Preliminary results for the Seward City Council and mayoral elections show incumbent Mayor Sue McClure reelected to another term, and one candidate with solid standing for a council seat. The results for the second council seat in contention are so close that the official results may show differently than those posted Tuesday night.

McClure retains her seat after having received 260 votes. Challenger Leighton Radner received 30, and Timothy McDonald received 21. There was also one write-in vote.

In an email to Homer News Tuesday night, McClure wrote, “I am truly humbled by the trust the community has placed with me! I will spend the next three years doing my best (to) keep Seward moving forward!”

City council candidate Lori Draper was elected to one of the available seats after bringing in 215 votes.

“I will be honored to serve the residents of Seward and I appreciate the confidence the voters have shown in me,” she wrote in an email to Homer News Tuesday night. “I look forward to the results of the canvass board to see who will be the seventh member of the council. Together we will chart a course forward for our community with transparency, integrity and inclusion.”

Currently, the second council seat has been allocated to incumbent Randy Wells, who drew 112 votes. However, with 91 ballots left for the canvass board to count — including 77 absentee in-person ballots, 4 absentee by-mail ballots, nine special needs ballots and one question ballot — that seat may very well go to a different candidate after the canvass board’s meeting on Friday.

Closely following Wells is challenger Michael Calhoon with 111 votes. Incumbent Kevin Finch comes third with 58 votes, followed by Samantha LePera with 57 and James Taylor with 36.

On Tuesday, Wells said that he was “really happy” for Draper and McClure.

“Right now I feel excited about how many people participated in the process and how many candidates there were,” he said. “I’m excited to see the final tally on Monday.”

Seward’s Canvass Board will meet in council chambers on Friday, Oct. 10 starting at 1 p.m. to finish counting all absentee, special needs and questioned ballots. Canvass board proceedings are open to the public to observe.

The final election results will be presented to the Seward City Council on Monday, Oct. 13 for certification.

Find the unofficial results online at www.cityofseward.us/community/residents/voting-elections.