PORT TOWNSEND — David Stanko held a 468-vote lead over Wendy Davis after the initial vote count in the race to succeed Tony Hernandez as Jefferson County sheriff.
In the first count released just after 8 p.m., Stanko earned 6,361 votes, or 51.51 percent, over Davis’ 5,893 votes, or 47.72 percent.
Another 2,000 ballots are expected to come in later this week with the next count scheduled Thursday unless all ballots in hand can be processed earlier, according to Auditor Donna Eldridge.
“I’m waiting for the count on Thursday to make sure that our margin is still there,” Stanko said.
“The good people of Jefferson County have spoken, but it appears we have until the next count for them to decide who will be the next Jefferson County sheriff.
“We don’t want to make a celebratory announcement until we are sure that we’ve won.”
Davis did not return calls for comment Tuesday night.
Davis, 47, of Port Ludlow is currently human resources manager for Port Ludlow Associates.
She served in the Bremerton Police Department as a sergeant and also in the Poulsbo Police Department, first as deputy chief and then as a sergeant.
Stanko, 66, retired in 2004 from the Fullerton (Calif.) Police Department.
He lives in Cape George and is an active volunteer who was named 2011 Citizen of the Year by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office counted 13,402 ballots Tuesday out of 22,207 issued for a voter turnout of 58.64 percent.
The next count has been scheduled for about 2 p.m. Thursday unless staff can process all the ballots that come in Wednesday, in which case a count will be done that day, Eldridge said.
The campaign focused on the individual candidates’ experience, Stanko claiming a background in running a large department and a jail and Davis saying that her background was more in touch with local law enforcement practices.
The partisan job has a four-year term and pays $87,563.
Former Sheriff Tony Hernandez resigned and is working now as the police chief of Milton, near Tacoma.
Chief Criminal Deputy Joe Nole is serving as acting sheriff.
Once the winner is determined, that person will be sworn in after the election is certified Nov. 25 for the remainder of Hernandez’ term and again on Jan. 2 for the full four years.
Both candidates are running as Democrats although Stanko has announced his intention to run as an Independent should he be elected and run for a second term in 2018.
Stanko suspended his primary election campaign for several weeks after the county Democratic Party endorsed Davis.
Davis’ personnel records came under scrutiny during the campaign.
She had been threatened with termination twice in Poulsbo, but she was not fired.
She agreed to a demotion to sergeant from deputy chief because of an affair with a sergeant she supervised.
Stanko’s records were not available. Personnel files are destroyed five years after employees leave the department.
During the campaign, Stanko stated several times that he did not condone personal attacks on Davis and called for a discussion of issues and qualifications.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
