ALBANY PARK — The fat lady has sung.
With all provisional and late-arriving vote-by-mail ballots counted, Dick Mell has been ousted as 33rd Ward Democratic committeeman, a post he'd held for 40 years.
The final tally, which concluded Tuesday, gave Aaron Goldstein a razor-thin margin of victory: 5,457 votes or 50.23 percent for Goldstein versus 5,407 or 49.77 percent for Mell.
The Chicago Board of Elections will issue its official proclamation on April 5.
In 2012, Mell won the committeeman race with fewer than 2,000 votes. In the 2016 primary, nearly 11,000 total votes were cast.
Goldstein ran for committeeman on a platform of transparency and accountability, vowing to end the "political dynasty" that had ruled the ward for decades. He was endorsed by Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) and Northside Democracy for America.
A former Cook County public defender and defense attorney for now-imprisoned Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Goldstein previously ran for state representative in the 40th District. He was bested in that race by Jaime Andrade, a one-time Mell staffer.
Mell served on City Council from 1975 to 2013 as 33rd Ward alderman, a post now held by his daughter Deb Mell. Another daughter, Patti, is married to Blagojevich.
The committeeman office, once a clout-heavy position thanks to the now illegal practice of doling out patronage jobs, still wields a significant amount of influence.
As "ward boss" for the Democratic or Republican party, the committeeman plays a crucial role in slating candidates and getting out the vote during local, state and national elections.
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