In our election coverage November 15, the Northeaster incorrectly stated the status of the race at the end of election night.
What the article and caption should have said is that the eventual winner, incumbent Ward One Council Member Kevin Reich, was behind challenger Jillia Pessenda early in the evening with just five precincts reporting. The Northeaster apologizes for the error.
By the end of the evening, Reich had a clear margin of 4,012 to 3,839 but fell below the threshold of 50-percent-plus-one (4,433) to have a winner on the first round. The outcome would hinge on the allocation of second-choice votes from the defeated John Hayden.
When those second-choice votes were counted the next day, 266 went to Pessenda and 281 to Reich, giving Reich the race.
Minneapolis Ward One
Analysis precinct-by-precinct shows Pessenda slightly ahead of Reich 471 to 469 in precinct 6 and clearly the winner in Precinct 8, 313-253; both areas are in Windom Park. She also dominated in Precinct 7, the southeast Minneapolis precinct of Ward One, 364-164. Voting was close in Precinct 1, Marshall Terrace and Precinct 2, Waite Park, with Pessenda trailing Reich 176-170 and 566-562. Hayden pulled his highest precinct total, 168, in Waite Park.
Hayden topped 100 first-choice votes in three precincts, those east of Central and north of Lowry. His total of first-choice votes was 851.
Reich won by margins ranging from 36 to 137 votes in Precincts 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10. Those areas, roughly, are the Audubon, Holland, and Columbia Park neighborhoods and the easternmost part of Windom Park.
Also of note, second-choice votes for the candidates were Reich 2,636, Pessenda 2,337 and Hayden 1,424.
Sources: Minnesota Secretary of State, electionresults.sos.state.mn.us and City of Minneapolis election website, vote.minneapolismn.gov/results/2017/index.htm.
Minneapolis Ward Three
In the Third Ward, while Ginger Jentzen was the front-runner in first-choice votes, she, too, lacked the 50-percent-plus-one on the first round and on the second round, though she picked up 301 of Samantha Pree-Stinson voters’ second-choice votes to Steve Fletcher’s 394. Pree-Stinson was the first eliminated.
When Tim Bildsoe’s voters’ second choices were then counted, the majority of those went to Steve Fletcher, 1,758 to Jentzen’s 246.
Just three precincts (4, 5 and 6) of the Third Ward are in Northeast Minneapolis. Jentzen was the clear winner in first-choice support in those precincts.
In 3-6, Pree-Stinson would have had 360 second-choice votes had she survived the first round, Fletcher had 382, Bildsoe 207. Combining all three Northeast precincts, Fletcher was the clear second-choice candidate, with 784 to Pree-Stinson’s 627 and Bildsoe’s 454.