ALBANY PARK — Ald. Deb Mell (33rd) isn't immediately conceding that she is headed for an April runoff against her closest challenger, Tim Meegan.
Mell, who was appointed to the position after the retirement of her father, Dick Mell, from the City Council, figured she needs about 50 votes to avoid a runoff.
"There's still a bunch of absentee ballots. We'll have a better idea on Friday," Mell said.
Absentee ballots have to be postmarked by Feb. 23, but are accepted and counted until March 10, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
With all of the votes cast Tuesday counted, Mell had 49.7 percent of the vote, and Meegan had 34.5 percent of the vote.
Meegan, a social studies teacher at Roosevelt High School in Albany Park, characterized a runoff as "very winnable."
"We have the momentum. We've already done something historic," he said.
Meegan said he did best in the north and west parts of the ward and will be looking to pick up more voters in the southern portion, including in Avondale and Logan Square.
Mell was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Meegan, referring to Emanuel's opponent, Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, said, "We stood with Chuy before, and we will continue to do so."
Mell has said, "You can vote for Chuy and me."
On Election Night, Meegan said "tonight, people voted for a new direction."
"For too long, this ward has been represented by a machine that shuts the working families of the 33rd Ward out of the political process," he said. "My opponent had every possible advantage on her side. Money. Power. DNA. A 100 percent voting record with the mayor. What she didn't have was a record of standing up for the people she was supposed to represent."
Mell's tenure was distinctly different from her father's: She launched a new website, established a ward night and weekly newsletter and reached out to community groups for help in reviewing zoning projects.
She recalled knocking on the door of one voter during the election and ran into resistance because of her family name. After 15 minutes of talking to the voter, Mell said she was able to persuade the voter to cast a ballot for her.
"The more knocking on doors I do, and the more people get to know me," the more voters can seperate her from her father, she said.
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