Mayor Larry L. &uot;Butch&uot; Brown wasn’t conceding and F.L. &uot;Hank&uot; Smith wasn’t quite claiming victory Tuesday night after a mayoral runoff that was almost too close to call.

Smith led with 224 votes in unofficial results Tuesday night, but some ballots are still not counted.

The resolutions committee of the Democratic Executive Committee will meet today to count paper ballots and an unknown number of affidavit ballots. About 65 people had to vote with paper ballots at the Ward 3 precinct because voter turnout exceeded expectations, and the precinct ran out of ballots.

&uot;It’s not over yet,&uot; said Smith, who gathered with family and friends at his sister’s house in south Natchez. &uot;I’ve never been through this. I don’t know what to expect tomorrow.&uot;

The mood was somber at the Ramada Hilltop Inn where family, friends and longtime city employees gathered with Brown.

&uot;It looks to me we’re about 200 votes behind,&uot; he said. &uot;It also appears that there are about 150 to 160 votes that haven’t been counted.

&uot;We’re either going to win by just a little bit or we’re going to lose by just a little bit.&uot;

Smith said that if all of the uncounted ballots went to Brown, Smith would still win the election. But he remained &uot;cautiously optimistic&uot; Tuesday night.

&uot;I’m overjoyed,&uot; said Smith, who thanked his supporters and those who voted for him. &uot;I hope we can move on if the numbers hold up.&uot;

But the affidavit and paper ballots may not be the only ones in question.

Earlier in the day, Brown expressed concern about problems at two ward polling places. At Ward 4’s United Steelworkers of America Union Hall, about 90 people had already voted before signs promoting Smith’s campaign were taken down there.

And at Ward 5’s National Guard Armory, a bailiff was removed from duty after election commissioners found out he had signed a petition supporting one of the candidates.

Poll workers are required to remain publicly impartial.

&uot;There are also some things that we want to talk about tomorrow,&uot; Brown said. &uot;Two boxes had some very serious irregularities.

&uot;We’re not saying we’re doing anything about it. I’ll be at work tomorrow, and we’ll figure it out.&uot;

Overall, voter turnout was up slightly over the first primary. About 48 percent of registered voters voted May 2, while 51.32 percent voted Tuesday.

The highest voter turnout was in Ward 3 and Ward 6, both of which were won by Brown.

Smith said he was anxious to put this election behind him.

The winner of the Democratic primary faces independent Robert F. Costa in the June 6 general election.

If elected mayor, Smith said he would like to focus first on the Natchez-Adams County Economic Development Authority.

One of the main themes of his campaign has been attracting jobs and industry to Natchez.

Brown said even if defeated he would continue to work for the community.

&uot;We’ve done it all for Natchez,&uot; he said. &uot;We started in 1966 playing a part in Natchez. And nothing’s going to change. &uot;