The leaders in Tuesday’s primary election maintained their leads after the count of late ballots Wednesday. In the 40th Legislative District, County Councilman Kevin Ranker appeared headed to the general election and a chance of being the first San Juan Island resident in the state Senate in about 100 years.
Dolores (Dee) May (Vickers) (Nash) Estell passed away Aug. 16, 2008 in Mount Vernon, Wash., from complications of a stroke. She was born May 31, 1930 in Helena, Mont. She graduated from Lincoln High School in Seattle. She married Carleton Edward Nash in 1950.
Kevin Ranker is one step closer to being the first state senator from San Juan County in possibly 100 years. Ranker, a San Juan County Council member, and Steve Van Luven, a former state representative, advanced tonight to the Nov. 4 general election.
Come November, islanders will have a congressman named Rick. But which Rick … well, we’ll have to wait until the Nov. 4 election to find out. Republican Rick Bart and Democrat Rick Larsen were the two top vote-getters in the state’s first-ever Top 2 primary tonight, advancing to the general election. Under the Top 2 system, the top two vote-getters regardless of party advance to the general election.
South San Juan Island voters chose experience — one a long-time county planning commissioner, the other a former planning commissioner and freeholder — to advance to the general election in the race for County Council, District 1. Lovel Pratt and Gordy Petersen were the leading vote-getters in today’s primary and appeared headed to the Nov. 4 general election.
As of 8:17 p.m., with 4,694 ballots counted, Judge John Linde had received 2,831 votes, or 63.27 percent of ballots cast in Tuesday’s primary election. It would appear an insurmountable lead for his sole opponent, Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord, to overcome without a major shift in the trend of initial election results.
Duane Roger Gangelhoff of Oak Harbor, formerly of Minneapolis, Minn., and Roche Harbor, passed away Aug. 18.
Some 4,352 ballots have been received in the Elections Office by Tuesday morning, about 39.5 percent of the ballots mailed to voters for this primary election. The low turnout thus far prompted Elections Supervisor Doris Schaller to predict — hopefully — a 50 percent voter turnout in today’s primary.
Griffin Bay Bookstore will present Bob Tripp, a longtime pilot and author, on Aug. 23 from 2-4 p.m. Tripp, a San Juan Island resident, will be on hand to sign and discuss his first novel, “Last Clear Chance,” a riveting story about the aftermath of a disastrous crash at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak airport.
Today is Election Day. Ballots must be postmarked today; San Juan County votes by mail.
Big John Vejvoda, a retired police officer and a long-time member of the San Juan Lions Club who was a fixture at its fund-raising events, has passed away.
Kim Lupo and Derek DiCicco were the first female and male finishers in the 31st annual 8.8-kilometer Friday Harbor Loop Run today. Lupo, 34, finished with a time of 36:46, good enough for seventh overall. DiCicco, 29, finished with a time of 29:53.
The Journal of the San Juan Islands hosts a mini-forum featuring the candidates for Superior Court judge today, 5 and 6 p.m., at The Journal booth in the main exhibit hall.
