No recounts in tight Fort Thomas, Elsmere, Erlanger mayoral races

In Kentucky, local races don't have to be particularly close to qualify for a recount. But when election results are determined by just a few votes, a recount could change everything.

Three mayoral race results in Northern Kentucky were particularly close.

In Fort Thomas, the mayor won by 25 votes. Only 13 votes decided the race in Elsmere. And the Erlanger mayor was decided by 56 votes.

Fort Thomas mayor shakeup

Fort Thomas mayor-elect Sharon MacKnight beat out Andy Ellison for the job in a tight race for the office on Election Day.

Ellison was unanimously appointed Fort Thomas interim mayor in December 2025 by his city council colleagues. He took office after longtime Mayor Eric Haas vacated the position due to health reasons.

While he could ask for a recount, he told The Enquirer he has no plans to do so.

"I have faith in the county offices that do the count to begin with," he said. "The people that come out and vote, voted for who they wanted and this is the result."

MacKnight, who has not previously held office, was elected amid the city's messy financial picture.

This year, a $847,335 financial discrepancy was discovered by a third-party auditor. No wrongdoing was found and the discrepancy was eventually chalked up to years of inaccurate bookkeeping, LINK nky reported.

But the issue raised questions about transparency, communication and efficiency within the city government.

'Chicken man' versus longtime Elsmere mayor

Eric Bunzow, who's known as the Elsmere chicken man, drives a hot pink Tesla. He's a gay Republican who lives in socially conservative Northern Kentucky. And he nearly beat 16-year incumbent Marty Lenhof for mayor.

Lenhof won with 788 votes to Bunzow's 775 votes on Election Day.

"I trust the system. I worked it and I lost," he told The Enquirer.

Bunzow said the fact that the race was so close was enough for him to stay involved in politics and maybe run for office again.

"There were 775 people that trusted me to run the city," he said. "I'm not going away."

Erlanger Mayor Jessica Fette was on city council for two years before she was elected mayor in 2019.

She won reelection with 2,877 votes to City Councilwoman Diana Niceley's 2,821 votes.

Niceley told The Enquirer she would not ask for a recount.

"I trust our Kenton County Board of Elections wholeheartedly," she said.

The close race comes after Fette came under fire from colleagues this year.

She publicly feuded with Erlanger Councilwoman Jennifer Jasper-Lucas in May, FOX19 Now reported.

Last month, an IT specialist with the city accused Fette of illegally tampering with a public records request, the news site reported. The Kentucky Attorney General's office declined to comment on whether there is an investigation against Fette.