One week after the Nov. 7 general election, candidates in the races for several South Thurston County seats are still anxiously refreshing the election results at each new ballot drop.
Votes for a new spot on the Thurston County Board of Commissioners, Tenino mayor, one Rochester School Board position and a seat on the Rainier City Council were still split closely between candidates as the Thurston County Auditor’s Office estimated 1,000 ballots left to count as of Wednesday morning.
The election won’t be certified until Nov. 28.
Since Nov. 7, the race between Vivian Eason, I-Rochester, and Wayne Fournier, D-Tenino, has been tight.
The brand new seat on the soon-to-be five-person commission, Thurston County Commissioner District 4 will represent most of South and all of Southwest Thurston County, including Tenino, Rochester, Bucoda, Rainier, Maytown, Grand Mound and the southern half of Tumwater.
Only the district voted in the August primary, and Eason prevailed. Of 12,187 votes cast, she took 7,059, edging out Fournier by just under 2,000.
At first on Nov. 7, Fournier trailed by about 1,000 votes. But, as ballots continued to roll in from the general election, which includes voters from the entire county, he inched upward. On Wednesday, with a total 71,909 votes cast in the race, Fournier led Eason by 481.
Fournier, who currently serves as the mayor of Tenino, said Eason would need more than 60% of the remaining ballots in her favor to close the gap. Eason, though, said she was not ready to concede.
“I’m doing really well for having spent way less money,” Eason said earlier this week. “There are things that I’ve learned. If it happens that I don’t win, I won’t be running again, but I’d like to be fighting.”
Eason said she believes a district-by-district approach to elections would ensure “better representation” on the county level, and that would be an issue she’d like to advocate for in the upcoming Legislative session. She said she is working with the Thurston County Republican Party to encourage ballot curing, where voters remedy signature discrepancies and other issues in order to have their vote counted.
With the “Independent” next to her name and the “Democrat” beside Fournier’s, Eason felt the “progressive” voters in Olympia and other Thurston County cities helped Fournier overcome the results of August’s primary.
Fournier and Eason both had negative comments about their opponent’s campaign. Eason said Fournier and supporters tried to “paint” her as a “MAGA election denier,” while Fournier said Eason deceived voters by calling herself an Independent “when around 30% of her funding came from a political party.”
Fournier said he believes the difference between August’s primary and the Nov. 7 general election wasn’t in the letters by their names, but in the campaigning and a larger “sample size” of the district and county.
The top vote-getter take the seat immediately on Nov. 29, rather just after the new year when most candidates are sworn in. The new commissioner will also immediately be up for election in November 2024.
Fournier said, if elected, he’s excited to continue the “momentum” of his current campaign, and that he’d be thrilled to have a role in the hiring of Thurston County’s next manager. Applications for the position will be reviewed for the first time on Dec. 1.
“Being a part in setting up the new leadership for the county, that's something that I really want to get engaged in,” Fournier said.
Whoever is elected will join current commissioners Tye Menser, Carolina Mejia and Gary Edwards along with a second new spot, Thurston County Commissioner District 5. That seatholder, from the Olympia area will be Emily Clouse, who led opponent Terry Ballard by 14,469 votes Wednesday.
Until results are officially confirmed, residents can see election updates on weekday afternoons online at https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20231107/thurston/.
Tenino
In the race between two candidates looking to be the next mayor of Tenino, results are likewise too close to call. On Wednesday, just 27 votes stood between candidate David Watterson, a former city councilor who leads with 249 total, and Linda Gotovac, a longtime and current city councilor, who has 222 in her favor.
Watterson serves on the city’s planning and fire commissions. He is a career firefighter with 30 years of service in Lacey.
“I hear rumblings all the time from people saying things aren’t going right or they aren’t informed,” Watterson previously told The Chronicle. “I want to focus on ensuring everyone, whether they vote for me or not, will have a voice.”
Gotovac is the secretary of the Tenino Area Chamber of Commerce and a member of the local Lions Club, and spent more than four decades working for the state Legislature in different capacities.
“I’ve been on the city council for six years and been part of almost all of the things that have been happening here in the last decade,” Gotovac previously told The Chronicle.
Candidates Elaine Klamn and Jeff Eisel ran unopposed for Tenino City Council Position Nos. 2 and 5.
Rochester School Board
In a trio of races for the Rochester School Board, Grant Rodeheaver, Susie Hawes and James Turner lead as of Tuesday night’s preliminary results update. The school district includes voters from Lewis, Thurston and Grays Harbor counties.
The race between Turner and opponent Michael L. Morrow is still too close to call. Just 22 votes standing between them even after combining results from all three county auditors.
Rodeheaver had 2,004 votes compared to Wava Garza’s 1,164. Hawes led Penelope Mena 1,812 to 1,373 votes.
Rainier
On Wednesday, there was an even tie between Damion Green and Ryan Roth for Rainier City Councilor Pos. No. 2. The winner will fill the opening left by retiring council member George Johnson. On Wednesday morning, they had 244 votes each. If the tie remains after election certification, the Thurston County Auditor's Office flip a coin with both candidates present.
Incumbent Ron Kemp ran unopposed for the Rainier City Council Position No. 4 seat.
Centralia School Board
In the race for Position No. 4 on the Centralia School Board, challenger Sarah Holmes leads incumbent Mandi McDougall. A race that includes parts of Thurston and Lewis counties, Holmes, as of Wednesday, had 2,281 votes in her favor, and McDougall had earned 2,084. A total of 4,411 votes were cast.
Candidates for Position Nos. 2 and 3, Maritza Bravo and Andrea Ware, respectively, ran unopposed.
Tenino School Board
Between the two candidates for Tenino School Board Director for District 2, Jennifer Johnson led her opponent, Ryan T. Hilton, with an insurmountable 84.24% of the total 2,760 votes cast.
Candidates for Districts 3 and 4, Adam Barr and Jessica Reeves-Rush, respectively, ran unopposed.
Tumwater School Board
Jill Tokarczyk Adams has won in the race for Tumwater School Board Director for District 1, leading Jeff (Cowboy) Curry. Tokarczyk Adams currently has more than 60% of the total votes cast.
Candidates for Districts 2 and 3, Casey Taylor and Scott Killough, respectively, ran unopposed.
Rainier School Board
The Rainier School Board is likely to retain all its incumbents who were up for re-election.
In the race for the director representing Rainier School Board District 1, incumbent Amanda Siemandel leads challenger Aaron Lang 710 to 560. For District 2, incumbent Jerry Sprouffske, current school board chairman, leads challenger Jon Palmer in the Rainier School Board District No. 2 race. Sprouffske, a 15-year member of the board, totaled 711 votes while opponent Palmer collected 607 votes.
In the District 3 race, Dana Spivey will likely retain her seat against opponent Brian Hackethal. Spivey, a 12-year member of the School Board, totaled 890 votes while Hackethal received 417 votes.
Port of Olympia
Similar to the Thurston County Commission, the Port of Olympia Commission is expanding from three to five members this year.
As of Wednesday, Maggie Sanders led Rose Chiu Gundersen in the race for the District No. 4 port commissioner. Sanders totaled 35,118 votes while opponent Chiu Gundersen totaled 34,295 votes.
Thurston County Proposition No. 1
Proposition No. 1, a sales tax to support funding at the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, is set to pass. As Wednesday, votes were 40,059 in favor and 30,994 against. The proposition would authorize an additional sale and use tax at a rate of two-tenths of 1% to be used for up to 75% in law enforcement protection, including hiring additional sheriff deputies and associated infrastructure, and 25% for additional prosecution and proportionate public defense services, and elections security infrastructure. Of the amount collected, Thurston County will retain 60% and 40% will be distributed on a per capita basis to cities in the county.
