PORT TOWNSEND — Residents and visitors may immediately recognize Port Townsend’s absolute coolness, but in a contest where votes are solicited to determine the coolest small town, it has received only moderate support.
The contest is sponsored by Budget Travel magazine, which selected 20 of the coolest small towns — those with populations of 10,000 or less — from a list of 80 nominees and asked people to cast their votes online, which they can do as many as five times a day.
The winners will be featured in the September issue of the magazine. No cash will be won — only bragging rights.
Port Townsend initially made a strong showing and rose to ninth place, but it has since slipped.
As of Thursday afternoon, the town was in 13th place.
Port Townsend drew 3,338 votes compared with the 47,508 votes given to the first-place town, Lewisburg, W.Va.
Aside from Port Townsend, Astoria, Ore., is the only other Pacific Northwest town in the competition.
As of Thursday afternoon, Astoria was in second place, with 45,546 votes.
Port Townsend marketing director Christina Pivarnik said it was unlikely that the town would close the gap, since the contest ends Feb. 11.
“I know we probably can’t catch up, but I would like to see us land in the top 10,” Pivarnik said.
She said that recognition as a “coolest town” would draw people to the area and increase tourism, which would benefit the local economy.
“If there is a way we can get national recognition, that will help us,” she said.
Pivarnik said she does not have the money or the resources for a “get out the vote” campaign and would rely on word of mouth and e-mail to generate votes.
There are no organized efforts in Port Townsend to support this effort, while Astoria marshalled several agencies to encourage votes.
Astoria’s marketing director, Regina Willkie, said the local Chamber of Commerce “spammed everyone we had an e-mail address for and reminded them to vote several times a day.”
Willkie said no one complained about the intrusion but “thanked us for reminding them to vote.”
Astoria is celebrating its bicentennial this year.
“It would be nice to have that recognition as part of our celebration,” Willkie said.
She agreed with Pivarnik about the benefit of winning this distinction, saying “it will help raise community spirit and get people to come visit.”
The competition between Port Townsend and Astoria is good-natured, as residents in neither town have a sense of well-being tied to the results.
Willkie, however, suggested a way that Port Townsend has a better chance of “winning”:
“Everyone in Port Townsend could vote for Astoria, to generate a sense of Western pride,” she said.
To vote in the contest, visit http://tinyurl.com/ptiscool.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.