PORT TOWNSEND — A proposed levy lid lift to support fire and emergency services in the city of Port Townsend is among the three questions that likely won’t be decided until Tuesday’s general election is certified on Nov. 29, said the county auditor after a third count of ballots today.
The proposed levy lid lift had been approved by seven votes after today’s count — one less than in the Wednesday count — with 2,086, or 50.08 percent, voting to approve it, and 2,079, or 49.92 percent, voting to reject it.
Deborah Stinson, 56, was leading Jack Range, 25, by 19 votes for a seat on the Port Townsend City Council.
Stinson, who won the Jefferson County Heart of Service award earlier this year, had 1,967 votes, or 50.03 percent, while Range, an investigator for Jefferson Associated Counsel, had 1,948 votes, or 49.54 percent.
The two seek the Position 3 seat vacated by Laurie Medlicott.
An automatic recount will take place if the final vote spread is less than half of 1 percent.
In the race for a Quilcene Fire District commission seat, retired firefighter Herb Beck, 73, maintained a slight lead over Deborah Randall, 47, who was appointed to the commission in August 2010.
Beck had six more votes than Randall, having won 383 votes, or 49.87 percent, to Randall’s 377 votes, or 49.09 percent.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office had no ballots on hand left to count today, said Auditor Donna Eldridge, who added that more could arrive in the mail or that challenged ballots could be cleared.
Currently 19 votes from Port Townsend and 69 votes from the unincorporated area of the county fall in the challenge category, ballots that have been improperly signed or authenticated.
No more counts will take place until 250 ballots arrive or the certification deadline occurs, Eldridge said.
At that point, if the levy lid lift is approved, even by a small margin, it will go into effect, since passage is by a simple majority of votes, Eldridge said.
The levy lid lift would authorize a maximum levy rate for collection in 2012 of $2.4868 per $1,000 assessed value, an increase of about 43 cents per $1,000 assessed value.
The increase is restricted to providing for fire protection, prevention and emergency services by contract with East Jefferson Fire-Rescue to match the contribution of residents in the unincorporated area of East Jefferson County.
Eldridge also said that if Beck maintains his lead, then he will win the seat, since the margin in that race is greater than one-half of 1 percent.
Beck not only served for three decades as a volunteer with Jefferson’s Fire District No. 2, he was also a Port of Port Townsend commissioner for 36 years.
Randall is the only commissioner who is not facing a recall action.
She serves with Commissioners Mike Whittaker and David Ward. A Kitsap County judge ruled last month that a recall action can proceed against Whittaker and Ward, a ruling that could be appealed.
Countywide, 14,406 ballots, or 60.44 percent of the 21,683 ballots issued to registered voters, have been returned.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
