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POSTED: Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Voters shake up County Council, Port of Bellingham commission

Whatcom County voters appeared ready to reshuffle the Whatcom County Council, while a key rural library levy was barely approved in premilinary election results on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

County Councilwoman Laurie Caskey-Schreiber, who gave up her District 2 seat to pursue the At-Large position, was trailing newcomer Bill Knutzen by about 1,500 votes in the first count of mail-in ballots.

In the District 2 race, Ken Mann has a solid lead over Mary Beth Tiegrob, with nearly 54 percent of the vote.

Former County Councilman Dan McShane was in a close race with small-business owner and U.S. Navy veteran Kathy Kershner, with only 557 votes separating them after more than 34,000 ballots were counted. Both are seeking the District 1 seat being vacated by Ward Nelson.

In two closely watched races for the Port of Bellingham, District 1 Commissioner Scott Walker led longtime community activist John Blethen, but neighborhood activist Michael McAuley appeared headed to victory over District 2 Commissioner Doug Smith.

In races for the Bellingham City Council, Fairhaven activist Michael Lilliquist led Democratic Party activist Catherine Chambers with 56 percent of the vote. Seth Fleetwood garnered more than 9,000 votes for the At-Large seat, but none of the ballots for write-in challenger Orphalee Smith, a local accountant, have been counted yet.

A Whatcom County Library levy, which would raise property taxes to pay for services, had 50.6 percent of the yes votes -- a winning margin of only 249 votes, of more than 20,611 votes cast. It needs only a simply majority to pass.