WORCESTER—As Worcester wrapped up its hand recount of the tightly contested at-large City Council race on Sunday, incumbent Morris A. “Moe” Bergman posted on his campaign’s social media page that he had maintained his lead — an outcome now officially confirmed by the Worcester Election Commission.
What had been a razor-thin 23-vote edge for Bergman grew to 32 in the final hand tally, with Bergman finishing at 9,379 votes and challenger Jermoh Kamara at 9,347, according to results released late Sunday.
“Thank you to the voters of Worcester who elected me to help keep the city’s MOEMENTUM for a 7th consecutive At-Large term,” Bergman wrote in his social media posts. “Thank you to all the friends/supporters who helped with the recount and/or with moral and other support. My respect to all the candidates who ran for office, win or lose, sacrificing their private lives and offering Worcester’s voters choices. I am looking forward to getting to work in the new council term.”
The certification came shortly after City Clerk Nikolin Vangjeli issued a statement acknowledging the “hand count marathon” and thanking city staff and partner departments for their work across the weekend.
“It’s certainly not a small task to hand recount over 26,000 ballots and thoroughly review over 300,000 ovals and candidate names,” Vangjeli said. “Per the City Charter and Massachusetts General Laws, the results… have now been tallied and approved by the Board of Election Commissioners.”
The recount began Saturday inside the North High School gymnasium, where more than a hundred employees from the election commission and the city clerk’s office spent the weekend reviewing every ballot by hand.
The process stemmed from a petition filed by Kamara, who finished just 23 votes behind Bergman in the Nov. 4 municipal election. In her filing, Kamara cited the margin and said the recount was necessary to “ensure every vote is accurately counted and voters’ voices are heard.”
Observers for both campaigns crowded the gym as the count progressed. Early Saturday, Frank Karthiser, a local faith leader observing for Kamara’s side, noted the campaign had picked up several votes during the morning’s tallies.
Kamara, a former school committee member, finished with 9,334 votes in the machine count, compared to Bergman’s 9,357. Before the recount began, Vangjeli estimated the hand count would cost about $106,000 — far higher than the roughly $14,000 price tag for a machine recount.
Despite Bergman’s earlier criticism of the expense, his campaign fielded roughly 30 observers, while Kamara’s turnout was more than double that. Worcester School Committee member and former superintendent Maureen Binienda, observing for Bergman, said the process was consistent with past recounts and praised the professionalism of workers on site.
With certification now complete, Bergman officially secures the sixth and final at-large seat, closing one of the closest council races of Worcester’s 2025 election cycle.
Sam Bishop is a freelance writer and photojournalist licensed through the National Press Photographers Association. Based in New England, his photo and video work regularly appear on cable television stations throughout the Boston metro area. His writing is primarily published in various local and national news outlets. He can be reached at 3bcontact@protonmail.com.
