A controversial 2-day recount of votes from the April 13 runoff election for Upshur County Republican Party chairman concluded Tuesday with businessman-rancher Ken Ambrose defeating incumbent Brenda Patterson by 25 votes—seven more than in the original count.

The recount showed Ambrose winning, 985 to 960.Mrs. Patterson requested the recount after trailing Ambrose in the original tally, 981-963, in her bid for reelection.

The second count began Monday at the Upshur County Courthouse, where an election clerk, De’Borah Bankston, announced the outcome shortly after noon Tuesday.

Both candidates witnessed the recount, which was coordinated by Glenn Leach, who left office Monday as the county’s GOP secretary.

Ambrose, who had said Monday afternoon that he was attending it “under protest” because it “was not called in a timely manner,” told reporters after it concluded Tuesday that “the most important thing (now) is to unify the Republican Party of Upshur County.”

He said he would set an organizational meeting within 45 days. He also called the recount “long” and “tiring,” but said the clerks “did a terrific job.”

Asked about the increase in his margin of victory, Ambrose joked, “I consider that just some more momentum.”

Whoever won the election was scheduled to become chairman or begin a new term Monday, May 3, and there was some confusion Tuesday over whether Ambrose is now actually already in office. He said he believed he was, inasmuch as a swearing-in ceremony is “basically a formality,” but “we’ll have to see.”

Meantime, in what Ambrose complained beforehand was a violation of party rules, Mrs. Patterson convened a meeting of the county’s Republican Executive Committee at Buffet Village Monday night, and told the gathering a new chairman couldn’t take over until the election returns are canvassed. The committee then set the canvass—and swearing-in of whoever was elected chairman—for 6:30 p.m. next Monday at what until recently was Republican headquarters in Gilmer.

Following Tuesday’s outcome, Mrs. Patterson reiterated her understanding that votes must be canvassed before Ambrose takes office. She emerged from the recount room (the County Courtroom) and told a representative of The Mirror she was “not surprised” at the result.

She had said Monday that she sought the recount at her supporters’ request, and added Tuesday that she did so “to put everybody’s mind at ease.”

One of her supporters, Pct. 1 County Comm. James Crittenden, had told The Mirror before the recount that it was called out of concern that election machinery had failed to note some votes on paper ballots.

The GOP runoff involved multiple races, and the original count showed 100 out of 2,044 total voters picked neither candidate in the Ambrose-Patterson race.

Mrs. Patterson said Tuesday that had seemed like an unusually high number of abstentions. Ironically, Mrs. Bankston said the recount showed 104 of 2,049 voters cast no ballot in that race. (Ambrose gained four votes and Mrs. Patterson lost three from the original count.)

“I think that the recount will give everybody an assurance that this was the outcome of the election,” said Mrs. Patterson, the county GOP chairwoman for the past seven years.

She also said this was “the perfect opportunity” for the Executive Committee and Ambrose “to come together and work as one.”

Ambrose, asked if there would be any room for Mrs. Patterson and her allies in the party leadership, said “Mrs. Patterson has some issues she has to deal with,” such as giving him a financial report on the party within 30 days.

He then quipped, “I’m willing to get along with anyone as long as they treat me with the dignity and respect I may or may not be entitled to.”

During the campaign, some of Mrs. Patterson’s supporters complained that Ambrose had committed possible campaign ethics violations and assailed his business background, saying in paid advertising that he had declared bankruptcy.

On election night, he said much of the criticism was unnecessary and that the party had been divided under Mrs. Patterson.

Mrs. Patterson’s supporters raised $1,940 for the recount, which does not include what the clerks will be paid, said Crittenden. He said Tuesday the recount verified that some votes were not tallied in the original count, and that the machines counting the ballots “are not foolproof.”

Meantime, Crittenden swore in eight newly-elected or reelected Republican precinct chairmen at Monday night’s controversial meeting. Earlier that day, Mrs. Patterson had said it was “in no way improper” for them to be sworn in that day since their terms began that day.

As for Ambrose’s contention that the recount was improper, and could be nullified by a state district judge, Mrs. Patterson said she had petitioned the executive committee for it April 22, “which was well before the deadline,” and that the Texas Secretary of State’s office had verified its propriety.

The recount was originally set last Thursday, postponed until Monday, and, contrary to Leach’s expectations, required two days instead of one.

At Monday night’s committee meeting, the committee elected John Melvin Dodd as county vice chairman, Madaline Barber as secretary, and Mrs. Patterson as chaplain, but Ambrose said afterward those elections would be “null and void.” He did not attend the meeting, telling Mrs. Patterson beforehand he needed to feed his cattle.

Sworn in as precinct chairmen were Troy Cotton Jones, Jed Hefner, Leach, Ken Yates, Cynthia Ridgeway, Blanton Dawson, Joy Connery and Mrs. Barber. The committee also named Jackie Oliver, who was not present, as precinct chairman for the North Diana voting box.

Several other newly or reelected precinct chairmen did not attend, but Mrs. Patterson said a quorum of the committee was present. She ackowledged to the audience that it was “kind of an awkward meeting. . .This is kind of a strange situation for me.”

“I am still acting as county chair until the canvass,” she said, recommending it be set for Saturday or Monday. The committee chose Monday at the former headquarters on Harrison St. in Gilmer, which the committee voted on April 22 to close effective May 1.

However, the committee also voted to let Mrs. Patterson continue leasing the building “at her expense to close out the primary (election) records,” according to minutes of the April 22 meeting.

(During the primary campaign, Mrs. Patterson had publicly denied a rumor that she and her husband, Ken Patterson, were living in the building.)

In an email to The Mirror Tuesday, newly-elected precinct chairman Joy Connery expressed concerns over Monday night’s gathering, saying in part “I cannot get over the feeling that something was very wrong with last night’s meeting. It does not make sense that the bylaws would require a swearing in of officers when the principal officer’s seat has not been decided.”

She added, “I came away with the feeling that the whole meeting was just a ploy to usurp authority from Mr. Ambrose. I trust this was not true, because friends of mine organized the meeting. If that is the case it will not come to a good end.”