Tuesday Election Results for Douglas County
Douglas County election officials tabulated about 3,900 votes in the Tuesday night results and estimated there are 4,500 remaining to be counted. The next update to election results is set for Thursday at 4:30pm.
East Wenatchee returns from Tuesday night show Council member Harry Raab with a slender 24 vote lead over challenger Ken Arnold in the Position #2 race. The margin is 51.2% for Raab and 48.8% for Arnold.
Incumbent Jill Thompson is trailing Lloyd Smith by over 20 points in the race for Waterville Mayor. Smith garnered 60% of the Tuesday count to 37% for Thompson, there were six write in votes for Mayor in Waterville.
Voters in the town of Mansfield will likely re-elect Clint Wall as Mayor. Wall had 69% voter support as of Tuesday evening over challenger Kris Neff.
The vast majority of candidates on Tuesday's ballot in Douglas County were unopposed.
The most significant issue is the unified property tax rate request in Douglas and Chelan County. The measure would equalize the property tax the Port collects in both counties. If approved it would result in a small increase in property taxes in Douglas County and a slight reduction in Chelan County.
The measure received 78% approval in Chelan County but was getting a thumbs down in Douglas County with a 70% no vote. The ballot measure will pass with a simple majority of the combined vote from both counties, which it is now on track to do because there are more votes and voters in Chelan County.
It’s still not known what will come of a major error in its ballot description.
The Port wants voters to authorize them to collect a property tax of 16.2 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, but the tax rate that appears on the ballot reads .162 cents.
On paper, passage of the measure would call for a drastic reduction of about 99% in the tax the Port collects.
The Regional Port believes the discrepancy can be handled through what's called a "scrivener's error" Courts may correct “scrivener’s errors” if there is proof it was a typographical mistake.
Chelan County Auditor Skip Moore told KPQ he believes there'll be more involved in resolving the ballot issue.
"The Port, I think, is going to have to convince a judge, ultimately, that it was an error, and it's an error that requires the results be thrown out or nullified, and that they will ask the question sometime later to the voters," said Moore.
Douglas and Okanogan County voters were both rejecting the Three Rivers Public Hospital District Bond proposal for a new hospital with a combined 59% no vote, and 63% of Douglas County voters rejecting the request.
For More Douglas County Election Results
Chelan County Election Results
Trader Joe's Fall Selections
Gallery Credit: Shannon Buccola