PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles won by 296 votes over Bainbridge Island and advanced to the third of five rounds in Outside magazine’s fifth annual Best Town Ever online contest.
When voting closed at 8:59 p.m. Wednesday, the count was 10,671 for Port Angeles, or 50.7 percent, to 10,375, or 49.3 percent, for Bainbridge Island, 72 miles to the south in Kitsap County.
Port Angeles now faces Glenwood Springs, Colo., in the third round. Glenwood Springs beat Whitefish, Mont., to advance to the third round.
Voting was to begin immediately at 9 p.m. Wednesday between Port Angeles and Glenwood Springs. But the two cities didn’t immediately appear on the voting ballot, apparently due to a computer glitch.
Voting finally began at about 10:30 p.m. The third-round voting runs until 8:59 p.m. Monday, May 18.
To vote, go to http://www.outsideonline.com/1972941/best-towns-2015
Each of the five rounds of voting lasts five days. They lead to a final showdown when only two towns will remain. The contest began May 4, and the winner will be announced on June 5.
Results of the first round narrowed the field of 64 towns to 32. The second round went to 16. Each of the rounds will cut the list in half, with pairs of towns in each contest.
Port Angeles won by 28 votes over Santa Barbara, Calif. in the first round of the contest.
The voting for Port Angeles was promoted heavily by members of the Revitalize Port Angeles Facebook group.
It was a tight race all week, and the Revitalize Facebook page resounded with high-fives Wednesday night:
“Dancin’ in the streets!! Wooo whooo! We won!!”
“Way to Go!!!!!!!!!!!”
“I am LOVING all of the great energy and momentum our town is gaining! Amazing new businesses opening, sprucing up everywhere, winning contests…we are taking our town back and I love it!!”
Outside magazine said in its introduction for the contest:
“Vote for America’s Best Town! One of these 64 towns can be called the ‘Best Town Ever.’ Crowning the winner will be up to you.
“Picking the [entries] in our fifth annual Best Town Ever contest wasn’t easy.
“We looked for places with great access to trails and public lands, thriving restaurants and neighborhoods, and, of course, a good beer scene — all while excluding the winners and runners-up from the past three years to make room for hidden gems, underdogs, and towns on the rise.”
