Ithaca’s common council primaries featured several close races Tuesday.
Two of the three candidates on the Solidarity Slate, a group of progressives focused on racial and housing justice, were trailing after polls closed Tuesday.
David Shapiro leads Nathan Sitaraman, who is on the Solidarity Slate, by a margin of only nine votes. West Fox also trails in a three-way race with Aryeal Jackson and Kris Haines-Sharp with a margin of 35 percent of the vote. Haines-Sharp leads with 44 percent.
Kayla Matos, also on the Solidarity Slate, leads incumbent Alderperson Cynthia Brock in the First Ward. The other two Solidarity Slate candidates, Phoebe Brown and Jorge Defindini, did not face primary challenges.
The two races in the Fifth Ward also featured razor-thin races. Margaret Fabrizio leads Michelle Song by a margin of only six votes for the four-year term and Clyde Lederman leads Jason Houghton by a margin of seven votes for the two-year term.
Houghton and Brock both secured independent ballot lines prior to the primary and will appear on the general election ballot.
Tuesday night’s returns do not include affidavit ballots and late absentee ballots.