A freshly painted ballot drop box in Forest Grove. Photo: Chas Hundley
Tuesday night’s election ended at 8 p.m. with 91,150 Washington County residents casting a ballot, or 23.69% of registered voters. Statewide, that percentage was 25.73%, according to the Oregon Secretary of State website.
Voters in the Gales Creek area made choices on who will represent their interests on the Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District Board, the Forest Grove School Board, and the Portland Community College Board.
For the Forest Grove School Board race in Position 1, incumbent Brad Bafaro won reelection with 96.5% of the vote.
Position 2’s incumbent Valyrie Ingram, running unopposed, won with 97.6% of the vote.
“I am happy to be serving on the Forest Grove School Board for another term. I am confident that the board will continue to do good work for the students and families in our area,” Ingram said in an email to the Gales Creek Journal.
Position 3’s incumbent Mark Everett won with 64.9% of the vote to challenger Mary Whitmore’s 34.3%.
“I want to say thank you to all those who voted and that I am excited and ready to continue work as a member of the Forest Grove School Board,” Everett said in an email to the Gales Creek Journal.
For the Forest Grove Rural Fire District Position 1 race, Cleo Howell won reelection to a fourth term, running unopposed, with 97.9%.
“I just want to continue the work on the Fire Task Force that is looking into a possible merger of fire services in Western Washington county,” Howell said in an email to the Gales Creek Journal on Wednesday morning.
For the Forest Grove Rural Fire District Position 3 race, incumbent Terry Lewis beat challenger Richard Gale with 62.2% of the vote to Gale’s 37.4%.
For the Portland Community College Zone 7 race, Kristi Wilson won with more than 55.4% of the vote to Reiko Mia Williams’ 43.3%.
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.
