PORT ANGELES — The contest for Port of Port Angeles commissioner — the only countywide race on the Clallam County ballot — is too close to call.
Incumbent Port Commissioner and board President John Calhoun was leading challenger Brad Collins by a scant 48 votes out of 12,374 total cast for both candidates after the first ballots in Tuesday’s general election were tallied Tuesday night.
Calhoun had 6,211 votes to Collins’ 6,163 for a minuscule 50.19 percent-49.81 percent lead for the six-year Position 3 seat on the three-person board.
“I always thought it was going to be close,” Calhoun said Tuesday night.
“I think it’s great,” Collins said.
“I’m running neck and neck with the incumbent. I’m confident that the votes that are counted Friday will put us over the top.”
County election officials had distributed 45,739 ballots in the all-mail-ballot election on Oct. 14 and had counted 16,610 ballots Tuesday night.
They received another 4,500 ballots on Tuesday, expect to receive about 4,000 more today and will count both batches on Friday, Election Supervisor Shoona Radon and county Auditor Patty Rosand said Tuesday.
Without tallying today’s mail, Clallam County has an approximately 46 percent turnout.
Ballots had to be postmarked Tuesday or dropped off in county drop boxes in Sequim, Forks or at the county courthouse by 8 p.m. Tuesday to be valid.
The election must be certified Nov. 24.
Calhoun, 65, director of the University of Washington Natural Resources Center, had cast himself as an underdog due to Collins’ name recognition and residency in the more populated Port Angeles area, he said during the campaign. Calhoun lives in Forks.
Calhoun also raised $9,699 for his campaign compared with $3,500 in contributions to Collins, 61, the former community development director for the city of Port Angeles and current deputy director of resource development for Serenity House of Clallam County.
Both agreed public reaction to the creation of the Harbor-Works Development Authority played a large role in the campaign.
Calhoun supports Harbor-Works, a public entity being fueled by $650,000 in loans from the city of Port Angeles and the port to buy the former mill site, redevelop the property and assist in cleanup of pockets of arsenic, PCBs, dioxin and other toxins.
Collins has said cleanup should remain Rayonier’s responsibility and is against any further public investment in the site.
“Obviously, [the election] will be a referendum on Harbor-Works,” Collins said.
“This suggests the community isn’t ready to support what Harbor-Works was created to accomplish. With this vote, I think [the port board of commissioners] need to step back and realize they don’t have a mandate.”
Harbor-Works “was a significant element in the race,” Calhoun said.
“There are still some misconceptions that Rayonier will be let off the hook on this thing.”
Many of Calhoun’s contributors, including his largest, $650 from Ken Bechtold Logging in Forks, came from the West End.
All of Collins’ contributors were from Port Angeles and Sequim.
Both candidates received $250 contributions from the Port Angeles Association of Realtors and the Sequim Association of Realtors.
Calhoun said Collins called him Tuesday night before the results were released shortly after 8 p.m.
“He called to say what we always to, that we were luck to have the kind of positive campaign we did,” Calhoun said.
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Staff writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.