Since Election Night, two candidates for City Council, along with their families and supporters, have impatiently awaited the counting of outstanding absentee ballots. Just 18 votes separated Josh Nathan and Jana Seitz on November 2, after the polls closed and the unofficial results were in. Nathan had the edge, but not the victory with as many as 170 absentee ballots still to be counted.

The Westchester County Board of Elections pushed back the reporting date twice, but on November 17 the final tally showed that Nathan had won by a margin of 94 votes; he received 51 percent of the 3,300 votes cast, and Seitz 49 percent.

After Seitz called Nathan to congratulate him and offer her support as he joins her running mate, Bill Henderson, on the Council, Seitz gave her concession announcement. “When I decided to run for City Council, I made a promise to myself to run a clean campaign, focused only on the issues facing Rye. I am proud of the campaign I ran, which stayed true to this ideal. Rye deserved no less.

“I am also very thankful for all the work and assistance from my family, my campaign team, and all who supported me in the campaign. Finally, I have been humbled by and am grateful for the faith the people of Rye had in me this election. My commitment and service to Rye will continue.”

When we reached Nathan later that night, he said, “It is a great honor and privilege to have been elected to represent the community I have lived in for over 20 years. Congratulations to Jana Seitz on running an impressive campaign. I have deep respect for her.

“Thank you to all who participated in this election; our community’s strength comes from broad-based engagement.

I am looking forward to working with my colleagues on the Rye City Council to tackle the issues facing Rye residents.”

Josh Nathan will serve a two-year term, the remainder of Pam Tarlow’s term. Tarlow resigned in July.