PORT TOWNSEND — Even though there are only two active contenders in the Aug. 16 Port Townsend City Council primary election — and therefore it may seem the race is predetermined — there are still good reasons to mail in ballots, according to both the Jefferson County auditor and the candidates.
The primary reason is that one or both of the two candidates who have taken themselves out of the running could advance to the Nov. 8 general election, and someone who does not want the position could end up elected.
Washington state’s top-two primary narrows the field to the two candidates who get the most votes in the primary.
Those two go on to the general election.
After council member Laurie Medlicott announced she would not seek re-election, four candidates filed for the council position: Pamela Adams, Jack Range, Paul Richmond and Deborah Stinson.
Both Richmond, a Port Townsend attorney, and Adams, a retired chiropractor, withdrew after the withdrawal deadline, so their names remain on the ballot.
Richmond backed out of the race July 19, saying he could not devote the time necessary to a campaign.
Adams withdrew July 21 after she was informed she did not meet residency requirements.
If Adams were elected, she would not be able to serve on the council.
Both Richmond and Adams have stopped campaigning and have mentioned at candidate forums that the fight for Position 3 on the Port Townsend City Council is a two-person race.
However, voters could decide to vote for either of the withdrawn candidates, so Range and Stinson aren’t taking anything for granted.
“People are assuming that it will be me and Jack in the general election, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that we are going to get the most votes,” said Stinson, 55, a 2011 Heart of Service award recipient.
Said Range, a 25-year-old investigator: “I’m pushing ahead because I’m paranoid that I could get fewer votes than one of the candidates that isn’t running anymore.”
While the primary results won’t have an effect on who serves, both candidates will take note of the final numbers.
“If Jack gets more votes, I will think about where I need to work harder,” Stinson said.
“I will need to earn all my votes.”
Range thinks of himself as an underdog and does not expect to outpoll Stinson in the primary, he said.
“I will be energized and feel that I need to do more if I get fewer votes or surprised if I get more,” he said.
“I think I will do better in the general election because a lot of the people who endorsed Deborah didn’t know who I was at the time.”
Jefferson County Auditor Donna Eldridge said 6,840 ballots have been issued (including replacements) and that the election will cost between $11,600 and $13,000.
The cost of the election is determined by printing costs and staff time, she said.
Eldridge predicts a 57 percent voter turnout, which is higher than the state average.
“We have always had a high voter turnout in Jefferson County,” she said.
“It shows that people here value the process, and it gives us bragging rights.”
The highest turnout in the county was 91.27 percent in the 2008 general election.
Also on the Jefferson County ballot is an $8.4 million bond issue for the expansion and renovation of the Jefferson County Library.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
