About one-third of registered voters returned ballots in Tuesday’s general election, making their choices known in races ranging from city councils to school boards to ports.
Port Angeles City Council appointed incumbent Amy Miller was leading challenger Jim Haguewood 54.56 percent, or 2,592 votes, to 45.35 percent, or 2,155 votes.
Pam Petranek retained her Port of Port Townsend commission seat, a four-yer term, by a huge margin of 87.65 percent, or 7,387 votes, to Chuck Fauls’ 12 percent, or 1,011 votes.
Also winning by huge margins were two on the Port Townsend School Board. Incumbent Simon Little won 82.45 percent of the vote, or 3,759 votes, to Annie Bartos’ 17.37 percent, or 792 votes. And Matt Klontz won 81.49 percent, or 3,813 votes, to Nancy Papasodora, 18.36 percent, or 859 votes.
Port Townsend School Board incumbent Nathaneal L. O’Hara, won 2,531 votes, or 55.02 percent, to challenger Timothy S. Hawley’s 2,058 votes, or 44.7 percent.
A proposed sales tax increase on the Jefferson County ballot won handlily by 80.34 percent, or 2,660 votes, approval to 19.66 percent, or 651 votes opposed. The measure, which needed only a simple majority to pass, will raise the sales tax, which is now 9.1 percent, by 0.3 percent in Port Townsend to fund street and sidewalk improvements in the town.
Votes will continue to be counted this week, with the next count due by 5 p.m. Wednesday in Clallam County and 4 p.m. Thursday in Jefferson county.
Clallam County’s voter turnout was 36.82 percent, or 21,114 ballots returned out of 57,348 provided registered voters. Tuesday, 20,583 ballots were counted with 4,000 still on hand to count.
Jefferson County’s voter turnout was 34.38 percent, or 9,525 ballots returned out of 27,707 provided registered voters. An estimated 2,747 ballots were on hand to count.
Many races are uncontested, including two in which candidates had withdrawn but whose names remained on the ballot. That left Mark Ozias, with 13,020 votes, or 64.86 percent, in place as Clallam County commissioner against Stan McClain, who had withdrawn form the race, who took 34.82 percent, or 6,989 votes, and Sequim School Board member Michael Rocha, with 5,158 votes, or 51.2 percent, still seated as a Sequim School Board member. Sandra Kellso, who withdrew form the race several months ago, won 4,893 votes, or 48.57 percent.
One race listed as unopposed had an active write-in candidate. Chris Noble campaigned against Stan Williams for a position on the Port Angeles School Board. Williams won 3,616 votes, 64.48 percent, to the write-in’s 1,992 votes, or 35.52 percent.
The Sequim School District is largely in Clallam County but includes a few residents of East Jefferson County and so it drew votes from both counties.
• Sequim School Board District 1 race (four-year term), incumbent Larry Jeffryes, 6,757 votes, or 63.78 percent, and John Graham, 3,821 votes, or 36.06 percent.
• Sequim School Board Director at large Position 4 race (two-year unexpired term), incumbent Maren Halvorsen, 7,475 votes, or 70.95 percent, and Derek Huntington, 3,045 votes, or 28.9 percent.
Other contested race results as of Tuesday:
Clallam County
• Port of Port Angeles Commissioner District 3 (four-year term), incumbent Connie Beauvais, 10,619 votes, or 55.3 percent, and Lee Whetham, 8,536 votes, or 44.5 percent.
• Hospital District No. 1 (Forks) Commissioner Position 4 (six-year term), challenger Amy Kitchel Ruble won 604 votes, or 64.32 percent, to incumbent Sandy Schier’s 333 votes, or 35.46 percent
• Port Angeles City Council Position 6 race (four-year term), incumbent Navarra Carr, 2,667 votes, or 56.64 percent, and Mark Karjalainen, 2,038 votes, or 43.28 percent.
• Port Angeles City Council Position 7 race (four-year term), incumbent Brendan Meyer, 2,357 votes, or 51.9 percent, and Kalli Mae Jones, 2,165 votes, or 47.68 percent.
• Sequim City Council Position 1 race (four-year term), Kathy Downer, who currently holds Position 2, won 2,053 votes, or 74.22 percent, and incumbent William Armacost had 708 votes, or 25.6 percent.
• Sequim City Council Position 2 race (four-year term), Dan Butler, 1,744 votes, or 63.01 percent, and Jim Black, 1,023 votes, or 36.96 percent.
• Sequim City Council Position 6 race (four-year term), Harmony Rutter, 1,816 votes, or 66.25 percent, and Patrick Day, 923 votes, or 33.67 percent.
• Cape Flattery School District Director District 2 race (four-year term), Cathy Walde, 128 votes, or 54.7 percent, and incumbent Don Baker, 104 votes, or 44.44 percent.
• Clallam County Park and Recreation District 1 Commissioner Position 3 (four-year short and full term), Dick Neal, 3,341 votes, or 34.92 percent; Robert Kellso, 3,322 votes, or 34.72 percent; and Jason Bushman, 2,888 votes, or 30.18 percent.
Jefferson County
• Queets-Clearwater School District Director Position 5 race (two-year unexpired term), Sarah Charles, 11 votes, or 64.71 percent, to incumbent Rosemary Jackson, six votes, or 35.29 percent.
• Quilcene School District Director District 1 race (four-year term), Ron Frantz, 325 votes, or 71.12 percent, to Ronald Leon Jones’ 126 votes, or 27.57 percent.
• Quilcene School District Director District 4 race (four-year term), James Hodgson, 285 votes, or 57 percent, to Anne Bessey’s 214 votes, or 42.8 percent.
Results are on county auditor websites on addition to the Peninsula Daily News website at www.peninsuladailynews.com. Elections will be certified on Nov. 28.
