Jarman, Hughes have narrow, 100 -pt. leads
By Margie Doyle
San Juan County voters appear to be split down the middle when it comes to their Orcas and San Juan Island representatives on the County Council.
On Lopez Island, incumbent Jamie Stephens holds a healthy margin of 57.21 percent of the vote over challenger Brian McClerren’s 42.79 percent of the vote.
Also on Lopez the School District’s General Obligation Bond proposition appears to have failed with 59.54 percent of the voters rejecting it and 40.46 percent of the voters approving it.
On Orcas Island, Lisa Byers and Rick Hughes are running the tightest race with 100 votes separating them: Hughes, a current Council member, leads with 50.9 percent of the vote; Byers has 49.1 percent.
San Juan Island’s residency council position has a similarly close race, with incumbent Bob Jarman gaining 51.02 percent of the vote to former Councilwoman Lovel Pratt’s 48.98 percent. Jarman’s lead is 113 votes.
These numbers are maintained after 5,818 votes have been counted. There remain an estimated 1,300 ballots to count. The next count will be announced tomorrow, April 24 at 5 p.m.
With 11,952 voters in San Juan County, voter turnout for this election comes to 48.68 percent.
For more information, go to vote.wa.gov/results/current/sanjuan
What interested me is that the San Juan and Orcas races were close ONLY due to the role of Lopez voters. for example, Jarman won San Juan handily and did well on Orcas.
And for a young newcomer with a shoestring budget, two jobs and a young family, Brian McClerren did an amazing job on sheer force of intelligence, commitment and straightforward personality, with 42% against the incumbent.
Interesting times.
Same is true of Orcas race. Hughes won easily at home and on San Juan, but the race was close due to Lopez voters.
@ Peg Manning: Why bring up Lopez when your supported candidates clearly won, albeit by an extremely close vote? Why not be gracious winners? What goodwill or community spirit does this kind of attitude foster?
Why be so bothered by Lopez Island having an equal voice to Orcas and San Juan Island? I can understand the emotions driving people to be bad losers, but to be bad winners? Is this an honorable ending to a race with 6 good candidates doing their level best? I think not.
The candidates themselves all ran clean races. I wish I could say the same for some of the people putting out “facts” against those candidates that they did not like or support; this goes both ways; I don’t favor this behavior no matter, which side.
I read all of the suppositions and letters printed elsewhere: Every time someone brings up the word “communist,” I am chillingly reminded of the Mc Carthy era, which I’m old enough to remember. I wish all papers had the high standards of ethics that Orcas Issues has, and didn’t print suppositions and accusations. Maybe some day.
I am sure all who won will do their best to bridge the obvious chasms in thoughts and beliefs that our islands are currently experiencing. They have their work cut out!
Sadie, I was not a candidate, and therefore cannot be a winner or loser, gracious or otherwise. I was simply noting the marked differences in voting among the three islands. The predicted “Lopez effect” was the subject of considerable discussion during the Charter vote and is also a part of the pending Charter change litigation. I see nothing ungracious or divisive in analyzing the precinct data. I find it interesting.