Unofficial local election results posted
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POLSON Four city commission races and new names on the mail-in ballots made for an interesting election on Nov. 8. The results are all unofficial until they are certified. Lake County Election Administrator Kathie Newgard reported that 38.9 percent of voters returned their ballots.
Ward One had races for two seats. Incumbent John Campbell won the four-year term by withstanding a strong challenge from Joslyn Shackelford. Campbell received 115 votes, and Shackelford received 84.
The two-year term race pitted Todd Erickson against write-in candidate Rory Horning. Erickson took the seat with 164 votes, and Horning received seven.
For a four-year term in Ward Two, the highest number of voters, 47 percent, returned their ballots. Candidates Murat Kalinyaprak and Stephen Turner squared off for the seat with Turner’s 326 votes topping Kalinyaprak’s 43 votes.
Dan Morrison and Cheryl Wolfe campaigned for a four-year term for Ward Three with Morrison winning the seat with a 286 to 153 victory.
Dayton area residents elected three water and sewer directors: Dale Cooley, 29 votes, Linda Hayes, 26 votes, and Bonnie Stelzenmuller, 26 votes. Write-in candidate Jeffrey Juno received eight votes.
“Mail ballot elections almost always get a better turnout,” Newgard noted. “The last non-mayoral race Polson did at the polls was in 2003; 51 people voted citywide for a turn out of 2.8 percent.”
Newgard explained that a mayoral race on the ballot usually draws a higher turnout.
RONAN This year’s city election for Ronan had only two wards with more than one candidate running for city council. In Ward One, Ellen Kaphammer received 79 votes for the four-year term, and ran unopposed.
In Ward Two, Calvin Hardy was elected for the four-year councilman seat, collecting 59 votes. Hardy ran against Michael Bartel, who had 32 votes. Chris Adler, who ran unopposed, was elected for the two-year councilman spot, collecting 76 votes.
For Ward Three, Robert McCrea, also unopposed, secured a four-year term with 82 votes.
Three candidates were up for election for the Ward Three two year term. Marlene Melton collected 43 votes, while her opponents Paul Soukup got 24 and Scott Carey received 21 votes.
The planning mill levy was voted in favor of returning the mill levy back to the city of Ronan by a count of 203 for, and 59 against.
ST. IGNATIUS Ray Frey and Marine Johnson were elected to the St. Ignatius City Council with 103 and 92 votes. City council candidate Roger Lemon received 39 votes, and John Wayne Mitchell had 42 votes.
ohnson joined the council in 2006 and decided to re-run for her city council seat.
Frey has served as the city’s former public works director and water and sewer operator. He has also served as the St. Ignatius Fire Department’s Chief for 11 of his 26 years with the department. Frey replaces city council member Ray Jensen, whose term ends this year.
