![Newly elected council members Jasmin Santana, left, and Joe Jones sit in on a council caucus meeting in November. [Nick Castele / ideastream]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2f98fa9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/980x520+0+0/resize/840x446!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F11%2F28%2F1113santanajones.jpg)
Cleveland City Council incumbents Terrell Pruitt and T.J. Dow have lost their seats in very close races slated for automatic recounts, according to official election results released today.
After provisional and late-arriving absentee ballots were counted, Pruitt lost to Joe Jones by 8 votes, and Dow lost to Basheer Jones by 13. The newly tallied votes narrowed the margins of victory for each challenger, but did not change the outcomes of the races reported on election night on Nov. 7.
The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections will recount the ballots cast in each race, because the candidates are within half a percentage point of one another.
“These results are another reminder of why voting is important,” Pat McDonald, the board of elections director, said in a written statement. “Every vote counts and even a handful of ballots can make the difference in deciding the issues and selecting our elected leaders.”
Also headed for recounts are council races in Lakewood and Cuyahoga Heights, the East Cleveland Board of Education race and a school levy renewal and increase in Brooklyn, which lost by two votes.
The results mean that five new members will likely join Cleveland city council next year. Kevin Bishop and Anthony Hairston won open seats vacated by defeated mayoral candidates Zack Reed and Jeff Johnson. And Jasmin Santana defeated incumbent Brian Cummins in Ward 14.
