Recount commission finds no change in Cloverdale clerk-treasurer race

Convening on Tuesday morning to recount the Cloverdale clerk-treasurer race, the Cloverdale recount commission found no change in the outcome.

In a recount that was completed in about an hour, the commission again deemed incumbent Cheryl Galloway the winner over challenger Vanessa Carr by a tally of 143-141.

The mark matches the original Election Day result exactly.

Putnam County Deputy Clerk Heather Robinson, one of just two people in the county qualified to run the requisite equipment for the recount, chaired the commission that also included Cloverdale residents Barb Jay and Vivian Whitaker.

“It went pretty smoothly,” Robinson said.

Jay, a Republican, and Whitaker, a Democrat, were appointed by their respective party chairmen as Cloverdale residents representing the two major parties.

Galloway is a Republican, while Carr ran as an independent.

Also sitting in on the recount was Voter Registration Clerk Stacia Hathaway, who praised all three commission members.

“I was really pleased with how it went,” Hathaway said. “Both Vivian and Barbara were very professional. They pored over the results and did a good job.

“And I thought Heather Robinson did a fantastic job,” she added.

The recount result was filed in Putnam Circuit Court, leaving Judge Matthew Headley four days to certify the results by the Dec. 20 deadline.

Once the judge enters his final order discharging the recount commission, a 30-day period to appeal the recount commission’s certificate begins.

Carr filed her appeal with the court on Nov. 19, two weeks after Election Day. Headley subsequently filled the three-person commission on the advice of the party chairmen and Putnam County Clerk Heather Gilbert.

Galloway is set to take office for her new term on Wednesday, Jan. 1.