PORT TOWNSEND — Candidate Glenn Clemens overtook incumbent Ron Helmonds slightly in the number of votes for the Position 3 seat on the Port Ludlow Fire District board of commissioners after a third count of primary election ballots on Thursday.
Both Clemens and Helmonds will appear on the Nov. 2 general election ballot. Clemens has 603 votes, or 35.87 percent, and Helmonds has 601 votes, or 35.75 percent. The third candidate Mike Feely, received 461 votes, or 27.42 percent, in the primary election and will not be on the November ballot.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office plans a final ballot count on Aug. 17, the day the county canvassing board meets to certify the election.
The office said that 85 remain to be counted.
Libby Urner Wennstrom and Tyler Myles Vega will face off in the general election for the Port Townsend City Council Position 5 seat. Wennstrom now has 2,820 votes, or 72.64 percent, and Vega has 859 votes, or 22.13 percent after Thursday’s count.
Sky Hardesty-Thompson earned 3.92 percent — 152 votes — and won’t continue on into the general election.
“I got off to a rough start. I knew that was going to hurt me,” said Hardesty-Thompson in comments he provided Wednesday after the Peninsula Daily New’s deadline for Thursday’s edition.
Hardesty-Thompson had health problems that prevented him from submitting information for the Jefferson County Local Voters’ Pamphlet, he said.
“I’m glad I got the experience,” he said, adding he’ll run again — for city council or for another office.
Campaigning in this summer’s primary “was a learning experience that will help me in the future,” he said.
The Emergency Medical Services levy for Quilene Fire Rescue was approved by a wide margin of 80.33 percent — 580 votes — in favor of continuing the levy and 19.67 percent — 142 votes — against.
As of Thursday afternoon, Kristi Schmeck, who had suspended her campaign prior to Tuesday’s primary, had won 3,024 votes, or 28.93 percent of ballots cast, with Virginia R. Sheppard getting 2,981 votes, or 28.52 percent, and Rachel Tax wining 2,801 votes or 26.8 percent, for the Sequim School Board director-at-large Position 4 seat.
Derek Huntington, with 1,628 votes, or 15.57 percent, was fourth.
The race was on both the Clallam County and Jefferson County ballots, with Tax earning the most Jefferson County votes (42) followed by Schmeck (32), Huntington (30) and Sheppard (26).
Jeff Nicholas and Duane Chamlee topped the vote counts in the primary election for Sequim-area Clallam County Fire District 3 Position 1 commissioner, with candidate Sean Ryan trailing in third place.
As of Thursday’s count of ballots, Nicholas had 56.38 percent, or 6,201 votes, to Chamlee’s 35.02 percent, or 3,832 votes, and Ryan’s 7.95 percent, or 870 votes.
The total includes 140 Jefferson County voters who case ballots totalling 57.86 percent for Nicholas, 33.57 percent for Chamlee and 7.14 percent for Ryan.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.