City Board of Elections commissioners voted unanimously today to reserve their December decision and allow disputed paper ballots to be counted in the yet-undecided 11th SD race, signaling the beginning of the end of what has been an extremely contentious and drawn-out process.
Depending on how long the count takes - and there have been conflicting reports as to exactly how many ballots are out there, but it's somewhere between 1,700 and 2,700 - this contest could be a contender for the title of longest-running undecided legislative race in modern history.
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Republican Frank Padavan, who was the incumbent GOP senator when this whole mess started, has a lead of several hundred votes - perhaps as many as 500 - over his Democratic challenger, Councilman Jim Gennaro.
Obsevers and operatives on both sides of the aisle have been more or less in agreement (at least privately) that Padavan is going to be declared the winner.
Much like now ex-Senator Serph Maltese was a top Dem target in 2008, should these numbers hold, expect much attention be paid to Padavan in 2010.
