PORT ANGELES — After a third round of ballot counting on Monday, the race for a Port of Port Angeles commission seat appears headed toward a recount as incumbent and board president John Calhoun charged back from a 196-vote deficit to take a nine-vote lead in a neck-and-neck battle with Brad Collins.
The Max Mania-Edna Petersen Port Angeles City Council race remained too close to call, with Mania leading Petersen by just 32 votes — 2,713 to 2,681 votes — or 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent, for the Position 2 seat.
Port Angeles City Council incumbent Betsy Wharton congratulated Brooke Nelson on her victory after Nelson maintained her 119-vote lead over the deputy mayor in Monday’s tally, in which 10 more ballots from Port Angeles were counted.
Round 4 of the all-mail general election ballot count will take place today, when 75 ballots — 15 from Port Angeles — are to be counted.
The Clallam County Auditor’s Office counted 1,956 ballots countywide Monday, most of them from the West End and Sequim areas.
Another 159 ballots with missing or invalid signatures also remain outstanding. Voters who returned those ballots have been notified and have until Nov. 23 to fix them.
Also, ballots cast by Clallam County residents in the military are still trickling in. Military ballots must be received by Nov. 24, when the election will be closed and certified.
Calhoun now leads his challenger by 9,232 votes, or 50.02 percent, to Collins’ 9,223 votes, or 49.98 percent, for the seat, which has a six-year term.
Automatic recount
Any race that ends with less than a half of a percentage-point difference goes to an automatic machine recount.
A race that ends within a quarter of a percentage point goes to an automatic hand recount, said David Ammons, spokesman for the state Secretary of State.
The Calhoun-Collins race for a seat on the three-member port commission is the only race in Clallam County whose difference is less than a half of a percentage point.
“It’s hard on everybody,” said Calhoun, 65. “It’s hard on all of the candidates, of course, and it’s hard on families. The uncertainty is difficult to deal with.”
Said Collins, 61: “I think we knew it was going to be close all along, but I guess we didn’t think it’d be this close.”
A total of 25,518 ballots have been returned of the 45,739 mailed to registered voters, for a voter turnout countywide of 55.79 percent.
PA council
On the Port Angeles City Council, all but the Mania-Petersen race has been decided, with Nelson, Larry Little and Patrick Downie winning seats.
Petersen, 69, who owns Necessities and Temptations gift shop in Port Angeles, said the race is headed to “extra innings.”
“It just keeps bouncing around,” said Petersen, who had an 11-vote lead on election night. “It’s a most interesting race.”
Mania, a 41-year-old grocery store clerk and writer, isn’t ready to call the election either.
“The saga continues,” Mania said. “I’m prepared to claim victory when it’s done.”
Wharton conceded to Nelson after Monday’s count showed Nelson leading by 2,737 votes, or 51.11 percent, to Wharton’s 2,618 votes, or 48.89 percent.
“I wish her all the success in the world,” said Wharton, 49, a registered nurse.
Nelson’s campaign claimed victory after Friday’s count.
Nelson, 37, a Port Angeles real estate agent, has not been available for comment because she is grieving over the deaths of her son and mother in a car wreck last month, campaign spokesman, Dylan Honnold, has said.
Wharton thanked her supporters.
“I have appreciated the opportunity to serve the community, and will continue to do so in the future.”
Also claiming victory after Friday’s count were Little, 55, a retired dentist, and Downie, 67, the program coordinator for Catholic Community Services/Volunteer Services and a former city Planning Commission chairman.
Little and Downey’s opponents — Cody Blevins and Harry Bell — conceded defeat on Friday.
There were no substantial changes in the other election races on Monday.
A candidate trailing by more than a half of a percentage point can ask for a recount, but he or she would have to pay for it. The cost is 25 cents a ballot for a hand-recount and 15 cents a ballot for a machine recount, County Auditor Patty Rosand said.
If the results of the election change, the amount of the ballot recount is refunded.
It is uncommon for a candidate to pay for a recount, Rosand said.
Candidates waiting
Back in the close race for port commissioner, Cahoun watched a 48-vote lead on election night turn into a 196-vote deficit on Friday.
The Forks man who directs the University of Washington Natural Resources Center had expected to fare well on Monday because of the number of outstanding ballots from Forks.
He did not expect to take the lead, however.
“I’m really surprised the vote swung back,” Calhoun said.
“I’m a pretty mature guy. I think I will survive this one way or another.”
Calhoun said he and Collins ran a strong, clean campaign and that he has no regrets.
The candidates have agreed to “hang in there” until the winner is clear, Calhoun said.
Collins, deputy director of resource development for the Serenity House of Clallam County and a former Port Angeles city community development director, agreed.
“I guess we’ll wait and see,” Collins said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
