PORT TOWNSEND— One incumbent and one challenger are ahead in two races for the Jefferson Healthcare Board of Directors.
In Position 2, former Port Townsend Mayor Kees Kolff, 70, had a healthy lead over incumbent Jefferson Healthcare Commissioner Charles “Chuck” Russell, 73 in the initial count of ballots.
Kolff led the race with 4,844 votes, 53.77 percent, over Russell, who earned 4,125 votes, 45.79 percent.
Another hospital board incumbent, Mari Dressler, 69, could be returned to the Position 4 seat for a second term.
She was challenged by Paul Stafford, 48, owner of William James Bookseller in Port Townsend.
In early counts, Dressler earned 5,390 votes, 64.4 percent, over Stafford’s 2,955 votes, 35.3 percent.
“I’m very grateful for this support,” Kolff said.
“Having another set of fresh eyes and ears will broaden the perspective of the board and will allow it to look at problems and opportunities in a new way.”
Russell said that he hadn’t given up.
“From what I can tell Kees won Port Townsend, but I’m hoping to pull ahead when votes from the county are tabulated,” he said.
After the initial vote count, Elections Supervisor Betty Johnson said she did not expect the winning percentages would change.
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.
“We have chosen not to estimate how many may come in” later in the week, Johnson said.
The next count will be at about noon Friday, she said.
Russell, who was hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and later in Port Townsend after a Sept. 23 wreck on state Highway 104, was seeking a fourth six-year term on the commission.
After Russell was injured, Kolff put a hold on campaigning, returning only after Russell affirmed he was still in the race.
“I did the best I could do, but would have done better if I hadn’t had the wreck,” Russell said.
Kolff said that Russell’s accident had no bearing on the election.
Both Kolff and Stafford had aligned themselves with Commissioner Matt Ready, elected in 2013, with promises to implement stricter performance standards and cut expenses while looking for alternatives to the newly installed EPIC patient management system.
“Having Matt and myself on the board broadens its depth,” Kolff said.
“It will add some diversity to what has been a long-time unified board which will allow us to develop creative solutions.”
The Auditor’s Office has 19 ballots on hand that can not be counted until they are processed — meaning they must be duplicated, with tracking numbers to the original ballot, because the voter made a correction and the ballot tabulator can’t count it correctly.
The office also has 127 challenged ballots. The voter either didn’t sign the envelope or the signature doesn’t appear to match that of the voter’s record.
Letters were sent to all voters with challenged ballots. They have until Nov. 23, one day before the election is certified, to respond, Johnson said.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
