Dick Murchy appears likely to challenge incumbent Tawni Andrews for the Aberdeen City Council Ward 1 Position 2 seat in November, and Jared Berken has opened up a lead for the second spot on the November general election ballot in the McCleary mayoral race to face incumbent Brent Schiller.
The Grays Harbor County Auditor completed the second count of primary votes Thursday afternoon. So far they have counted 6,472 ballots, which puts voter turnout for the county at just more than 25 percent. A third count is scheduled for next Thursday.
In the Aberdeen council race, Andrews leads with 99 votes, 40 percent of the total cast. Behind her is Murchy with 69 votes, 33.5 percent, so it is likely those two will face off in November. Robert J. Rodgers has 38 votes in the three-person race.
Incumbent Mayor Brent Schiller, who was appointed to the position in 2015, taking over for one of his challengers, Gary Dent, is well ahead of the pack, with 181 votes for nearly 65 percent of the total cast. As it stands, he would face Jared Berken in November. Berken holds a 13-vote lead over Dent’s 43. Berken is the law enforcement officer whose eligibility was called into question because there is some doubt whether he has lived in McCleary long enough to qualify for the position.
In the primary, the two candidates receiving the most votes for each office move on to the general election. Only those races with three or more candidates were on the primary ballot, as those with two or fewer automatically move on to the general election ballot in November. Below is a list of the election numbers as they stand after Friday’s count, including ballot measures.
Grays Harbor County
Public Hospital
Hospital District 1 Board position 1
Otis Leathers, 112, 10 percent
Georgette Beerbower Hiles, 604, 53.9 percent
Carolyn Wescott, 404, 36.1 percent
Aberdeen council
Ward 1, position 2
Dick Murchy, 69, 33.5 percent
Robert J Rodgers, 38, 18.5 percent
Tawni Andrews, 90, 48. percent
City of Elma Proposition 1 — Levy to partially fund police services for 2018
Yes, 322, 82.3 percent
No, 69, 17.7 percent
City of McCleary Mayor
Jared Berken, 56, 20 percent
Donald Gary Dent, 43, 15.4 percent
Brent Schiller, 181, 64.6 percent
City of McCleary, Council position 3
Jaron Heller, 118, 47.6 percent
Eric J. Hart, 85, 34.3 percent
Odd DeBakker, 45, 18.1 percent
City of Ocean Shores
Council position 1
Susan Conniry, 805, 46.9 percent
John Lynn, 636, 37 percent
Michael Darling, 276, 16.1 percent
Council position 3
Shannon Rubin, 561, 33.4 percent
Jackie Farra, 224, 13.3 percent
John Schroeder, 349, 20.7 percent
Lisa Griebel, 548, 32.6 percent
Council position 5
Steve Ensley, 852, 52.5 percent
Will Oaks, 215, 13.2 percent
Randy D. Scott, 557, 34.3 percent
South Beach
Creation of the South Beach Regional Fire Authority
Yes, 1,045, 78.6 percent
No, 284, 21.4 percent
School Districts
Aberdeen School 5 Position 1
Devin Backholm, 771, 39.4 percent
Anna Stone, 326, 16.7 percent
Jennifer Durney, 860, 40.9 percent
Cosmopolis Director District 1
Mark Collett, 60, 19 percent
Tina Miles, 128, 41 percent
Barbie Smith, 125, 40 percent
Cosmopolis Director District 4 (at-large)
Dave Palmer, 188, 59 percent
Mike Charlton, 39, 12 percent
Cindy Grenier, 91, 29 percent
Fire Districts
Fire District 5, Director Position 1
Lisa Mayberry, 104, 22 percent
Dave Hauge, 167, 35 percent
Eric L Patton, 201, 43 percent
Pacific County
City Of Raymond
Mayor
Nelia E. Woods, 71, 18.5 percent
Douglas (Tony) Nordin, 116, 30.1 percent
Steve Jones, 198, 51.4 percent
