Shannel Evans and Kevin Arnold get to work recounting ballots. The ballots have been recounted. The numbers are the same. Angel Hubbard is still the winner of Monday’s Ward 3 alder race.Angel Hubbard, watching the count: "The turtle won." Miguel Pittman: "Where is the mayor?" City election officials confirmed Hubbard’s victory during a recount, or ​“recanvass,” held Friday at the municipal office building at 200 Orange St.At the polls on Monday, Hubbard beat Miguel Pittman 162 to 146 to win a special election to fill the Hill alder seat left empty when Ron Hurt resigned earlier this summer. (That vote tally included not just in-person votes on Monday, but also early and absentee ballots.)Because the margin was less than 20 votes, the city had to recount all cast ballots by hand. That work was done on Friday. That recount occurred at 200 Orange St. in room G4 at 10 a.m., with Democratic Registrar of Voters Shannel Evans and city Election Moderator Kevin Arnold splitting the ballots between the two to count. Around ten minutes into the recount, Evans and Arnold switched piles to double check, removing ballots that had no vote casted for either candidate or ballots that had both candidates voted for.The two candidates eyed the table as Evans and Arnold sifted through the votes. Pittman and Hubbard did no more than glance at each other, with no greetings exchanged. Both, however, watched anxiously and bounced their legs at numerous points over the half hour.Hubbard, the ward’s Democratic Ward Committee co-chair and a home healthcare provider, was joined by her sister, Robin, as well as the Hill’s Ward 4 Alder Evelyn Rodriguez and Fair Haven’s Ward 16 Alder José Crespo. When asked how she was feeling during the middle of the recount, Hubbard shrugged her shoulders. Then, she pointed to her shirt, displaying ​“Psalm 139:14” and the word ​“EMERGE.”“I just want to emerge,” she said.Pittman, who co-runs Sandra’s Next Generation restaurant on Congress Avenue and is a long-time civically engaged member of the Hill community, arrived with his wife and co-restaurateur Sandra. When asked how he was feeling, Pittman responded quickly: ​“I’m feeling great.”While Evans and Arnold counted the ballots, Pittman asked nine questions. Eight of those questions probed Evans and Arnold about the specifics of the recount process happening before him. One instead asked about one of Hubbard’s endorsers, Mayor Justin Elicker.“I have a question,” Pittman said, looking in Hubbard’s direction. ​“Why isn’t the mayor here?”Hubbard did not respond to this question at the moment, though she grabbed her sister’s hand. Her sister whispered: ​“Is that supposed to be a joke?”Evans and Arnold concluded that the count on Monday evening was accurate. Hubbard had 150 poll votes, two early votes, nine absentee votes, and one hand vote for a total of 162. Pittman had 131 poll votes, seven early votes, seven absentee votes, and one hand vote for a total of 146. Hubbard had Pittman beat by 16 votes.After the confirmed loss, Pittman shared that he intended to run again for alder in the next election cycle, noting that the race is not a ​“sprint” but a ​“marathon.” (The current two-year aldermanic term runs through the end of 2025. The next general election for Ward 3 alder, and all city alder seats, will be held in November 2025.) As to his question about the mayor, he stated that Hubbard’s campaign was not her own, but instead, the mayor’s.“She had two state reps who backed her candidacy. [She] had two alders which backed her. And also [she] had the mayor also in place. When you look at the dynamics of that, you’re looking at a five to one,” Pittman said. ​“We went against the machine.”When asked if he would work with Hubbard now that she’s officially won the election, Pittman paused.Then, he responded: ​“To be quite honest, I don’t need to work with Angel. If anything, Angel needs to work with me … Even though she has the numbers, she doesn’t have the same skill set.”Hubbard said she was excited to work with the Board of Alders, especially on work surrounding New Haven Public Schools, mental health resources, and the opioid addiction treatment center the APT Foundation. As of right now, she intends to run again for alder next year. To the residents of Ward 3 who did not vote for her, Hubbard said that she hopes that her work over the next months will convince them to change their minds. But as for this race right now…“It was a race between the turtle and the rabbit,” Hubbard said, as she left with her sister. ​“And the turtle won.”Hubbard, post-win with sister Robin. Pittman next to wife Sandra, on the right: "I have another question."