Election: These are the DeKalb City Council, city clerk, DeKalb Park Board race leads after polls closed Tuesday night

DeKALB – While the City of DeKalb Ward 4 race remains too close to call with a margin of just four votes, Barb Larson appears to be the next alderperson to represent Ward 2 in DeKalb, after taking the lead Tuesday night following unofficial results reporting full ward precinct voting numbers.

With all precincts reporting, Larson took 45.81% or 415 votes; with JJ Wett behind with 32.89% or 298 votes, and Wesley Hoadley with 21.30% or 193 votes.

Doug Johnson, DeKalb County clerk and recorder, said 136 outstanding mail-in ballots weren’t returned as of Tuesday, but if they were postmarked by April 6, the votes will still count toward the final tally once certified on April 20.

In Ward 4, incumbent Greg Perkins leads challenger Matthew Keys by just four votes, so the race will not be called until outstanding mail-in votes are certified and final tallies are counted.

Perkins received 50.34% of the vote, or 296 votes, while Keys received 49.66%, or 292 votes.

City Clerk

Though write-in candidates haven’t yet been counted as of Tuesday, Sasha Cohen received 82.27% of the vote, or 2,273 votes, while a write-in candidate received 17.73% of the vote, or 490 votes.

Races involving a write-in candidates won’t be certified until the official result certification deadline in two weeks. Ballots on election night are counted via a computer, and the digital process counts each bubble a person has filled out on a ballot, not a name written as a write-in candidate.

Stephanie Turner, an employee of the City of DeKalb, announced she would run for clerk as a write-in.

DeKalb Park Board of Commissioners

With seven candidates vying for two available seats on the DeKalb Park District’s Board of Commissioners, a familiar face is among the two winners: Former DeKalb Ward 4 Alderman and insurance agent Patrick Fagan was the top vote earner, with 1,316 votes, or 24.01%, followed by Cortland police officer and owner of Blue Line Driving School Joel French with 1,092 votes, or 19.92%.

Fellow candidates David Castro received 1,040 votes, or 18.97%, followed by incumbent Doug Eaton with 810 votes (14.78%), Daniel Woltzen with 644 votes (11.75%) and Michael “Cornbread” Zasada with 580 votes (10.58%).

• Daily Chronicle reporter Katrina Milton contributed to this story.