The first round of primary election results released Tuesday showed Marc Boldt, no party affiliation, and Democrat Mike Dalesandro leading the race for Clark County council chair. Republican Councilor David Madore, however, is not far behind.
Boldt, a former GOP county commissioner who lost to Madore in 2012, led the race with 13,937 votes, or 27.53 percent.
“I think it proves God has a sense of humor,” a beaming Boldt said Tuesday night.
Dalesandro, the lone Democrat in the race, polled 13,636, or 26.93 percent. Madore, meanwhile, gathered 12,152 votes, or exactly 24 percent.
Sitting Republican Councilors Jeanne Stewart and Tom Mielke trailed, with Stewart polling 7,557 votes, or 14.93 percent, and Mielke receiving 3,247 votes, or 6.41 percent.
Dalesandro, a current Battle Ground city councilor and the only newcomer to Clark County politics in the race, said he is “cautiously optimistic” about the results.
“This is a good start,” Dalesandro said. “(Voters) are looking for a change.”
Madore, however, trails Dalesandro by only 1,484 votes, and Auditor Greg Kimsey said there are still thousands of votes left to be received and counted in the coming days. The top two finishers advance to the Nov. 3 general election, regardless of party.
Madore did not appear at the county Public Service Center, where returns were released, nor did he comment publicly on his Facebook pages or website by The Columbian’s deadline.
The county issued 250,728 ballots for the election, and as of Tuesday morning had received 52,340 to be tabulated, which translates to a 20.9 percent voter turnout. Of those, 51,073 of these were included in Tuesday’s count.
More ballots that were submitted or mailed by Tuesday’s 8 p.m. deadline will be counted in the coming days. The next count will be released at about 4 p.m. today.
This election marks a new era in Clark County politics. The five candidates were vying for a new seat created by the Clark County home-rule charter adopted by voters last November. The chairperson will be responsible for leading council meetings, and will be the main spokesperson and representative for the council.
The chair position is the only seat under the new charter that is elected at-large. Republican candidates have historically fared well in county-wide races, supported by a largely conservative base in north Clark County.
The chair position is a four-year term, but this year’s chair will only hold the seat until 2018, resetting the election cycle.
