La Grange Race Decided by One Vote Unchanged After Recount

The recount for the Ward 4 Councilman election in La Grange confirmed Arthur Bosque as the winner by one vote over Chris Jernigan.

“Arthur’s a good guy,” Jernigan said. “We’ve got a lot to work on in the City, and I think he’ll be a good part of it.”

The recount took place Tuesday afternoon at the Fayette County Elections Office in La Grange.

“It was a little scary, because you don’t know, anything could happen,” Bosque said. “But they counted it right. They did a good job.”

Jernigan said he initially accepted the outcome on election night, but he began receiving calls from supporters asking him to request a recount.

“It took a little push to get me to do this,” he said.

Mayor Jan Dockery and City Secretary Janet Bayer oversaw the process. Bayer selected four citizens to perform the recount.

“I made sure there was nobody from Ward 4 so there was no conflict of interest,” she said. “So I threw a wide net and chose people from Wards 1, 2, and 3.”

The four citizens manually counted each ballot. The result was the same as Election Night: 51 for Bosque and 50 for Jernigan.

“With that close of a call, it shows the honesty and integrity of our voting program,” Jernigan said after the votes were tallied. “It was great the way they handled it. It was good to be a part of.”

Jernigan said the close election proves the old saying, “Every vote counts.”

“We need more people to get out and vote,” he said. “It shows that you care about your community.”

Bosque will take his seat on the Council at the June 6 City Council meeting.

When asked if he will run for office again in the future, Jernigan said: “It’s a good possibility. I’ll have to see where I am with my job and my family. I want what’s best for our ward and community.”