The Hicksville Fire District will have to hold a runoff election to determine who will garner the position of fire commissioner after Tuesday's race resulted in a tie between incumbent Bobby Dwyer and challenger Bob Manson. A total of 1,742 residents braved the bitter December cold with 871 people voting for Dwyer and 871 voting for Manson.

Early results indicated victory for Dwyer with 869 votes to Manson's 864. Six provisional paper ballots (in which the street name had been incorrectly listed on the Nassau County Board of Elections (BOE) computerized registration list) were then counted; all six were for Manson, bringing his total to 870 votes - a one-vote win over Dwyer, said fire district attorney Joe Frank.

With such a tight race, voting officials took a closer look at all votes as well as 13 sealed provisional ballots belonging to residents whose names did not appear on the roster the BOE provided.

On Wednesday morning, the ballots were brought to BOE for review with Frank, district secretary Laura Hinde and both candidates present. Of the 13, three were proven to be valid while the other 10 were cast by non-registered voters, said Frank. The results of the three valid ballots was 2 to 1 in favor of Dwyer; therefore bringing the final tally to a tie.

In response to the election, Dwyer said he "wants to thank all the residents and brother fireman who came out in the cold and showed their support." He added that he hopes those residents who supported him will do so again at the runoff election.

Manson, who was disappointed that the results were not decided at Tuesday's election but looking forward to the runoff, said, "I'm proud of the turnout and grateful to the people who came out to vote for me. We'll see what happens."

According to Section 174 of Town of Oyster Bay Law, the district has 45 days to hold a runoff election. The Hicksville Board of Fire Commissioners, as of press time, has not yet set a date.