PORT ANGELES — Incumbent Ted Simpson was narrowly leading challenger Cindy Kelly in the race for Clallam County Public Utility District commissioner on Tuesday night.
The six-year position, one of three on the PUD board, represents Clallam County west of Port Angeles.
Tuesday’s results showed Simpson with 5,478 votes, or 51.1 percent, versus Kelly’s 5,240 votes, or 48.9 percent.
“I just heard the results and it sounds good. It’s better than being 200 votes behind,” Simpson said Tuesday night.
“But there’s a lot of votes to be counted, so it could seesaw back and forth.
“It’s anybody guess if you don’t know where anything is coming from,” he said.
Kelly sounded cautiously optimistic that she could overcome the narrow margin when remaining ballots are counted.
“I think it’s very close and look forward to when they finish the count,” Kelly said.
A total of 16,602 ballots, 38 percent of the 43,483 mail-in ballots sent out Oct. 18, were counted Tuesday night. Most of those ballots were received on or before Friday.
There were 9,324 additional ballots in hand but not processed, including those collected from ballot drop boxes at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
They will be counted by 4:30 p.m. Thursday along with 2,500 ballots expected in the mail today and Thursday. Ballots had to be postmarked on or before Tuesday.
Simpson, 64, is the owner/manager of Angeles Electric Inc. since 1974 and has been Clallam PUD commissioner since 1985.
Kelly, 49, is the manager of the Dry Creek Water Association Manager and a Port Angeles School Board member.