Single Vote Decides Boston City Council Recount

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BOSTON (AP/CBS) - Julia Mejia has won the contested Boston City Council seat by just one vote. The 49-year-old will become the city's first Latina councilor.

Officials with the city Board of Election Commissioners began recounting about 66,000 ballots on Saturday.

Council candidate Alejandra St. Guillen challenged the November election outcome after losing to Mejia by eight votes. The two had been vying for one of the council's four citywide, at-large seats.

After the recount, Mejia had 22,492 votes and St. Guillen had 22,491.

Both women are community activists. They submitted petitions with at least 50 voter signatures from each of the city's 22 wards in order to trigger the recount.

When Mejia takes office in January, the new council will boast both majorities of women and minorities for the first time.