PORT TOWNSEND — Greg Brotherton won a seat on the Jefferson County board of commissioners, while incumbents for prosecuting attorney and sheriff were losing in the initial count of ballots tonight.
Mindy Walker was leading for District Court judge against Noah Harrison, 44, of Port Townsend for the District Court judgeship vacated by longtime judge Jill Landis and Daniel Toepper was narrowly ahead in the race for a Public Utility District seat against Tom Brotherton.
A reapportionment plan for the Port Townsend School Board was approved of those voting in the school district. The measure needed only a majority plus one vote approval to pass.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office counted 18,024 ballots out of the 25,411 ballots issued to registered voters for a voter turnout of 70.93 percent.
The next count of ballots in the all-mail election will be Friday.
Greg Brotherton, 46, a Quilcene Democrat, was leading in Tuesday’s initial count against Jon Cooke, 60, a Quilcene Republican and chair of the county Republican Party, in the race for the District 3 seat vacated by Kathleen Kler after she served one term.
Prosecuting Attorney Michael Haas, 57, a Port Townsend Democrat, appeared to be losing his bid for a second term to James M. Kennedy, 37, a Port Ludlow Democrat who works as a Clallam County deputy prosecuting attorney.
Sheriff Dave Stanko, 70, of Port Townsend was headed for losing his bid for a second term against his employee and challenger, Detective Joe Nole, 62.
Toepper, 58 of Port Ludlow was leading by five votes against Tom Brotherton, 73, also of Quilcene in Tuesday’s count for the Jefferson County Public Utility District seat vacated by Wayne King of Gardiner after he had served three terms.
Mindy Walker reacts with her son to her leading Tuesday night over challenger Noah Harrison in the Jefferson County District Court judge race. (Jeannie McMacken/Peninsula Daily News)
The PUD District 3 seat covers Gardiner, Discovery Bay, Brinnon, Port Ludlow, Quilcene and the West End.
The Port Townsend School Board asked voters to approve a proposition that would authorize the school district to dissolve the five existing director districts and reapportion them into three director districts and two at-large seats.
The current districts were drawn based on population density: three in Port Townsend, one in the Cape George area, and one for an area from McPhearson Street south and east to Discovery Bay.
The three new districts would be created based on the most recent census data and drawn nearly equally, geographically contiguous and consistent with natural boundaries, according to the board’s resolution, passed in July, to place the measure on the ballot.
The two at-large positions would be filled by residents within any of the new three boundary districts.
Clallam County Fire District 3’s levy lid lift proposal was approved.
In the Legislative District 24 Position 1 race, Mike Chapman, 55, a Port Angeles Democrat, was leading in his bid for a second term against challenger Jodi Wilke, 59, a Port Townsend Republican.
The Position 2 seat incumbent — Steve Tharinger, 69, a Port Townsend Democrat — appeared to be losing in his bid for a fifth term against challenger Jim McEntire, 68, a Sequim Republican.
In the race for Congressional District 6 seat, incumbent Derek Kilmer, 44, a Gig Harbor Democrat, won his bid for a fourth term in the race against challenger Douglas Dightman, 48, a Shelton Republican. District 6 includes the North Olympic Peninsula.
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, 60, an Edmonds Democrat, kept her seat for a fourth term against challenger Susan Hutchison, 64, a Seattle Republican.
State initiatives that appeared to be on their way to approval were Initiative 940, which would require law enforcement officers to receive violence de-escalation, mental health and first aid training; and Initiative 1634, which would prohibit new or increased local taxes, fees or assessments on raw or processed food or beverages unless they were effective by Jan.15 of this year or were generally applicable; and Initiative 1639 concerning gun control.
Initiative 1631 concerning a carbon fee appeared to be failing.