Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Washington got bluer, America got redder and Mason County didn't change much. That was the overall takeaway of the initial results from the Nov. 5 general election, released late Tuesday night. With more than 29,500 ballots counted in Tuesday's tally, Mason County's initial turnout was 63.6%, placing it in the top 10 by turnout of Washington's 39 counties. The next ballot count was scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday, after the Journal went to press. The county has an estimated 5,000 ballots left to...
Randy Neatherlin seems set to serve a fourth term on the Mason County Commission. Neatherlin, an independent, received 15,338 votes for 55.11% on the first ballot count in the general election Tuesday while William Harris, a Republican, received 12,329 for 44.30% in their bid to represent District 1 for four years on the three-member commission. In an interview Tuesday evening with the Journal, Neatherlin said he thought he was going to lose the race. He said his hours on his commission job kept him from campaigning by doorbelling, and he noted...
In the initial general election ballot count on Tuesday evening, Republican Pat Tarzwell was leading Tom Beben, who states no party preference, in their contest for a four-year term representing District 2 on the Mason County Commission. In the first ballot count released at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Tarzwell had 14,320 votes for 53.31% and Beben 12,963 votes for 47.36%. Tarzwell ran a small manufacturing business for 33 years. Beben owns the High Steel Beer Co. “It’s not over yet, but it looks pretty darn good,” Tarzwell told the Journal on Wedne...
State Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, will return to Olympia holding his current office, falling short to Democratic challenger State Sen. Emily Randall in the 6th Congressional District race. Tuesday’s initial count across the entire district showed Randall with 167,826 at 57.3% and MacEwen with 124,717 at 42.58%. In Mason County, MacEwen captured 55.32% of the vote to Randall’s 44.52%. The 6th District encompasses most of Tacoma and all of the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas from the Mason-Thurston county border north. “It’s not the result...
Mason County Auditor Steve Duenkel wants the community to know its election ballots are safe. Fires set in ballot drop boxes in Vancouver, Washington, and nearby Portland early Monday morning prompted Gov. Jay Inslee to issue a statement later in the day saying there will be 24-hour enhanced security around ballot drop-off locations in Washington. “Mason County Ballot Drop Boxes have multiple layers of security,” Duenkel told the Journal in an email Tuesday. “All drop boxes have internal fire suppression devices. All have internal GPS monit...
State Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, will face Democrat Emily Randall in the Nov. 5 general election in their bid to replace Derek Kilmer as the District 6 represenative in Congress. If MacEwen wins, the Republican Party will choose someone to complete his term in the state Senate. MacEwen spent a decade in the state House before being elected to the Senate in 2023. The 35th District includes all of Mason County and parts of Thurston and Kitsap counties. In the most recent ballot count released...
In the Nov. 5 general election, Mason County Commissioner Randy Neatherlin will face William Harris in his bid for a fourth term, and Tom Beben and Pat Tarzwell will compete for the other seat up for grabs on the three-member commission. The results of Tuesday’s primary election whittled the three candidates for each seat to two. In the first ballot results for the seat representing District 1, Neatherlin, an independent, had 2,706 votes for 54.81% of the vote and Harris, a Republican, had 1,424 votes for 28.84% of the vote. Republican Ted J...
Republican Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, appears to have made it through the 6th Congressional District primary and will face Democrat Emily Randall in November’s general election. “I am very pleased with tonight’s returns. After my opponents outspent our campaign by 8 to 1, the results show voters desire steady and tested leadership in Congress during these tumultuous times. We have clear momentum heading into November and will continue to unite the Olympic Peninsula to bring real change to Congress,” MacEwen said in a statement. “Throug...
A Mason County resident who contacted the Journal about his uncounted March 12 presidential primary ballot says its now been tabulated. Scott Gordon said the delay was because he mistakenly signed his wife’s return envelope. “I appreciate everybody looking into it,” Gordon said in a voice message. Mason County Auditor Steve Duenkel’s investigation showed the ballot arrived at the elections department Feb. 21 and was counted in the results for the March 12 presidential primary. When Gordon checked the status of his ballot through the Mason C...
The updated results of the Nov. 7 general election show Tom Gilmore with a 49-vote edge over Mark Frazier for the member 5 position on the Shelton City Council, and the Hood Canal School District's $33.5-million building bond falling short. Those are the numbers from the ballot count the Mason County Auditor's Office released Monday. The next ballot count is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday. The results are slated to be certified on Nov. 28. Of the 44,701 registered voters in Mason County, 15,255...
Two incumbents on the Shelton School Board were winning big on the first ballot count Tuesday night, while a third incumbent was holding a solid lead. The results of the second ballot count were released by the Mason County Auditor’s Office at 5 p.m. Wednesday, after the Journal went to press. School Board President Keri Davidson, in her bid to retain Director Position 2, received 1,895 votes for 66.58%. Challenger Tommy Stearns received 936 votes for 32.80%. “I am very thankful and appreciative of all the voters,” Davidson wrote to the Journ...
A second ballot count by the Mason County elections office on Wednesday afternoon saw no significant changes from Tuesday’s initial count. Aside from a few minor percentage point shifts, no candidate leads changed from the initial count. The closest race involves the Shelton City Council Position 5 race between Tom Gilmore and Mark Frazier. Gilmore leads 592 (51.08%) to 557 (48.06). There were 10 write-in votes. Gilmore led by 28 votes in the initial count. Other close races include: Shelton School Board Director District No. 2 where i...
In three Shelton City Council races on Tuesday's ballot, the longest-serving member was handily defeated by a fellow lifelong Shelton resident, a downtown businessman was elected after losing a council race two years ago by five votes, and a third contest was too close to call on the initial count. Results from the second ballot count were released by the Mason County Auditor's Office at 5 p.m. Wednesday, after the Journal went to press. Updates are available on the Journal's website. Melissa...
Challenger David Stevens appears to be the new Mason County Superior Court Judge, if early election results hold. Stevens, Mason County senior deputy felony prosecutor, is beating his opponent, Judge Cadine Ferguson-Brown, in the first ballot count after polls closed Tuesday with 6,194 votes for 57.24% to Ferguson-Brown's 4,595 votes for 42.46%. There were also 33 write-in votes for 0.3% and 10,822 total votes in the first tabulation. "I feel bad for her. I wish her the best," Stevens told the...
The Hood Canal School District’s proposed $33.5-million building bond to create space for preschool classrooms, an American With Disabilities Act-accessible playground, arts, music and science, and replace a 70-year-old transportation facility was falling short on the first ballot count Tuesday evening. The bond received 955 “yes” votes for 57.22%, and 714 “no” votes for 42.78%. A 60% majority is required for the bond to pass. A similar bond proposal failed by 80 votes in February 2020. “We’re grateful for our community’s support for our...
A rundown of all other races in Mason County: Fire Protection Dist. 3 Fire Commissioner Position No. 2 Nancy A. Montgomery has 424 votes for 97.25% and write-in candidates have 12 votes for 2.75% with a total of 436 votes. Fire Protection Dist. 4 Fire Commissioner Position No. 1 Dean Hirschi has 961 votes for 98.06% and write-in candidates have 19 votes for 1.94% with a total of 980 votes. Fire Protection Dist. 4 Fire Commissioner Position No. 3 Greg Sypnicki has 982 votes for 98.5% and write-in candidates have 15 votes for 1.5% with a total...
Mason County ballots should begin arriving this week in residents’ mailboxes for the Nov. 7 general election. The ballots were mailed Tuesday. Each voter must sign their own Declaration envelope and then the signature is matched to the signature in the voters’ registration record, Mason County Election Superintendent Marie Stevenson said. If voters do not receive a ballot, they can call the Vote Center at 360-427-9670 ext. 470 to request a replacement. Ballot drop boxes are open until 8 p.m. on Election Day and no postage is required to ret...
Mason County general election results were certified Nov. 29 by the county’s canvassing board. A new auditor will be handling elections in 2023. Republican challenger Steve Duenkel will begin his term in January after receiving 14,739 votes for 50.58% of the total. Democratic incumbent Paddy McGuire received 14,379 votes for 49.35%. Mason County will also have a new clerk in Republican Charles Rhodes, who received 14,727 votes for 50.82% of the total. Democratic incumbent Sharon Moore-Fogo r...
A wave of post-election day ballot counts catapulted Steve Duenkel to a narrow victory in the Mason County auditor's race. Duenkel, the Republican challenger, trailed incumbent Democrat Paddy McGuire by 547 votes in results released election night. By Wednesday's second ballot count, which occurred after the Journal went to press last week, Duenkel had erased McGuire's lead and gained a seven-vote advantage. Duenkel led by 272 votes after Thursday's count, which was the final before Veterans...
Mason County appears to be in line for a new clerk as Charles Rhodes leads in the race for clerk against incumbent Sharon Moore-Fogo on Monday’s updated vote count. Rhodes, a Republican challenger, has received 13,761 votes for 50.64% and leads by 377 votes. Moore-Fogo has received 13,384 votes for 49.25%. Moore-Fogo has been working for the Clerk’s Office since 1992 and was appointed clerk in 2017. Commissioner Sharon Trask has retained her spot on the Mason County Board of Commissioners wit...
Three Republicans will represent the 35th District in the state Legislature. The ballot count from the Nov. 8 general election released Monday gave Republican Drew MacEwen a lead over Democrat Julianne Gale in Mason County for a four-year term as state senator, with the Union resident in Mason County receiving 16,492 votes for 57.03%, and Gale receiving 12,383 votes for 42.82%. Districtwide, MacEwen had 37,600 votes for 55.67%, and Gale 29,876 votes for 44.24%. In Mason County, Republican...
The Southside School District’s replacement levy and Mason County Fire Protection District 17’s levy passed, and Mason County Fire Protection District 16’s levy failed on the Nov. 8 ballot. The Southside School District’s replacement levy was approved with 617 “yes” votes for 56.76%, with 470 “no” votes for 43.24%. It needed a simple majority to pass. The district, which has about 200 students in kindergarten through seventh grade, asked for the replacement of an expiring Educational Programs and Operations levy that will collect $1.97 per $1,0...
WEB UPDATE: In Wednesday’s second ballot count, slightly more than 3,600 votes were added to results in Mason County, helping Republican challengers Steve Duenkel (auditor) and Charles Rhodes (clerk) to erase leads held by their incumbent Democrat opponents after Tuesday’s initial tally. Duenkel now leads Paddy McGuire by seven votes and Rhodes leads Sharon Moore-Fogo by 124 votes. According to the Secretary of State’s website, approximately 3,000 votes remain to be counted, in addition to ballots still in the mail. After Wednesday’s count,...
