PORT TOWNSEND — Monica MickHager maintained her strong lead for the council seat held by Mayor Deborah Stinson after the second count of general election ballots, in which no outcomes were changed.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office counted general election ballots on Friday. It has counted 13,810 ballots, which is 53.39 percent of the 25,865 provided registered voters.
Another count will be released at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
About 1,000 ballots remain to be counted along with 197 challenged ballots (ballots with no/questionable signatures).
Stinson, 64, was criticized by MickHager, 63, for city debt.
MickHager has received 2,251 votes or 56.67 percent and Stinson has received 1,721 votes or 43.33 percent.
Another incumbent, Amy Howard, 37, has retained her seat against Bernie Arthur, 80 with 2,739 votes or 74.03 percent going to Howard and 961 votes or 25.97 percent going to Arthur.
Pam Petranek has received 8,013 votes or 73.02 percent against Chuck Fauls’ 2,960 votes or 26.98 percent and has assured herself a seat on the Port of Port Townsend commission. Petranek, 59, and Fauls, 66, were vying for the port commission seat now held by Steve Tucker, who did not seek reelection.
Voters were approving a port measure to raise property taxes for improvements within an industrial development district with 7,004 votes (54.51 percent) favoring the $15 million levy and 5,845 votes (45.49 percent) rejecting it. It required a simple majority for passage.
Commissioners had approved the levy earlier this year. A citizens group calling itself the Committee for Port Accountability successfully circulated a petition to put the measure on the ballot even though it was not required to receive voter approval.
Voters have authorized the new property tax, which would be capped at 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value but likely would be much less than that, according to port officials who said that commissioners are considering a formula at a rate closer to 13 cents per $1,000.
Two other tax measures have been approved: a Brinnon Fire Department $1.2 million bond to replace outdated vehicles and a renewal of a six-year levy of 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to support the Laurel B. Johnson Community Center in Coyle.
Both measures require a 60 percent supermajority for passage.
The Brinnon Fire Department bond has received 356 votes or 69.4 percent in favor of the bond, with 157 votes or 30.6 percent rejecting it.
The bond will be paid off over 10 years and will cost a homeowner with an assessed value of $200,000 approximately 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
The Laurel B. Johnson Community Center bond has received 187 votes, or 75.71 percent, approval, with only 60 votes (24.29 percent) rejecting it.
In school board contests:
— Doug Ross has won the District 3 seat on the Port Townsend School Board, Ross, 58, had received 2,970 votes, or 59.52 percent, as of Friday while Harold J. ‘Jim’ Sherwood, 71, has received 2,020 votes or 40.48 percent. The seat is now held by Keith White, who did not run for reelection.
— Chimacum’s School District voters have elected three new members of the board, a majority of the five-member panel.
Mickey Nagy, 39, won 1,913 votes, or 54.94 percent, to the 1,569 votes, or 45.06 percent, received by Mike Aman, 50, in the race for the Chimacum School Board’s District 2 seat. The seat was held by LuAnn Rogers who moved out of the district.
Kristina Mayer, 66, will fill the District 3 seat now held by Mike Gould, who did not seek reelection. She won 2,155 votes, or 58.2 percent, to the 1,548 votes, or 41.8 percent, earned by Steve Martin, 47.
Tami Robocker, 49, has won the District 4 seat, against board appointee Michael Raymond, 64. Robocker received 2,108 votes, or 57.55 percent, to Raymond’s 1,555 votes, or 42.45 percent.
— In Quilcene, Jessica Gossette, 46, will fill the Position 4 set now held by Paul Mahan, who ran unopposed for the Position 5 seat.
Gossette received 392 votes or 64.69 percent to the 214 votes or 35.31 percent won by Jenelle Cleland, 45.
— In Brinnon, incumbents Ron Stephens, 76, has retained his seat, while Joe Baisch, 71, and Jolene A. Elkins, 29, were in a tight race.
Stephens has received 229 votes or 58.12 percent against opponent Cortney Beck, 29, who won 165 votes or 41.88 percent in the race for the board’s Position 2 seat.
Baisch has won 216 votes or 50.59 percent compared to Elkin’s 211 votes or 49.41 percent in the race for the board’s Position 3 seat.
Voters handily approved a measure to have the recently-expanded East Jefferson Fire Rescue board include representation for specified districts with 6,290 votes, or 75.08 percent, approving the measure, verses 2,088 votes, or 24.92 percent, rejecting it.
In races shared by voters in both Clallam and Jefferson counties:
— Challenger William (Bill) Miano won the Fire District 3’s Position 3 seat over incumbent James Barnfather.
— Jim Stoffer won the Sequim School Board District 3 seat against Beth Smithson.
— Steve Hopf won the county Fire District 2, Position 3 seat against Keith Cortner.
— Fire District 3’s proposition to renew an emergency medical services levy passed.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
