SEQUIM — Jan Richardson, an advocate for 24-hour access to the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center, is headed for Position 5 on the SARC Board of Commissioners.
In his third run for a board seat, the 71-year-old construction industry retiree won 4,086 votes, or 60.19 percent of the ballots counted by Tuesday night.
His opponent, Sonu Deol, garnered 2,703 votes, or 39.81 percent.
In the race for SARC board Position 3 between incumbent Melinda Griffith and write-in candidate Bill Black, the results were equally decisive.
Griffith had 5,275 votes, or 89.53 percent, while Black’s name was written onto 617 ballots, or 10.47 percent.
“I would have been happy if [Deol] got in,” Richardson said Tuesday night.
“We just need somebody new” on SARC’s governing board.
Deol, a 38-year-old homemaker and mother of three, has said that while SARC has a rich program for seniors, it should add more activities for working adults, families and children.
Her own kids are 8, 7 and 3.
“We were hoping to get somebody a little bit younger on the board,” Deol said Tuesday night.
The count for the write-in votes for Position 3 delayed the announcement of Clallam County results until nearly 9 p.m. Tuesday night.
Griffith, 70, was in Bellevue on Tuesday night with a chorus she belongs to, and was unavailable for comment.
Black, 75, wished her well, saying he hopes Griffith can help SARC “get back to the path of financial stability.”
The nonpartisan SARC commissioners serve four-year, unpaid terms and oversee the center’s annual budget of $1 million.
SARC, with its swimming pool, weight- and cardiovascular-training rooms, and group fitness classes, serves the Dungeness Valley and environs, from Blue Mountain Road to the west to Gardiner to the east.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.