AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The race for Austin's next mayor appears to now be settled, with second-place finisher Carmen Llanes Pulido dropping her bid for a recount Friday afternoon.
"After a long two weeks of changing results, news alerts, dozens of legal opinions, and my own team’s cost-benefit analysis of re-examining the results of this incredibly close election tally - barely a dozen votes between us and a runoff - I have decided to lay down the pursuit of a recount and bring a close to my mayoral campaign,” Llanes Pulido said.
Llanes Pulido had filed a petition Thursday seeking a recount in the race, which saw incumbent Mayor Kirk Watson avoid a runoff by just over a dozen votes. However, the City Clerk's office rejected her petition, because Llanes Pulido sought to only have 11 precincts in Williamson County recounted - which goes against state law. According to the Texas Election Code, the recount would need to include all of Austin's precincts in Travis, Williamson, and Hays Counties.
"Texas law is clear that, in an election that is called by a city – which the mayor's election is – a recount must be for the entire jurisdiction and not just cherry picking a few precincts," a statement from Watson's campaign said Thursday.
Watson finished with 175,096 votes, more than 104,000 above Llanes Pulido. But in a five candidate field, Watson needed to get a majority - 50 percent plus one vote - in order to avoid that runoff election.
While the mayoral race is settled, voters still need to make a final decision in City Council district 7. where Mike Siegel and Gary Bledsoe will ask voters to cast one more ballot.