Incumbent Bob Bernd leading challenger in PUD race

MOSES LAKE - Incumbent Bob Bernd is leading challenger Noah Zemke in the race for PUD commissioner in unofficial election results released Tuesday.

Bernd received 8,592 votes (70 percent) to 3,744 votes for Zemke (30 percent) in vote totals released by the Grant County Auditor's Office. Updated vote totals will be released late Wednesday.

Bernd thanked PUD district patrons for returning him to office, and said he was happy they placed confidence in him.

"There are a lot of issues on our plate that I've talked about in the campaign," he said, and among them are the policies that govern rates and rate structure. Rates were the topic of a long discussion at the Oct. 28 commission meeting, and Bernd said he expects those conversations to continue.

Utility district officials are still implementing requirements included in the new operating license, Bernd said, and he wants to follow those to completion. Many of the remaining projects involve recreation and recreation sites, he said, and one of his goals is to finish the capital investments and get to the stage of maintenance and operation.

"It would be nice to get the Crescent Bar issue resolved," he said. The area, north of Quincy, has been the subject of an ongoing dispute between the PUD and homeowners. A federal judge recently ordered the parties into mediation.

"I appreciate the campaign my opponent ran," Bernd said.

"I'm very happy to have had Bob as an opponent," Zemke said. "Having such a gentleman in politics is hard to find." The PUD race was Zemke's first for public office, and he said he might make another run in the future.