Write-in candidate wins on Lopez Island; three votes separate two candidates for Orcas Island recreation commission

Tuesday's election was historic: Election of the first woman mayor of Friday Harbor. Funding of school sports through a recreation district. Creation of a recreation district on Orcas Island.

There were surprises as well.

Updated election results show a write-in candidate to be the clear winner in the race for a Fisherman Bay Sewer District Commission position, and three votes separating the two candidates for the new Orcas Island Park and Recreation District Commission.

There were no changes in other races. As of Friday at 2:52 p.m., the Elections Department reported counting 7,655 ballots of 11,542 mailed out. There are only 100 ballots left to count. The voter turnout: 66.32 percent.

The next ballot count is scheduled for Nov. 13. The county Canvassing Board is scheduled to certify the election Nov. 24.

In the Fisherman Bay Sewer District on Lopez Island, write-in candidate Neil Trounson — who was appointed Jan. 7, 2008 to a vacancy on the commission — fended off a challenge by Lauren Stephens.

The election means Trounson will complete an unexpired term that expires Dec. 31, 2011. Stephens will continue to serve her community as a member of the Lopez Island School Board.

Four candidates were unopposed for four positions on the new Orcas Island Park and Recreation District Commission. But Marian O'Brien and Vicki Vandermay apparently gave voters a tough choice for Commissioner Position 1: As of Friday, Vandermay was leading 775-772.

GET THE LATEST COUNTY RESULTS HERE.

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