Love, Francom get most votes; 'Superdell' causes interruption

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Mia Love and Jeff D. Francom emerged from a crowded field of mayoral hopefuls in the race to succeed outgoing Mayor Timothy Parker.

Love, now in her second term on the Saratoga Springs City Council, was the top vote-getter in Tuesday night's primary election with 489 votes. Francom received 354 votes to advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

Love and Francom were the clear winners in the race. Nearly 300 votes separated Francom from the next closest candidate, Dell "Superdell" Schanze, with 56 votes.

The city's primary election was briefly interrupted when Schanze was talking to voters outside a voting location. Witnesses said a poll worker told Schanze he was breaking state law by standing closer than 150 feet to a polling location.

When police arrived, Schanze had already left the area. He was detained and released at the scene after an investigation.

In the City Council race, incumbent Cecil E. Tuley, Jim Miller, Michael D.S. McOmber and Michael R. Simpson all advanced to the general election, according to unofficial results from the Saratoga Springs city recorder's office. Brandon Tillman was just two votes behind Simpson in the unofficial tally, meaning results could change pending the verification of provisional ballots and an official election canvass.

The city's election results weren't announced until 3 a.m., after poll workers finished hand-counting the 984 ballots.

According to city manager Ken Leetham, Saratoga Springs has always used paper ballots that require hand-counting for primary elections, partly because of budgetary reasons. Leetham said he and others were brainstorming ways to speed up the process, including adding more poll workers and starting the count before the polls close.