Mary O’Connor defeated Maurita Gavin in a close race to replace retiring 41st Ward Alderman Brian Doherty in the runoff election held April 5.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, O’Connor received 7,332 of the votes, or 50.9 percent of the total against 7,067, or 49.1 percent, for Gavin, according to early results from the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

In the Feb. 22 election, O’Connor and Gavin finished ahead of nine other candidates to make the runoff, with O’Connor receiving 6,126 votes, or 30.5 percent of the ballots cast, to 5,022, or 25.0 percent for Gavin.

O’Connor is the 41st Ward Democratic committeeman and the owner of the O’Connor’s Deli and Market and Unforgettable Edibles Catering, 7280 W. Devon Ave. Gavin has served for 15 years as an administrative assistant to Doherty.

 Gavin ran on her experience working in the ward office and her knowledge of ward issues. O’Connor campaigned on improving the ward’s infrastructure, bringing in new businesses and helping residents navigate the city’s bureaucracy.

During the final weeks of the campaign, a flier circulating in the ward accused O’Connor of registering to vote at her business address so that she could vote in a referendum affecting the business, a claim that O’Connor called “false.” Gavin denied involvement in the publication of the flier and said that her campaign had been the victim of “robocalls” that misrepresented her views.