NATCHEZ &045;&045; Recertification of Tuesday’s vote totals was finished in a day &045;&045; and when the dust settled, state Rep. Phillip West had won the Democratic nomination by 106 votes.

West received 3,069 votes, or 50.81 percent, to incumbent Mayor F.L. &uot;Hank&uot; Smith’s 2,963 votes, or 49.06 percent.

In the municipal judge’s race, which was decided in Tuesday’s runoff, official numbers show Jim C. Blough with 3,063 votes, or 50.64 percent, to Patricia Fleming Dunmore’s 2,980 votes, or 49.26 percent.

Whether either Smith or Dunmore will contest the results, which were compiled Wednesday afternoon, still isn’t known.

If one of the candidates does decide to contest the results, he or she would have 10 days to file that contest in Adams County Circuit Court.

&uot;I came in second,&uot; was Smith’s only comment after receiving the official results.

Smith, along with Dunmore, Blough and parties representing West, on Wednesday viewed the Resolution Committee’s review of ballots cast in Tuesday’s election.

Dunmore had no comment early Wednesday afternoon and could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

West received the results by telephone in Jackson during a special session of the Legislature and described himself as &uot;pleased and relieved&uot; by the official results.

&uot;I just appreciate the persons who supported me,&uot; West said.

&uot;And I commend Mayor Hank Smith for running a clean race. He worked very hard in this campaign, and I think the vote total showed that.&uot;

West said he plans to meet Saturday with supporters to hammer out his campaign strategy for the days leading up to the June 8 general election.

There, West will face Republican alderwoman Sue Stedman and antiques business owner Richard Branyan, an independent, in the race for mayor.

After sitting through two-and-a-half days of certification after the primary and a one-day review after Tuesday’s runoff, Blough expressed great relief that it was apparently over.

&uot;It’s been a long process,&uot; Blough said. &uot;I’m just glad I was certified as the winner.&uot;

Both Election Commission Larry Gardner, who headed the Resolution Committee, and City Clerk Donnie Holloway said they encountered no major problems and received no complaints from Tuesday’s runoff.

The only snafus were because some absentee ballots from the primary were used and, because the names of candidates not in the runoff were blacked out, the machine would not accept them. Those ballots had to be counted by hand.

In addition, one ballot was stuck in the machine at Ward 3’s Elks Lodge precinct.