On Wednesday, May 28 Michelle Ouellette will find out if she did indeed lose her seat on the School Committee by one vote

The Town Clerk’s office will conduct a recount of the election results on that day following a petition from Ouellette. She lost to fellow School Committee member Christine Winters who earned 480 voters to Ouellette’s 479. Marion’s town election was held May 16.

“I was kind of in shock,” Ouellette said. “Losing by a lot would have been one thing. Losing by one vote is kind of surreal.”

Recounts occur when a candidate gathers the signatures of 10 registered voters in town and submits that petition to the Town Clerk. Candidates have a 10-day deadline from the election to submit the papers.

Ouellette said she has great respect for Winters and top vote getter Kate Houdelette, who garnered 593 votes. Houdelette is a Lockheed Martin analyst and mother of two girls who currently attend Sippican School.

“When Kate took out [election] papers I said to myself someone had to lose and I knew it was going to be a difficult choice for voters,” Ouellette said. She has a child in Sippican School and another in the junior high.

With the margin so close she asked for a recount to make sure the results were accurate. Town Clerk Ray Pickles told her the town's voting machines will sometimes not count ballots if voters don’t completely fill in the ovals near a candidate’s name.

Ouellette said she hopes to maintain her seat.

“The hardest part if I do lose, is realizing that I’m done,” she said. “I feel like I’m walking away from the table and that’s not in my nature to walk away from something.”

A volunteer at St. Gabriel’s Church and full-time educator, Ouellette said she was devoted to improving the education for all students in town. Prior to her time on the School Committee she was a member of the School Council for two years.

Pending the recount, Ouellette is one of two incumbents who were sent home.

Planning Board member Ted North earned a low of 425 votes in that board’s race. Three challengers ­– Michael Popitz, Rob Lane, and Eileen Marum – are now Planning Board members with votes of 582, 635, and 513, respectively. Last year, North sought a seat on the Board of Selectmen alongside Dale Jones and incumbent Jon Henry.

This year, incumbent Steve Cushing faced a challenge from Jones. Cushing held onto his seat by a vote of 473 to 397.

Uncontested races for the Board of Health, Town Moderator, Tree Warden and Town Clerk were all won by the incumbents.