EAST PROVIDENCE — Not much had changed in East Providence almost two full days after the closing of polling places for the 2020 General Election and as the Board of Elections continued to count votes left by residents in drop boxes here and around the state.

Four of the five competitive races in city — three for School Committee and one for State Senate District 14 — would appear to be decided even as the BOE keeps tallying and officially certifies the results sometime early next week, an action it expects to do by Tuesday, Nov. 10 per a timeline the board released prior to the election.

Incumbents Joel Monteiro and Charlie Tsonos are almost assuredly headed back to the committee where they’re likely to be joined by newcomer Jenni Azanero.

The race between Ms. Azanero and Frank Fogarty was much closer than the aforementioned pair, but outside the recount margins. The attorney was still leading the matchup of first-time candidates by over 300 votes (2,465-2,160) as of November 5.

In the Senate race, incumbent Val Lawson earned a decisive win (7,878-2,966, 72.2%-27.2%) over challenger Major Pettaway.

The only race apparently still up for grabs is between School Committee Ward 2 seat holder Tony Ferreira and first-time candidate/challenger Max Brandle, the later maintaining a slim lead as he did early Wednesday morning, Nov. 4. As the close of business approached Wednesday, Mr. Brandle’s edge was 57 votes.

Rhode Island does not have automatic recount requirements. However, Mr. Ferreira could request one once the vote is certified as his race meets the following conditions: Offices for which only one candidate can be elected if the total number of votes cast for the office in question is less than or equal to 20,000, a candidate can request a recount if he or she trails the winning candidate by two percent of votes cast or 200 votes, whichever is less.

Ward 1 notes
In Ward 1, three-term incumbent Charlie Tsonos’ defeat of Michael Budziszek was 3,001-1,879 (60.6%-38.0%) as of Thursday, Nov. 5. There were 69 write-in votes, 1.4%.

For Mr. Tsonos, it was his fourth time being elected to the committee from Ward 1. He served on the committee previously from 2010-2012 before opting to run for State Rep District 63 in 2012, falling in a three-way race with eventual winner and current seat holder Kathryn Kazarian and Bobby Britto, who eventually became a city councilor. Ms. Kazarian ran unopposed this cycle, winning her fourth term in office. Mr. Britto last ran and won his council seat in 2018.

“I’m humbled by the turnout of support for my candidacy from the voters of Ward 1,” Mr. Tsonos said. “I work very hard. I put in a lot of time, and it seems they do appreciate what I’ve done. It’s very reassuring to feel that people understand that because you don’t know if they watch the meetings or are aware of what we do. I’m very much looking forward to my next term.”

At-Large notes
(Updated, Saturday, Nov. 7, 11:50 a.m.) Mr. Monteiro won a fifth successive term representing the entire city on the School Committee, his margin of victory over opponent Chrissy Rossi at 10,263-9,203 (52.3%-46.9%) as of Thursday. There were 163 write-in votes, .8 percent.

“I take a lot of pride in that,” Mr. Monteiro said of being elected five times in a row. “It shows me I’ve done some good stuff for some good people. One piece that helped me get through it this time is I had more people who I’ve never personally met reach out to me to express their support, whether it be for a sign location or just an email, saying that they were telling others about me. And I still haven’t met them, but that made me say, O.K., some people are paying attention. It hasn’t been all for naught.”

Mr. Monteiro was first elected in 2012 when he defeated Ronald Warr, 73.6%-26.4%. He next ran unopposed in 2014 before defeating Ms. Rossi for the first time, 51.5%-47.5%, in 2016. He again ran without opposition in 2018.

“I feel good about the accomplishment. It tells me I’m still making an impact,” Mr. Monteiro added. “I’ve had people who’ve supported me from day one, so I’m appreciative they’ve stuck with me. It shows me I haven’t let them down. The new ones on board, it shows me I’ve reached out to another segment of community, so that’s a good thing.”

Mr. Monteiro, as he noted during the campaign, said among his priorities were to focus on his shared oversight of the new East Providence High School project in his position as co-chairman of the building committee and to make the School Committee/District even more transparent with their actions than they currently are.

“I still think we can still can do more to let people know about what’s happening out there. We can always do a better job of getting informatio