Nashville candidate calls for recount

A candidate for Nashville Town Council has called for a recount of ballots after losing by just five votes Tuesday.

Larry Taylor defeated James McBride by five votes in the at-large race for a seat on the Nashville Town Council, according to unofficial results, 214 to 209. The candidates were separated by less than a 1 percent difference, qualifying the contest for a recount, according to state law.

McBride, 76, called for the recount Friday, election officials said. The ballots will be tallied again when the Nash County Board of Elections meets Tuesday to certify the election.

“Whenever you lose by less than 10 votes, it’s only fair to get a recount so you can get an accurate count of the ballots,” said McBride, who previously served 12 years on council beginning in the early 1990s. “The prerogative was mine, so I chose to exercise that right.”

Taylor, 57, said he wasn’t upset by McBride’s call for a recount. “That’s his right,” Taylor said. “I’m hopeful it will come out the way it did Tuesday, but there is no need to get all upset over it. We’ll let the votes speak for themselves.”

Councilman Tommy Rogers, 66, claimed 329 votes Tuesday to win a third term on the council. Rogers was the top voter-getter in the four man race for two at-large seats.

The recount will be held at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday at the Nash County Board of Elections office in Nashville.