Just 18 percent of Clark County voters had returned ballots by Tuesday morning
As expected, the initial results of the Aug. 3 primary election showed a low turnout of Clark County registered voters.
As of early Tuesday, Clark County Elections officials told Clark County Today that as of that morning’s delivery, 54,404 ballots, or about 18 percent, had been delivered out of the 297,841 registered voters. When the first results were released Tuesday evening, 49,115 ballots had been counted, representing just 16.45 percent. More ballots will be counted in the coming days.
Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey told Clark County Today that he estimates another 20,000 ballots will be counted this week, bringing the turnout for this primary election up to about 25 percent. He indicated that many voters elected to wait until election day to turn in their ballots.
Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle received 68.93 percent (12,208 votes) of the votes in the race for mayor of the city of Vancouver. It appears McEnerny-Ogle will be challenged in the general election by Earl Bowerman (3,224 votes, 18.20 percent). Doug Coop (2,280 votes, 12.87 percent) was the other candidate in the race.
Three races for seats on the Vancouver City Council were on the primary ballot. In the battle for Position 1, Kim Harless (6,421 votes, 36.59 percent) and former Clark County Councilor John Blom (4,785 votes, 27.27 percent) appear headed to the general election. Justin Forsman (3,545 votes, 20.20 percent) and Mike Pond (2,798 votes, 15.94 percent) were the other candidates in the race.
For Position 2 on the Vancouver City Council, incumbent Erik Paulsen received almost 77 percent of the votes (13,190 votes, 76.77 percent). Kara Tess (2,278 votes, 13.26 percent) will join him in the general election. Tami Martin (1,714 votes, 9.98 percent) was the other candidate in the race. In the Position 3 race, Diana Perez (8,870 votes, 51.14 percent) will advance to the general election where it appears she will face David Gellatly (4,676 votes, 26.96 percent), who has a sizable advantage over Glen Yung (3,797 votes, 21.89 percent).
In the city of Camas, two council positions were on the primary election ballot. In the Ward 1, Position 2 race, it appears Marilyn Dale-Boerke (446 votes, 42.23 percent) and Gary Perman (408 votes, 38.64 percent) will advance to the general election. Shawn High (110 votes, 10.42 percent) and Geoerl W. Niles (92 votes, 8.71 percent) will be eliminated. In the Ward 3, Position 2 race, Leslie Lewallen (602 votes, 48.28 percent) will advance. Her opponent in the November general election appears too close to call. Jennifer McDaniel (243 votes, 19.49 percent), John Svilarich (211 votes, 16.92 percent) and Alicia King (191 votes, 15.32 percent) are all within 52 votes of each other after Tuesday’s initial results.
Rochelle Ramos (1,014 votes, 38.75 percent) and Derik Ford (861 votes, 32.90 percent) have the inside track to advance to the general election in the race for Position 1 (mayor) on the Washougal City Council. Paul Greenlee (742 votes, 28.35 percent) was the other candidate in the race. Washougal recently changed its form of government from a strong mayor to a city manager-led government. This is the first election for mayor under the new charter.
The city of La Center had 13 candidates file for its three open council positions. In the Position 1 race, Justin Keeler (178 votes, 30.22 percent) appears to be headed to the general election but only three votes separate the next two candidates — Myrna Leija (150 votes, 25.47 percent) and Melissa Fox (147 votes, 24.96 percent). Ron Ostrander (76 votes, 12.90 percent) and Craig Whited (38 votes, 6.45 percent were the other candidates.
In the race for Position 2 on the La Center City Council, KC Kasberg (236 votes, 40.69 percent) and Dennis Hill (209 votes, 36.03 percent) are headed to the general election after outdistancing David Nelson (79 votes, 13.62 percent) and Kimberlee Elbon (56 votes, 9.66 percent). In the race for Position 3, current council member Randy Williams (220 votes, 37.29 percent) will advance to the general election, where it appears he will meet Janice Fowler (190 votes, 32.20 percent). Sean Boyle (158 votes, 26.78 percent) and Palmer Davis (22 votes, 3.73 percent) were the other candidates in that race.
Among the school board races on the Aug. 3 primary ballot, the Vancouver School District had two seats up for grabs. In the Position 2 race, it appears Sandra Zavala-Ortega (5,435 votes, 33.92 percent) and Michelle Belkot (5,371 votes, 33.52 percent) are headed to the November general election.Chartisha Roberts (3,399 votes, 21.21 percent) and Kathleen O’Claire (1,817 votes, 11.34 percent) were the other candidates in the race. For Position No. 3, current board member Wendy Smith (8,448 votes, 52.82 percent) and Jorge Bailey (5,298 votes, 33.12 percent) will face off in November after eliminating Megan Gabriel (2,248 votes, 14.06 percent).
For all the election results, which will be updated in recent days, go to the Clark County Elections Department website website.
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