SEQUIM — G. Michael Gawley led Sean Ryan in the Clallam County Fire District No. 3 commissioner race after the first ballot count Tuesday.
Gawley received 3,992 votes, or 58.43 percent, while Ryan had 2,840 votes, or 41.57 percent of the votes counted districtwide.
The district covers the area east of Deer Park Road to Gardiner in Jefferson County. Clalalm County registered voters number 23,639, while Jefferson County has 342 in the district.
The Clallam County Auditor’s Office counted 13,761 ballots on Tuesday night out of 47,481 mailed to registered voters, for a voter turnout of 29 percent in the all-mail election, Auditor Shoona Riggs said.
Another 3,998 ballots were processed but not counted Tuesday and perhaps 2,000 to 3,000 more were placed in drop boxes and await processing, she said.
More ballots are likely to arrive in the mail.
The next count will be by 4:30 p.m. Friday.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office counted 10,148 ballots on Tuesday night for a voter turnout of 44.17 percent, said Betty Johnson, elections coordinator, who said the office would not estimate how many might come in later in the week.
The next count will be at about noon Friday, she said.
Gawley, 72, of Sequim is retired from the Federal Aviation Administration.
He has served as commissioner since February 2014, has been a volunteer with the district since 2005.
Ryan, 53, of Port Angeles is a business owner, has been a district volunteer for eight years and ran for the same office unsuccessfully against James Barnfather in 2013.
District No. 3 commissioner is a six-year term with an maximum annual compensation of $10,944.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
