Gina Driscoll has officially been declared the second place finisher in Tuesday’s primary election for the St. Petersburg City Council District 6 seat.
She finished two votes ahead of third place finisher Robert Blackmon, and will advance to the Nov. 7 election against Justin Bean.
That announcement came after the Pinellas County Canvassing Board met for several hours in Largo on Friday to determine who finished in second in the race.
In Tuesday’s primary, Driscoll had received 1,215 votes, while Blackmon was just four votes shy, at 1,211โa difference of 0.06 percent.
After reviewing 14 provisional ballots on Friday, a mechanical recount and a manual recount was undertaken. Blackmon gained two votes, but ultimately fell 1,216 votes to 1,214 votes.
Although the race is nonpartisan, Bean is a Republican and Driscoll is a Democrat. Whether that becomes an issue in the upcoming campaign remains to be seen.
(Photo credit: Kim DeFalco)
