A mistake in counting will see Marmet with a new mayor after all, according to a canvass of the city's ballots Monday at the Kanawha County Voters Registration office.
Jay Snodgrass, a real estate agent who also is a retired paramedic and firefighter, bested incumbent Mayor Dave Fontalbert by six votes, 195-189. The unofficial results released June 13, the night of the election, showed Fontalbert had beaten Snodgrass 247-243, a margin of four votes.
Kanawha County Clerk Vera McCormick said the early absentee ballots, some 126 votes, were counted twice the night of the election, and the mistake wasn't caught until Monday's canvass. The town's 429 ballots were ran though a vote-tallying machine and then counted by hand Monday afternoon.
McCormick said this was the last election the county's old voting machines would be used in. The county is transitioning to newer machines.
She said only the mayor's race was affected.
"You hate to see anybody lose, but someone's going to," she said. "Their lawyer was here, and all the council people.
"It's a shame that this happened."
Snodgrass, 52, said he heard about the mistake Monday afternoon while on vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with his family. He said Fontalbert contacted him Monday evening to concede the election. Fontalbert did not return a message seeking comment Monday evening.
"I'm ready to go to work on day one, just like I've said from the beginning," Snodgrass said. "I'm going to do the best job I can and try to focus on the neighborhood. We need to go to work, day one, and start working with council on moving forward."
He said he plans to work with the new council to concentrate on the town's infrastructure, including sewer lines and street signs. He also wants to work on getting the town's budget under control and look into economic development. He said he wants to attract more businesses into town, not just retail, but businesses like accounting firms and engineering firms.
"We've got the convenience without the cost," he said. "We're close to [Charleston]. We don't have the user fee. We're right on the interstate."
Snodgrass said he and Fontalbert grew up together in Marmet, and they had been talking back and forth the entire election.
"We never made it personal," he said. "It was all about business and philosophy."
He said he was looking forward to working with Fontalbert in the transition. If the results are certified, Snodgrass takes office July 1.
The results are scheduled to be certified Thursday at Marmet Town Hall.