Half of Cambridge Races Headed to Dec. 1 Run-off Elections

Mayor, Ward 2, Ward 3 choices will be narrowed to two

Preliminary results released Saturday night in the Cambridge city election show two clear winners in the six races. Three races will be decided in Dec. 1 run-off elections.

In the mayoral race, incumbent Victoria Jackson-Stanley leads with 40.59% of the vote.

With more than two candidates in the race, a candidate needed to have more than 50 percent of the vote to win during the Oct. 17 election. Otherwise, the top two candidates will face voters again on Dec. 1.

Preliminary results in the Oct. 17 Cambridge municipal election are seen in this printout. City of Cambridge Facebook post

Jackson-Stanley will face Andrew Bradshaw on Dec. 1. Bradshaw had 27.83% of the vote in the mayoral race, followed by 19.22% for La-Shon Banks-Foster, and 12.35% for Robert S. Larimer.

In Ward 1, Brian Roche had 61.55% of the vote and has won the seat in the first round of voting. Sharon B. Smith had 26.84% and Tom Bradley had 11.61%.

Incumbent Ward 2 Commissioner Donald Sydnor (39.16%) will face challenger Lajan Natasha Cepas (29.92%) on Dec. 1. They were trailed by Paul F. Baiers Jr. (16.87%) and Tyzann Meekins (14.06%).

In the Ward 3 race, Gary T. Gordy (39.28%) will move on to the Dec. 1 election, but his likely opponent is too close to call. Jameson Harrington had 30.57% of the vote in the preliminary Oct. 17 count, while Duane Farrow had 30.15%.

The Ward 4 race also is too close to call. Sputty Cephas is leading with 51.14% of the vote to 48.86% for incumbent Dave Cannon.

An earlier count, posted to Facebook by mayoral candidate Robert S. Larimer, had Cannon at 50.10% and Cephas at 49.90%. The timestamp on the preliminary results from the voting machine posted by Larimer was 11:11 p.m.; the timestamp on the results posted by the city was 11:33 p.m.

Chad Malkus ran unopposed in Ward 5 and was elected commissioner for that ward.

Cambridge officials, in a Saturday night Facebook post, said the results will be certified at 10 a.m. Monday.

The city also noted that 2,939 people voted in the mayoral race and 2,787 in the five commissioner races, more than tripling the turnout from the 2016 city election.