ISLAND CITY — It is official. Island City has a mayor elect.

David Comfort has won a tight race against Margaret Spence to become Island City’s next mayor, Union County Clerk Robin Church announced Wednesday, Nov. 18. Comfort won the election 340-332.

“I’m excited for the opportunity. I’m going to get to work with a great staff,” Comfort said after he learned about the outcome.

Comfort led by five votes, 337-332, at the end of election night, early in the morning of Nov. 4, but the outcome was not final because of 11 challenge ballots from Island City voters. These were ballots that were missing a signature or had a signature that needed to be verified before they could be counted. Voters had until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, to bring in challenge ballots for signature verification or for the purpose of adding a signature.

Of the 11 challenge ballots, five were rectified with the help of voters, allowing them to be counted. Two of these five voters did not vote in the Island City mayoral race, and the other three each voted for Comfort, Church said.

Comfort won a race that had been close all election evening 16 days ago. At one point the race was tied 299-299.

Comfort has lived in Union County since 1979. He and his wife, Deb, moved to Island City in 2010. Comfort works for his family’s business, Comfort Dental Lab, and has been a member of the city of Island City’s budget committee since 2018.

Comfort will succeed Delmer Hanson. Hanson was appointed mayor in August by Island City’s city council to fill the final five months of the unexpired two-year term of Robb Rea, who resigned July 31 because he was moving to Parma, Idaho, to take a new job. Hanson, who was not a candidate in this year’s election, previously served as mayor of Island City from January 2015 through January 2020.