News / Clark County News

Madore ahead, Boldt third in county commissioner race

Only 287 votes separate top three candidates, thousands remain to be counted

By Stephanie Rice

Published: August 7, 2012, 5:00pm

David Madore, left, and Marc Boldt are vying for a spot on the Clark County Board of Commissioners.

Too close to call.

That was the reaction Tuesday evening from Clark County Commissioner Marc Boldt and challengers David Madore and Roman Battan, as preliminary results showed Madore leading Battan by 250 votes, and Boldt trailing Battan by 37 votes.

Auditor Greg Kimsey said an additional 15,000 ballots have yet to be counted, although not all of those ballots are going to be from Commission District 2.

Updated results will be released at 5 p.m. today.

District 2 includes most of Vancouver east of Interstate 205, Camas, Washougal and the rest of east county.

The top two finishers advance to the Nov. 6 general election, where commissioner candidates run countywide.

Boldt, a Hockinson Republican seeking his third term, said Tuesday he spent money on campaign advertising late in the election so he hopes it pays off.

“I would have liked a better outcome, so we’ll hope for the best on late ballots,” said Boldt, 57.

Madore, a Vancouver Republican, has been an outspoken critic of the Columbia River Crossing and an advo

cate for a third bridge. The owner of U.S. Digital said Tuesday that he’s thankful for the early lead.

“So far, so good,” he said.

Madore, 61, has contributed $130,000 of his own money to his campaign, according to the Public Disclosure Commission. Including that sum, he has raised $139,000, giving him the biggest war chest of any candidate in the state running for local office.

Boldt has raised $56,644. Battan has raised $11,566 including $4,600 of his own money.

Battan, a 31-year-old Camas Democrat, was laid off last year from his job as director of sales at Vancouver’s Capstone Technology.

“It’s just a matter of waiting,” Battan said Tuesday.

Preliminary results reflected 14,242 votes cast. Madore received 31 percent of the vote and Battan and Boldt each received 29 percent. Write-in votes accounted for nearly 1 percent of votes.

Pat Campbell, a former Vancouver city councilor, finished fourth with 10 percent of the vote. Campbell, 67, ran as an independent.

The Clark County Republican Party endorsed Madore.

Boldt, who served in the state Legislature before being elected in 2004 to the county commission, was disciplined last year for making decisions with which the party’s executive board didn’t agree including the fact Boldt endorsed Commissioner Steve Stuart, a Democrat, in 2010.

Commissioners currently earn $102,228 a year.

Stephanie Rice: 360-735-4508 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.

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