Two Grant Co. races may be headed for recount

EPHRATA — One race for a seat on the Moses Lake School Board and one race for Royal City City Council may be headed for a recount. Both may fall within state guidelines for a mandatory machine recount, according to the Grant County Auditor’s Office.

Results of the Nov. 7 general election were certified Tuesday. About 30% of registered voters cast ballots countywide. 

Challenger Amy Breitenstein leads incumbent Shannon Hintz in the race for Position 1 on the MLSB, with 3,155 votes to 3,095 for Hintz.

Elections Administrator Aleanah Lopez said that may meet state guidelines for a mandatory recount, which requires the difference between the candidates to be less than one-half of 1%, and that the difference be less than 150 votes. 

Incumbent Ryan Piercy leads challenger Stanton Fanning by two votes, 49 for Piercy to 47 for Fanning in the race for Position 4 on the Royal City Council. 

    Ryan Piercy, right, is sworn in to a seat on the Royal City City Council by then-Finance Director Shilo Christensen, left. Piercy defeated challenger Stanton Fanning by two votes, but the race may qualify for a mandatory recount.
  

The Washington Secretary of State must determine within three business days after the election is certified whether a recount will be required, according to RCW 29A.64.21. 

There were other close races, but they may not meet the criteria for a recount. Jim Kling defeated Manny Rodriguez in the race for an open seat on the Quincy City Council, with Kling receiving 486 votes to 479 for Rodriguez. Peter Sharp defeated Megan Gould in the race for a seat on the Soap Lake City Council, 159 votes for Sharp and 150 for Gould. 

Quincy-area voters narrowly approved a proposal for a regional parks and recreation district, 1,006 yes votes to 945 no votes. A proposal for a four-year special levy to make repairs and upgrade equipment in the Wahluke School District was defeated by a narrow margin, 325 no votes to 290 yes votes. 

Challenger Allen DePuy defeated incumbent Michelle Agliano in the race for Soap Lake mayor. DePuy received 241 votes to 95 for Agliano. Incumbent Mattawa mayor Maria Celaya beat challenger Jaime Gutierrez, receiving 82 votes to 32 for Gutierrez. Mike Eyelar is the new mayor of Grand Coulee, with 144 votes to 23 for his opponent  Chuck Crowe. 

Two new members were elected to the Moses Lake school board. Carla Mayberry Urias defeated incumbent Susan Freeman, 3,397 votes for Urias to 2,784 for Freeman. Challenger Kirryn Jensen defeated incumbent Alana DeGooyer; Jensen received 3,637 votes to 2,427 for DeGooyer.

The Quincy School Board will have three new members. Dayana Ruiz defeated Bart Yeates for an open seat on the board, with Ruiz receiving 1,136 votes to 852 for Yeates. Two incumbents were defeated in their bid for reelection. Rita Keene defeated incumbent Jack Foglesong, 1,194 votes for Keene to 892 for Foglesong. Heather Folks-Lambert was defeated by Shannon Durfee; Durfee received 1,282 votes to 788 for Folks-Lambert.

Mike Fleurkins was elected to an open seat on the Ephrata School Board, defeating Jordan Hansen. Fleurkins received 1,125 votes to 947 for Hansen. Incumbent Ken Ribail kept his seat on the Wilson Creek School Board, receiving 90 votes to 46 for challenger Stacy Kostelnik.

David Skaug was reelected to his seat on the Moses Lake City Council, receiving 2,337 votes to 726 for Elisia Delluge Eklund. In the other contested Moses Lake council race, Victor Lombardi defeated Jeremy Nolan, receiving 1,805 votes to 1,213 for Nolan.

Incumbent Fabiola Hernandez defeated challenger Amanda Havens in the only contested race on the Mattawa City Council. Hernandez received 72 votes to 41 for Havens. Clinton Shahan won a seat on the Wilson Creek Town Council, defeating an unnamed write-in candidate with 29 votes for Shahan and 24 for the unnamed candidate. Judith Gorman defeated incumbent JoAnn Rushton in the race for a seat on the Soap Lake City Council. Gorman received 176 votes to 144 for Rushton.

Brittney PIttman defeated Dario Pruneda for a seat on the Warden City Council. PIttman received 134 votes to 29 for Pruneda. Jesus Martinez also won a seat on the Warden council, receiving 124 votes to 41 for Lelani Pruneda.

Challenger Brulee Hoskins Tofflemoyer defeated incumbent Gerene Nelson for a seat on the George City Council. Tofflemoyer received 40 votes to 17 for Nelson. Patty Neff-Carroll kept her seat on the George council, defeating challenger Kenneth Entzel. Neff-Carroll received 41 votes to 16 for Entzel. Mike Warren defeated JoBeth Carlson for an open seat on the Ephrata City Council, receiving 836 votes to 455 for Carlson. In the other contested Ephrata council race, Beau Lamens defeated Michael Durfee; Lamens received 801 votes to 471 for Durfee.

Two incumbents retained their seats on the Samaritan Healthcare board. Katherine Christtan received 3,878 votes to 2,620 for challenger Elliot DeLong. Dale Paris received 4,193 votes to 2,146 for challenger Joseph Akers.

Patric Connelly kept his seat on the Port of Quincy commission, receiving 1,340 votes to 970 for challenger Joe Harris. 

Voters in Grant County Fire District 3 approved a proposal to change the amount of property tax levied by the district, called a “levy lid lift,” with 812 yes votes to 634 no votes. The fire district is the area around Quincy, but does not include the city itself. Voters in Grant County Fire District 7 (Soap Lake) also had a levy lid lift proposal before them and approved it, 554 yes votes to 303 no votes.