshireeagle.com, @amandadrane on Twitter, and 413-496-6296.
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