PORT TOWNSEND — Deborah Stinson defeated Jack Range for the Port Townsend City Council by 20 votes, Herb Beck squeaked by Deborah Randall with a five-vote lead for Fire District No. 3 commissioner in Quilcene, and the city of Port Townsend’s levy lid lift for fire and emergency services was approved by eight votes.
Those were the results Tuesday morning after the Jefferson County elections canvassing board reviewed and certified the results of the Nov. 8 general election, finalizing the results of the closest contests.
The results three weeks after the election ended the suspense in two contests and a ballot question — all of which had been too close to call.
Auto recount unnecessary
No automatic recount will be necessary, elections officials said, because Stinson won her race by 0.51 percent and Beck won by 0.65 percent.
The threshold for an automatic recount is a margin of 0.50 percent or less, according to state law.
The city levy needed only a simple majority to pass, said Jefferson County Auditor Donna Eldridge.
“No recount, so that’s good,” said a smiling Stinson, who breathed a sigh of relief shortly after the County Auditor’s Office tallied the final votes.
“My new nickname is ‘Landslide Deborah,’” she quipped.
She immediately added a serious comment: “The community really does matter to me, and that’s why I ran. I learned a lot from the community during the campaign.”
Final canvass
Stinson and fellow Port Townsend City Council member-elect Robert Gray, who defeated Deputy Mayor George Randels in the Nov. 8 election, observed the final vote canvass at County Auditor Donna Eldridge’s office, which took about an hour beginning at 8:30 a.m.
They were the only candidates attending the canvassing board review.
Range, 25, later congratulated Stinson, 56, saying, “I think she’s going to be awesome.
“I think it was a really excellent race, and my presence in it really established what the values are right now for the people of Port Townsend.”
Stinson defeated Range by 1,979 votes, or 50.04 percent, to Range’s 1,959 votes, or 49.53 percent.
Beck-Randall race
Beck won with 383 votes, or 49.80 percent, to Randall’s 378 votes, or 49.15 percent.
Beck, 73, was a Port of Port Townsend commissioner for 36 years and a volunteer firefighter in Quilcene for almost 30 years.
“If you want to win an election, you gotta go door to door,” Beck said, thanking his supporters.
“That’s what I did.”
He said he looked forward to interviewing candidates to fill the open fire chief position.
He said he would not be one to watch over the new chief’s shoulder.
“I’m a firm believer that once the meeting is over, I become John Q. Public once again,” he said.
Recall effort
He also wants to help lead the board through a recall election, if one materializes.
“One of the main questions people asked me was about the recall,” Beck said.
“It’s kind of a black cloud over the department, and I want to get that removed as quickly as possible.”
Randall, 47, who was appointed to the commission in August 2010, was not available for comment Tuesday.
She serves with Commissioners Mike Whittaker and David Ward but was not part of a recall effort to oust the other two commissioners.
A Kitsap County judge ruled in October that a recall action can proceed against Whittaker and Ward, a ruling that could be appealed.
City levy lid lift
The levy lid lift passed by 2,098 votes, or 50.10 percent approving it, to 2,090 votes, or 49.90 percent rejecting it.
Mayor Michelle Sandoval was happy with the results.
“The voters saw fit to match what the county residents are already paying for fire services, and that makes it considerably easier to manage the general fund budget,” Sandoval said.
The levy lid lift, which can go into effect immediately, authorizes a maximum levy rate for collection in 2012 of $2.4868 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, an increase of about 43 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
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.
Had the measure failed, cuts making up about $625,000 would have had to be implemented, City Manager David Timmons said.
Levy lid lift support
Both Stinson and Gray also voiced their support for the city levy lid lift.
The canvassing board rejected 96 ballots, including 37 without signatures, 45 that were postmarked late, two with questionable signatures and one with a registration issue.
The canvassing board includes Eldridge, Deputy Auditor/Elections Karen Cartmel, Jefferson County Commissioner Phil Johnson and county Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Alvarez.
“We think Jefferson County may be No. 1 [in the state] in turnout with 66.76 [percent], but we’re awaiting the results of other counties,” Eldridge said.
Ballots were mailed to 21,683 registered voters in the county’s 31 voting precincts, and 14,475 ballots were returned.
Clallam County had a 58.61 percent voter turnout, with 26,803 ballots returned from 45,734 mailed.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
