A mere 26 votes. That’s what kept Randy Stille from regaining a seat on the St. Anthony City Council and gave Nadia Elnagdy a place at the table.
It was close all the way to the end. The Aug. 13 special election drew 2,414 voters (there are 6,191 registered voters in the city). At 10 p.m., with two precincts reporting, Stille led Elnagdy by 10 votes, 967 to 957, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s election count. An hour later, the lead had flipped, and Elnagdy had received 1,220 votes to Stille’s 1,194.
At Hennepin County Precinct 1, at Autumn Woods, 2500 Kenzie Terrace, tallied 402 votes for Stille and 327 for Elnagdy.
Precinct 2 at St. Anthony City Hall, 3301 Silver Lake Rd., recorded 566 for Stille and 628 for Elnagdy.
In Precinct 3 at Silverwood Park, 2500 Co. Rd. E, the Ramsey County portion of St. Anthony voted for Elnagdy 263-226.
Asked to comment on the election results, Stille said in an email, “Thanks to the grassroots supporters who trusted me to make pragmatic nonpartisan decisions that better our community. I encourage the new council to practice good governance by learning from the past as they prepare for the future.”
Elnagdy said it took her awhile to process her win. “I didn’t really realize how far I had come until the votes were counted. I started out with zero name recognition, running against a candidate who had more than 20 years of experience in local government, who was the former mayor … all within two months. It’s incredibly exciting.”