Sidhu beats Kershner in Whatcom council race

Satpal Sidhu outpaced Kathy Kershner in the late ballots for Whatcom County Council and has won by election the seat he was appointed to in March.

Results released by the county Auditor’s Office after 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, showed Sidhu with an 821-vote lead, or 1.4 percentage points, with 100 ballots left to count plus whatever valid ballots straggle in from the mail after Friday.

“I would think that I’m probably not going to win this thing,” Kershner said by phone on Friday, after hearing the results from a reporter. Kershner was trying to get back on the council after serving from 2010 to 2014.

“I was proud of the race we ran. It was a positive race,” she said. “We tried to focus on the issues at hand. I’m proud of the supporters we had and the helpers.”

The race between Sidhu and Kershner was divisive and sometimes testy. Kershner accused Sidhu of not respecting women and female business owners after he said she didn’t run a real business. He later apologized for the statement on social media.

Sidhu’s campaign, supported by Democrats, sent negative fliers in the mail that pointed to Kershner’s voting record during her first year on the council, when she opposed funding domestic-violence services and the food bank.

After Friday’s results, Sidhu was looking ahead.

“I have gotten into politics not to have a chip on my shoulder. I have gotten into it to serve my community,” he said.

He said he took seriously statements from conservatives, especially in Lynden and other parts of his district, who said he didn’t represent them.

“I would like to really work extra hard to overcome this feeling and see that we can make it better,” Sidhu said. “At this point in time I really see that as my big mission.”

Sidhu is the first person of south Asian descent — he was born in India — elected to the County Council.

Sidhu was appointed to the seat in March after the retirement of Sam Crawford, who left his position after 15 years to take on more responsibility at his job. Sidhu was selected over Kershner, who also sought the appointment.

Kershner, who like Sidhu lives in Lynden, said she looks forward to the political makeup of the council changing with the switch to district-only voting and five districts, but she wouldn’t say this early whether she would be interested in running in 2017 or 2019.

“I would want to have more information about what the district looked like,” Kershner said. “Maybe other people would like to run. I would certainly support another person if they put their name forward. I don’t know.”

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 6:44 PM with the headline "Sidhu beats Kershner in Whatcom council race."