SEQUIM — The first count of votes on Election Night showed an incumbent leading her challenger by a healthy margin in their race for Sequim City Council.
For Position 7, incumbent Candace Pratt, 77, a retired bookkeeper, received 815 votes, or 57.72 percent of the vote, while James Russell, who provided no biographical information, received 597 votes, or 42.28 percent.
“I am very pleased,” Pratt said.
Russell could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
In the remaining two City Council races, clear frontrunners have emerged.
For Position 1, Pam Leonard-Ray, 56, had 818 votes, or 57.89 percent, while Brandon Jannise, 30, had garnered 595 votes, or 42.11 percent.
“I am excited that it looks like I may be on the Sequim City Council,” said Leonard-Ray, executive director of the Dungeness Valley Health & Wellness Clinic.
Jannise, a retail associate, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
For Position 2, John Miller, 60, received 784 votes, or 56.08 percent, while Susan Lorenzen, 61, had 614 votes, or 43.92 percent
Miller, a retiree of Safeway Inc., could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
“I am surprised,” said Lorenzen, who works as an independent distributor with AdvoCare.
“I guess I just didn’t get myself out there as much as I should have.”
She was disappointed with the voter turnout, which was less than 30 percent countywide, according to Clallam County Auditor Shoona Riggs.
“That is just disgusting,” Lorenzen said.
Statistics on voter turnout in the city of Sequim were unavailable Tuesday.
Incumbent Ken Hays, 61, who is running unopposed for Position 6, received 951 votes.
Countywide
The Clallam County Auditor’s Office counted 13,761 ballots Tuesday night out of 47,481 mailed to registered voters, for a voter turnout of 29 percent in the all-mail election, 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 at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
