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Watertown city council race too close to call

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The crowded Watertown city council race that featured eight candidates at one point didn’t get any clarity last night. The race was too close to call.

Shane Garrabrant and Doug Osbourne are the top two vote-getters for two seats. But Peter Monaco trails by fewer than 60 votes. And according to WWNY-TV, there are still 231 absentee ballots that will need to be counted.

The hotly contested race comes after years of high-profile controversies in Watertown government, including a criminal probe into the council’s vote to buy a golf course, a personal ethics complaint against a sitting member, and public enmity between council members themselves, and between council members and the mayor.

The two winners will replace council members Lisa Ruggiero and Cliff Olney.

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