Voters in three Island towns affirmed their support for the housing bank last week with a decisive win at the ballot box, while a razor-thin margin of victory in the Oak Bluffs select board race is headed for a recount on Monday.

In a preliminary election tally, incumbent Oak Bluffs select board member Gail Barmakian had edged challenger Dion Alley by just two votes, 505-503. A third candidate, Jim Bishop, received 49 votes after dropping out two days before the election. Mr. Alley said on election night that he would seek a recount.

Town clerks in Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and West Tisbury released official election results this week following Thursday's election.

In West Tisbury, select board candidate Jessica Miller easily defeated Christopher Lyons and James Klingensmith to fill out the remaining one-year term of Kent Healy, who died in October. Ms. Miller had 604 votes, while Mr. Lyons got 197 and Mr. Klingensmith, 56. “I feel happy and I’m glad the campaigning is over,” Ms. Miller told the Gazette after the results were in. “I’m ready to serve my town,” she said, noting that she had been inspired by her friendship and discussions with Mr. Healy.

Turnout for town elections was relatively low, ranging from just 16 per cent in Edgartown, where there were no contested races, to 32 per cent in West Tisbury, according to official results. In Oak Bluffs, 26 per cent of registered voters turned out. Chilmark holds its election next week, and Aquinnah and Tisbury have elections in May.

Voters who went to the polls were strongly supportive of the housing bank initiative, which would finance more affordable housing on the Vineyard with a new two per cent transfer fee on most real estate transactions over $1 million. The proposal was endorsed overwhelmingly last week at four town meetings, but needs approval at both town meeting and the ballot box by at least four towns to be sent to the state legislature as a home rule petition.

According to official election results released this week, the housing bank proposal passed 473-193 in Edgartown, 775-285 in Oak Bluffs and 688-194 in West Tisbury.

Housing bank coalition coordinator Laura Silber hailed the results following the vote. “We’re incredibly grateful to the voters . . . for supporting this so vigorously,” she said.

Much as they were at town meeting, voters were in a generous mood. In West Tisbury, voters agreed 664-194 to a Proposition 2 1/2 tax override to spend $423,000 on plans to renovate the Howes House senior center, and Oak Bluffs voters authorized the town to borrow money to engineer, design and bid a replacement for the Oak Bluffs School boiler.

Voters in Oak Bluffs and West Tisbury also gave a hearty endorsement to nonbinding ballot questions calling on the owner of the Pilgrim nuclear power plan to withdraw plans to discharge radioactive waste into Cape Cod Bay. The vote was 999-45 in Oak Bluffs and 821-29 in West Tisbury. The question was not on the ballot in Edgartown.

The only real drama in the election was in Oak Bluffs, where Ms. Barmakian appeared to squeak back into a fifth term in the tightest town select board race in recent memory.

In the only other contested race on the ballot, incumbent Mark Crossland held onto his seat on the planning board, easily defeating challenger Scott Slarsky, 649-216.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity of being able to serve another term,” Ms. Barmakian said following the vote Thursday. “Dion did a great job.”

While Mr. Alley sought a recount, he also pledged to accept the results with grace. “We can disagree but what we can all agree on is that we’re on this Island,” Mr. Alley said. “I’ll continue to serve . . . and support the town however they may need me in the future. It’s very humbling that so many people in the town voted for me.”

On Wednesday this week, town constable Maura McGroarty posted notice of the recount, which will take place at the Oak Bluffs Public Library at 11 a.m. on Monday.

Town clerk Colleen Morris said poll workers will do a complete hand count of the 1,091 town election ballots cast.

“It’s just like an election where I have [poll workers] all come in . . . I swear them all in,” the town clerk said.

Edgartown Results

Michael Donaroma, select board, three years, 461; Donna Goodale, board of assessors, three years, 552; Candace Nichols, board of health, one year, 530; William Bishop, constable, three years, 569; Steven Jordan, financial advisory committee, three years, 465; Julia Tarka, financial advisory committee, three years, 479; Olga Church, library trustee, three years, 499; Maggie Morrison, library trustee, three years, 515; Steve Ewing, land bank representative, three years, 582 (top vote getter); Glen Searle, park commissioner, three years, 562; Lucy Morrison, planning board, five years, 551; Laura Seguin, school committee, three years, 511; Glen Searle, wastewater commissioner, three years, 549; Scott Ellis, water commissioner, three years, 574.

Oak Bluffs Results

Elected without contest were: Kristen Beaumont Reimann, land bank commission, three years, 784; James D. Butterick, board of health, three years, 774; Richard D. Combra Jr., park commission, three years, 759; Rizwan A. Malik, school committee, three years, 672; William A. Alwardt, wastewater commission, three years, 741; Michael S. DeBettencourt, water district commission, three years, 843; Duncan Ross, water district moderator, three years, 779.

A number of contests were decided by write-in ballots, including:

Mimi Davisson, finance and advisory committee, three years, 46; Sean DeBettencourt, finance and advisory committee, three years, 40; Mike Taus, finance and advisory committee, three years, 38; Dion Alley, finance and advisory committee, two years, 10; James R. Fitzgerald, finance and advisory committee, two years, 10; Christopher Gibson, cemetery commission, 10; John McKeown, constable, three years, 6. (As of Wednesday afternoon, Mr. McKeown had yet to accept the position).

There was an eight-way tie for a two-year position as constable. One write-in ballot each was cast for Betsy Buck, John Freeman, Raymond J. Moreis Jr., John McKeown, Joe Carter, Alex Palmer, Xavier Powers and Garri Saganenko. Ms. Morris said the appointment will be left to the select board.

West Tisbury Results

Daniel A. Waters, moderator, one year, 808; Cynthia Mitchell, select board, three years, 744; Jessica Miller, board of health, 768; Larry Shubert, board of assessors, three years, 3 (write-in); Tara Whiting-Wells, town clerk, one year, 798; Jeremiah Brown, tree warden, one year, 753; Mark Hap Bernard, parks and recreation committee, three years, 711; Matthew Merry, planning board, five years, 704, Heikki Soikkeli, planning board, five years, 637; Amy M. Upton, planning board, three years, 683; Frances A. Finnegan, library trustee, three years, 696; Micah Solomon Thanhauser, library trustee, three years, 657; Emily Fern Fischer, library trustee, one year, 752; Clark R. Rattet, finance committee, three years, 674; Jeffrey Skipper Manter, finance committee, three years, 6 (write-in).

Aidan Pollard, Louisa Hufstader, Bill Eville and Zach Harris contributed reporting.