SEQUIM — Incumbent Mayor Pro Tem Laura Dubois will face challenger John Miller in the November general election after both showed a strong lead in the three-way City Council primary election race Tuesday.
A third challenger, Ron Fairclough, was lagging in a distant third place, eliminating him from contention in the Nov. 8 election.
Dubois, seeking to retain her second four-year term, was leading with 747 votes or 52.16 percent.
Miller was running second with 471 votes, or 32.89 percent, and challenger Fairclough garnered 214 votes, or 14.94 percent.
Miller, contacted after the vote count Tuesday night said he was surprised he did so well without campaigning.
“I’m flabbergasted that I got this far and now I have got to step up to the plate,” said Miller, a 54-year-old retired Safeway employee.
Dubois said she wanted to debate the issues facing the city.
“I’m an incumbent and the others haven’t really said a whole lot, so I’m not surprised,” said Dubois, a 63-year-old budget analyst who served two years as Sequim mayor, after voting closed at 8 p.m.
“It looks like John Miller will be my opponent, and he’s said very little,” she added.
Dubois said she was out of town on family business much of the campaign period “so I really didn’t do much.”
She said she plans to reach out more to the voters during the general election campaign.
Miller said he too planned to accelerate his campaigning toward the Nov. 8 general election.
“I gotta step it up now. I can’t just sit around and watch Monday night football,” he said, citing the fact that Sequim City Council meetings are on Monday nights.
How the city spends its money is Miller’s chief concern, he said.
Miller said he has lived in Sequim only for five years and had not done any door-to-door campaigning.
“I haven’t done anything. I’m surprised I got that many votes. I’m pretty overwhelmed.”
Fairclough, 73, a retired dental technician who regularly attends Sequim City Council meetings, did not return calls requesting comment Tuesday night.
In the council race, 1,432 votes were counted by Clallam County Auditor’s Office elections officials.
The total number of ballots counted Tuesday were 7,787 votes after the polls closed, bringing the voter turnout percentage to 40.8 percent of the 19,092 registered voters in Sequim District No. 1.
Primary election ballots were mailed only to Sequim voters, who made choices in the Sequim City Council race and the District 1 county commissioner race.
About 500 ballots were in hand to count after Tuesday night’s county and the next tally is scheduled by 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Auditor’s Office on the first floor of the courthouse.
Dubois said she wanted to continue her community service on the City Council after gaining four years of experience.
She wants to see several city projects through, including the comprehensive plan update, zoning reform and further work on street and sidewalk projects in the transportation benefit district.
Miller said he ran against Dubois to bring a new perspective to the Sequim City Council.
Miller called himself a problem solver and a people person.
Dubois said her experience in budgeting helped establish a balanced city budget and fiscally responsible reserve policies and long-term planning.
Dubois was one of four new council members elected four years ago.
Dubois recalled that the previous council did not want to make the developers pay for the impact of growth, thus passing the costs on to taxpayers.
She supported impact fees that will fund streets and parks capital improvements, and a transportation benefit district to rehabilitate existing streets and build much-needed sidewalks.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.