Democrat prevails in comeback win for third Barrington Town Council seat

Barrington Town Hall. ((Assessor’s Database for the Town of Barrington)

Barrington Democratic candidate Jordan Jancosek’s comeback win for the third and final open seat on the Barrington Town Council came down to 11 votes, following a recount which concluded Friday afternoon.

Jancosek ultimately finished with 4,453 votes to independent Brian Hughes, who had 4,442 votes, according to recount results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections. Both Jancosek and Hughes were first time candidates for office.

The final tally put to bed any doubts over the winner, but questions linger over the process. State law allows only the losing candidate to ask for a recount in tight races. But in Barrington, winning and losing candidates traded places after the recount deadline was passed.

Jancosek originally trailed Hughes by 10 votes at the time of the Tuesday deadline for recount requests. A subsequent influx of military and overseas ballots tallied after the request was made boosted Jancosek into the third and final open spot, above Hughes.

Hughes hadn’t asked for a recount because he was still in the lead at the time of the recount request deadline. Despite confusion, the elections board ultimately authorized the recount based on Jancosek’s request by a 5-0 vote Thursday, with plans to discuss later whether the unique situation warranted a request to change state law.

“I am very pleased that the final vote backed up what we saw beforehand,” Jancosek, a 35-year-old archivist at Brown University, said in an interview Friday. “I am a believer that we are all entitled to free and fair elections, and elections with integrity, not just for myself but for everyone.”

Hughes took the loss in stride, pledging that he was “ready to move on to the next chapter.”

Will that include another bid for office?

“I don’t know if my wife will allow a second go at this,” Hughes, 42, who works as a general contractor, said Friday. “I had no intention of getting into politics. But, it was a great race, and it was a cool process to get to witness the recount today.”

Jancosek will join Democrats Liana Cassar and Kerry O’Neill, the top one and two vote-getters, respectively, on the five-person town council. The other two seats on the council are up for reelection in two years.