First-time candidate Emily Essi leads Onondaga County Clerk Lisa Dell as the race is headed to a recount.

First-time candidate and Democrat Emily Essi leads the race for Onondaga County clerk by 83 votes over incumbent Lisa Dell.

The race is headed for a recount, according to Onondaga County Board of Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny. Recounts are triggered when the margin of the votes equals less than .5% of the total vote.

Not all absentee ballots requested in the race have been returned.

Essi declared victory over Dell at about 11 p.m.

Dell has served as Onondaga County clerk since 2015. Before that, she was elected twice to be the Lysander town clerk and spent seven years in that role. She also spent 20 years as a Baldwinsville police officer. In 2021, Dell launched and quickly ended a bid to the the county sheriff.

Essi has worked as a senior grant and data specialist at Home HeadQuarters since 2021. She grew up in the city of Syracuse and graduated from Nottingham High School.

A key part of her campaign, Essi said, focused on explaining the duties of the clerk to voters and her push to prioritize transparency, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and better customer service for residents.

“My father comes from the Middle East. I come from the city schools myself,” she added. “I’m going to be somebody who represents a lot more for this county.”

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Eddie Velazquez is a Syracuse journalist covering economic justice in the region. He is focused on stories about organized labor, and New York's housing and childhood lead poisoning crises. You can follow...