Top two candidates hold leads in second round of Whatcom ballot results
Little changed after the second day of ballot counting as the top two candidates remained the same in key Whatcom County races.
That count on Wednesday, Aug. 4, includes ballots that arrived by mail Wednesday and those that were delivered from ballot boxes that were locked at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3.
Ballots were due by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, in Washington state’s vote-by-mail primary election, and results were released shortly after.
An updated ballot count is planned for about 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5, but little change is likely because the top-two finishers in each race are far ahead of the third-place candidates.
Only races with three or more candidates were on the ballot, and the two candidates with the most votes will advance to the Nov. 2 general election, under the state’s “top-two” primary system.
Turnout was 28% among Whatcom County’s 158,915 registered voters, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office.
Bellingham City Council at-large
Kristina Michele Martens had 55% of the vote for the Bellingham City Council at-large position, followed by Whidbee at 32% and Tonia Boze at 13% — meaning that there will be more than one person of color on the council for the first time in history, because Skip Williams, who is unopposed for City Council Ward 4, Martens and Whidbee are Black.
Whatcom County Council
▪ Kaylee Galloway and Eddy Ury were leading in a three-way race for Whatcom County District 1, which covers south Bellingham. Galloway had 55% of the vote, Ury had 27% and Jeremiah Ramsey was in third place with 17%.
▪ County Councilman Tyler Byrd and challenger Rebecca Lewis were leading among the four candidates running for Whatcom County Council District 3, which covers the eastern part of the county. Lewis led Byrd by 24 total votes, and each had 44% of the vote. Fred Rinard and Kathy Sabel each had 6%.
▪ County Councilman Barry Buchanan and challenger Kamal Bhachu were leading for the at-large position, which was on the ballot for all county voters. Buchanan had 49% of the vote, followed by Bhachu at 37%, Flowers at 9% and Burr at 5%.
Port of Bellingham
Incumbent Ken Bell will face Kelly Krieger in the general election for Port of Bellingham commissioner for District 2. Bell had 46% of the vote and Krieger had 37%, with only voters in the district casting primary ballots in the primary. Austin Chapin was in third place with 17%.
In the November general election, all registered Whatcom County voters can vote in this race for a four-year term representing the northeast portion of the county from part of Bellingham to Lynden, Sumas and the Mount Baker foothills on the three-member commission.
This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 4:56 PM.
