Close race in Pacific County Superior Court judge election

November 6, 2019 5:00 pm

The race for Pacific County Superior Court Judge Position 1 has the incumbent separated from his challenger by 53 votes.

The incumbent, Donald J. Richter, collected 2,077 votes to challenger Michael S. Turner’s 2,024. That’s a lead of 50.35% to 49.07% for Richter.

Richter was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee in late 2018 to replace the retiring judge Doug Goelz. Turner has served as a municipal court judge in Raymond, Ilwaco and South Bend and as a city attorney in South Bend and Raymond.

In the Ocosta School District, Director District 3 incumbent Duane Pegg leads challenger Jim Schaeffer in both Grays Harbor and Pacific counties: Pegg has 482 votes to 389 for Schaeffer.

The two candidates for Ilwaco City Council Position 1, currently vacant, are David R. Cundiff and James Berglund. After Tuesday’s first ballot count, Cundiff leads comfortably with more than 70% of the vote, 94-37.

There is one contested Long Beach City Council race for Position 1. Susan Svendsen holds a wide lead over Donald E. McGuire, Jr., 196-80.

In South Bend, there are two contested City Council races. In Position 1, Wyatt Kuiken holds a 155-119 edge over incumbent Daryle Buchanan. In Position 2, Darren Manlow has defeated Craig Spredeman 228-48.

There are three contested races for South Bend School Board seats. Dave Eastman holds a wide lead over Carolanne Watness 283-176 to retain the Director District 1 position. For Director District 2, current board chairman Steve Rogers is trailing Wendy J. Manlow 276-181. Todd Strozyk will likely retain his Director Position 2 at large seat, leading Rhonda Johnson 256-192 after the first count.

In the Willapa Valley School District, incumbent Dave Frasier leads in his bid to retain to the Position 5 at large 5 seat over Alyssa Rowlett 286-213. Incumbent Raela McVey leads challenger Traves Looney 299-165 in the Director District 3 race.

Of the 15,509 registered voters in the county, 4,546 ballots were counted Tuesday for a voter turnout of just over 29%. The next ballot count is scheduled for Friday by 4 p.m.