Just a handful of votes separated two candidates in the South Bay election to replace disgraced councilman Omar Torres.
It triggered an automatic recount, which was completed Monday. Showing the difference between second and third place was just six votes.
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WATCH HEREOver the past few days, voting officials recounted every single ballot in the San Jose City Council District 3 race.
It's a critical race for a district that will represent much of Downtown San Jose.
This race would determine which two candidates will face each other in a runoff, and both the count, and recount, showed the same thing.
Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos beat out the mayor’s chief of staff, Matthew Quevedo, for second place by just six votes.
Quevedo sent a statement congratulating the two candidates headed for a runoff saying,
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“While the margin is small, the result is now clear. Once again, we see the clear truth of that old saying: every vote counts.”
“We saw an incredibly close race,” Tordillos said. “One vote up, one vote down throughout the past two weeks. So we’ve been on pins and needles the past few weeks but very excited to be moving forward.”
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SIGN UP The result means Tordillos will face top finisher -- Gabby Chavez-Lopez in a June 24 runoff.
“We’re feeling super optimistic. We knew that we were going into the runoff some time ago so we’ve been continuing to focus on the race ahead,” Chavez-Lopez said.
Both candidates say they’re excited to get back to canvassing and spreading their message.
“Looking forward to getting back out there, talking to more folks at their doors, at events and really reaching out and building bridges with folks who may have supported other candidates in the first round,” Tordillos said.
“We are most acutely impacted by a lot of these issues, especially around homelessness and housing. So, District 3 residents are wise and they want to have solutions that ultimately are going to work,” Chavez-Lopez said.
Ballots will be sent out for that June runoff in a month.
