Bristol Town Admin race too close to call

Former Deputy Police Chief Steven Contente held a small lead over Town Administrator Tony Teixeira Tuesday night, but no winner has been determined. A voting machine malfunction has triggered a recount at one polling location and hundreds of absentee ballots have yet to be counted.

Mr. Contente garnered 4,144 votes to hold a 113 vote lead over Mr. Teixeira, but those numbers do not include the votes cast at Roger Williams University, one of nine polling locations in the town. The voting machine at the university failed to count many of the votes cast, according to Town Clerk Lou Cirillo.

“The machine took the ballots but didn’t count the votes,” Mr. Cirillo said. “The Board of Elections has said there is going to be a recount due to a technical issue.”

In addition, 934 absentee ballots were cast in Bristol, leaving the results of the Town Administrator race — and other races in Bristol — in doubt.

“Everything is unofficial,” Mr. Cirillo said late Tuesday night.

The votes at Roger Williams that were counted favored Mr. Teixeira 357-280, narrowing the Town Administrator race even more. Before the recount and the absentee vote count, the two candidates are separated by just 36 votes.

“It would be very premature to say either of us won,” Mr. Teixeira said at the Bristol Elks Lodge, where he was stationed with supporters Tuesday. “There is an issue at Roger Williams, which is a favorable district for me. We’ll just continue to operate as usual until we get the final count.”

Mr. Contente was left in similar limbo, unsure whether to celebrate the lead, knowing so many votes have yet to be counted, and expressing surprise at just how close the race is.

“It’s like a room full of people - that’s all it is,” Mr. Contente said Tuesday night of the difference in the vote count. “It’s too early to call. We’re waiting for the mail-in ballots. Whatever the people want, I’ll accept.”

Beyond the uncertainty of the results, both candidates expressed surprise at just how close the race ended up between them.

“I didn’t expect it to be quite this close,” Mr. Contente said. “I was warned it isn’t easy to beat an incumbent.”

Mr. Teixeira said he was taken off guard that residents weren’t more strongly behind him at the ballot box. He speculated that some Town Council candidates “harping on” tax increases Bristol residents have faced ultimately cost him votes, though he noted it is the council, not him, who approves town budgets. He blamed this year’s increase on the lawsuit over school funding, which has forced Bristol to pay about $2 million more per year into the regional school district.

“My budget had a zero percent increase,” Mr. Teixeira said, adding that he had moved $1 million from the town reserve fund to prevent a tax increase before the lawsuit. “I’m not going to lie, I thought I would have the votes. I’m really taken by this. Changing direction at this point is not the right thing.”

Mr. Contente disagrees, saying he has heard from voters a change in direction is just what the town needs.

“People are concerned where Bristol is going,” he said. “We need to maintain what we have. We need to grow. We need to protect what’s important — fishermen, access to the waterfront, the safety of our kids. I have the experience to make that happen.”

The Board of Elections expects to begin the recount Wednesday, along with the absentee vote count, Mr. Cirillo said, but he is unsure when results will be finalized. After a long day of campaigning, both candidates are left waiting for a result.

“I thought it would be more of a happy ending, but it is what it is, and we’ll just follow the process,” Mr. Teixeira said.