Pogue clings to 1-vote lead in Barre after early voting, some absentees added

7 potential votes out there with unreturned absentees

Barre Town Supervisor Sean Pogue holds a very slim lead over challenger Scott Burnside.

BARRE – Just after 9 p.m. it didn’t look good for Sean Pogue in his bid for another term as Barre town supervisor.

He was losing by 19 votes to Scott Burnside in the tally today at Barre Town Hall.

But a 259-240 gap changed when early voting results and some absentees were added. Pogue, at the end of the night, has a 1-vote lead, 293-292.

There are seven unreturned absentee ballots. They need to be postmarked by today. The Board of Elections plans to count them on Monday, but will accept them up until a week from today, Nov. 14.

In a three-way race for two Town Board seats, Republicans Kirk Mathes, 359, and Margaret Swan, 315 votes, are the winners. Mathes, a member of the Planning Board, ousts Kerri Richardson, a Conservative Party member, from the board. Richardson received 299 votes. Mathes, Swan and Pogue all ran under the independent “Future for Barre” line in addition to the Republican line.

Burnside ran as a Conservative. He lost a Republican primary in June to Pogue, 165-115.

Other candidates elected today in Barre include: Dale Brooks, (Republican and Working for a Better Barre), 422 for highway superintendent; Maureen Beach, (Democrat), 338 for town clerk; and Earl Jenks Jr., (Republican), 372 for town justice.