PORT ANGELES — Incumbent Deb Kelly and challenger Larry Freedman appeared to be leading the race to vie on the November ballot for Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney, after the first primary election votes were counted Tuesday.
Kelly, a Republican, pronounced herself happy but not surprised with her 51.69 percent — 7,852 votes — while Freedman took 28.35 percent, or 4,306 votes.
Lauren Erickson had 3,032 votes, or 19.96 percent.
The primary narrows the contest to the two candidates who receive the most votes. They will — regardless of party affiliation, even in partisan races — compete in the Nov. 2 general election.
Freedman, as he left the Clallam County Courthouse, offered a theory about who was winning and why.
“If you look carefully at the results on every single local race, the one who had the most signs won,” he said, adding that he believes half his campaign placards were stolen.
Freedman, a Democrat, added that the prosecuting attorney race results were divided along party lines, so he’ll “need some crossover votes.”
His campaign now will be about “getting out and meeting the people,” said the 72-year-old Sequim attorney.
As for Kelly, “what I’m going to talk about is what I’ve been talking about: the good things our office has done.”
The prosecutor emphasized that she has a 91 percent conviction rate over the past three and a half years and added, “we’re more vigorously prosecuting violent and sex offenders.”
Erickson, an administrative law judge and Port Angeles attorney, congratulated Freedman and Kelly on Tuesday night, and said she looks forward to an “interesting” race going into November.
“I’m glad I ran,” added the 54-year-old Democrat.
Yet the race isn’t quite over.
By Tuesday’s end, the Clallam County Auditor Patty Rosand’s office still had in hand the 3,690 ballots that were returned that day, after counting 16,457. The total of 20,149 ballots returned constituted an Election Day voter turnout of 43.98 percent.
Rosand is confident that by Friday, her prediction of a 50 percent turnout will be fulfilled.
Kelly’s challengers have accused her of wasting taxpayer dollars and of putting her office into disarray; Erickson said her poor management has resulted in “an absurd level of turnover,” while Freedman noted that an age-discrimination lawsuit against the prosecutor’s office led to excessive legal costs — reportedly more than $400,000.
“There is always room for improvement,” Kelly has said, though she believes the prosecuting attorney’s office is better-run than ever before.
She said that she has become the first to “extensively cross-train personnel, document basic office procedures, enact policies providing consistency in the handling of criminal matters and routinely hold employees accountable for behavior and performance.”
The prosecuting attorney’s post pays $121,877 per year.
Kelly, Clallam County’s prosecuting attorney since 2003, is running for her third term as caretaker of a budget that this year is $1.23 million, with an office with 24 staff members.
________
Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
