Hubbard Beats Pittman; Recount To Come

(Updated) Angel Hubbard bested Miguel Pittman in Monday’s special election for Ward 3 alder — but by less than 20 votes, which means city election officials will have to recount the ballots by hand before the results are final.

That election took place Monday at Career High School on Legion Avenue.

The final vote tally was 162 for Hubbard, 146 for Pittman. That includes votes cast in person at Career on Monday, as well as early and absentee ballots cast in advance of Election Day at 200 Orange St.

Just after polls closed at 8 p.m., Hubbard, a Ward 3 Democratic Ward Committee co-chair, walked into the high school’s gymnasium surrounded by a dozen supporters, including Mayor Justin Elicker, Fair Haven Alder Jose Crespo, and city Chief of Staff Sean Matteson.

Seconds later, Pittman, who co-runs Sandra’s Next Generation restaurant on Congress Avenue, walked in with a dozen of his supporters, including former mayoral challenger Shafiq Abdussabur.

The polling place’s moderator announced that Hubbard won at the machines by a count of 150 to 131.

Democratic Registrar of Voters Shannel Evans called city election moderator Kevin Arnold to get the final tally of absentee and early votes, and then told the candidates that Hubbard had ended up with 162 and Pittman with 146.

Because that margin was less than 20 votes, Evans and Arnold (who spoke via cellphone with the candidates) said, there would be a mandatory ​“recanvass,” or hand count of ballots, within the next five days.

“I am blessed,” Hubbard said in response to the results pointing in her favor. ​“I know it’s close. However it turns out, I’m just happy the ward came out.”

On the sidewalk outside of Career, Pittman assured his supporters he hadn’t given up on trying to become alder — even if he does lose this special election.

“Worst case scenario, it’ll be Round 2 on January 1,” Pittman said, implying that he’ll be running for the Ward 3 alder seat during next year’s election if he doesn’t prevail in the special election recount. 

This two-year aldermanic term runs through the end of 2025. The seat has been vacant since former Hill Alder Ron Hurt resigned earlier this summer.

Hurt showed up to Career a few minutes after Pittman’s and Hubbard’s teams had left the polling place. He walked into the gymnasium and stood alongside Hubbard, who sat on the bleachers with a few supporters.

He declined to comment on the outcome of Monday’s election. ​“Just happy that it’s over,” he said.

An earlier version of this article, capturing the morning of election day, appears below.

Polls Open For Ward 3 Alder Election

Horace Melton had three concerns top of mind when he came out to vote in Monday’s special election for Ward 3 alder.

“The addicts. The crime. The homelessness,” he said.

Whoever’s elected to represent that Hill district on the Board of Alders, he said, needs to find a way to address those matters if they hope to improve quality of life in the neighborhood.

Melton offered those thoughts after making the short trip from his home at the William T. Rowe Apartments on Sylvan Avenue to the polling place at Career High School’s gymnasium on Legion Avenue Monday morning.

As of noon, he was one of 85 Ward 3 voters to cast their ballots Monday in the special election to fill the seat vacated by former Hill Alder Ron Hurt, who resigned this summer. Another nine constituents took advantage of early voting, which ran from Wednesday through Saturday at 200 Orange St.; and still 16 more cast ballots absentee, as of Friday’s latest count. There are a total of 1,592 eligible voters in the district.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at Career at 140 Legion Ave. Click here to see if you live in the ward; click here for plenty more information about Monday’s race.

The two Democrats vying for the local legislative post, with a term that runs through the end of December 2025, are Angel Hubbard, the ward’s Democratic Ward Committee co-chair and a home healthcare provider, and Miguel Pittman, who co-runs Sandra’s Next Generation restaurant on Congress Avenue and is a long-time civically engaged member of the Hill community.

Both have actively campaigned for the aldermanic seat — traveling the neighborhood with supporters to knock on doors, talk to voters, pitch their visions of the Hill. 

True to form, both campaigns set up tents and posted plenty of lawn signs and volunteers outside of Career Monday as the candidates made final pitches to voters. Included among Hubbard’s supporters on scene were Mayor Justin Elicker, city Chief of Staff Sean Matteson, and Fair Haven Alder Jose Crespo; under Pittman’s tent, meanwhile, sat former mayoral challenger Shafiq Abdussabur among a dozen fellow Pittman supporters. (Melton also made clear that he had voted for Pittman, as he made his way back to the William T. Rowe Apartments and stopped to chat with his candidate of choice.)

Pittman told this reporter he showed up to Career at 2:35 a.m. Monday to clean up the space where he ultimately put up a tent and campaign signs. ​“Our numbers are looking very strong,” he said. He said he and his supporters are making phone calls to constituents, urging them to come out and vote, and even providing rides on his two electric golf carts to and from the polling place.

“The neighborhood needs a change,” Pittman said. He pledged to be present and communicative with residents, not just during elections. ​“I am the type of person that loves interacting with the residents.”

Hubbard told the Independent she too is feeling confident. ​“It’s been positive,” she said about Monday so far. Her closing pitch to voters: ​“Your voice does matter.”

Crespo, meanwhile, described Hubbard as ​“a woman of integrity,” as a mom of seven kids who has lived in the ward for more than half a decade and knows the Hill’s needs well. She also knows what it’s like to struggle, Crespo said, and would bring valuable lived experience to the role of alder. ​“I believe you should stand with your team,” he said about backing her, as Hubbard is the Ward 3 Democratic Ward Committee co-chair.

Elicker, meanwhile, said her hyperlocal Democratic Party position is likely not as relevant to voters in Monday’s special election as the fact that Hubbard is ​“passionate” and ​“working really hard, knocking on doors.”

This race for Ward 3 alder, he added, ​“is as local as it gets.”