The Washington County Elections Division released the certified election results on Tuesday from the May 20 special district election, including precinct-level data for the election that saw contested school board races in the Forest Grove School District and a Gales Creek resident win election to the Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District.
View an interactive precinct map online.
School Board races saw candidates largely sweep precincts
Three school board seats were up for grabs in the Forest Grove School District, which includes the cities of Forest Grove and Cornelius, and outlying rural communities including Gales Creek, Verboort, areas near Hagg Lake, Dilley, Glenwood and more.
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Positions 1, 2, and 3 were left open after all three incumbents declined to run again.
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None of the races were closely contested.
There are 14 precincts in the Forest Grove School District. The largest three by registered voters are in Forest Grove and Cornelius, while the largest rural precinct, Precinct 312, includes most of Gales Creek, portions of Dilley, and the Hagg Lake community. One precinct has been excluded from this story, as no one voted there.
In Position 1, Brisa Franco received 62.97% of the vote (2,986 votes) to Nicholas J Hafez’ 36.06% (1,710 votes). Out of 13 precincts, Franco won 11. The two precincts that went to Hafez, Precincts 347 and 422 are small, with just 61 and seven registered voters respectively. Just three of the seven registered voters in Precinct 422, a small strip of land bordering the northern edge of Forest Grove and Cornelius voted, and all went for Hafez.
In Position 2, former Forest Grove Mayor Peter Truax won the election with 64.25% (3,167 votes) to opponent Jodi Blue’s 31.99% (1,577 votes). Truax won all 13 precincts.
In Position 3, a three-way race, Almo Lozano won with 57.12% (2,741 votes), while opponents Madigan Shepherd (23.73%, 1,139 votes) and James Strother (18.15%, 871 votes) combined didn’t even approach the halfway mark.
Lozano won all 13 precincts.
Two other local races were on the ballot, both uncontested.
Nine precincts comprise the Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District; one precinct—yes, Precinct 422, that group of three voters that have voted in lockstep so far—opted to sit the uncontested races out, and all eight remining precincts went for each candidate, with a handful of write-ins having no effect on the outcome.
In Position 1, Dilley resident Benjamin Otto won with 98.87% (525 votes), and in Position 3, Gales Creek resident Neal Hammond won with 97.16% (479 votes).
See the full breakdown of results, which includes other county races, online.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
