Election update: Jacobson overtakes Waller in race for mayor

The election for mayor of Cathlamet took a turn in the second round of tallying votes last Thursday.

Incumbent Mayor Dale Jacobson claimed a narrow lead in the election, 69-65, over write-in candidate Laurel Waller. When votes were first counted Nov. 7, Waller led 58-53.

Waller had filed as a candidate for Council Position 5, and she leads write-in candidate Jean Burnham, who was appointed to the council earlier this year, 96-42.

Waller has said she would take the office of mayor and forfeit the council position if she were to defeat Jacobson.

In the other contested council race for Position 4, Tanya Waller, Laurel's daughter, leads incumbent Bernadette Goodroe 86-69.

In voting for Position 2 on the board of commissioners for Wahkiakum Port District 2, incumbent Scott Anderson led Bruce M. Holland 326-167.

The Naselle/Grays River Valley School District had the only other contested race for voters in Wahkiakum County. In the election for Director District 4, Tim Haataia received 112 votes in Wahkiakum and 143 in Pacific County for a total of 255 votes; Amy Chadwick had 86 in Wahkiakum and 202 in Pacific for 288 votes.

Results are incomplete; election officers will count more ballots in coming days.

Wahkiakum's next count will occur Friday morning at 10:00. Auditor Diane Tischer said there were 66 ballots that arrived too late to count on last Thursday.

Pacific County's next tally will be November 2, 9 a.m.

Wahkiakum County voters agreed with voters state wide in three advisory ballots for the legislature, voting to repeal all three.

In passing three tax measures, the legislature referred the measures to the public, but the advisory votes are nonbinding. The measures were (Nov. 7 totals):

--Advisory 16, Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1597: Wahkiakum voted to repeal 662-217, 75.31 percent; state wide, voters voted to repeal by 57.24 percent. The measure concerned passage of a food fish excise tax.

--Advisory 17, Engrossed House Bill 2163: Wahkiakum voted to repeal 662-217, 75.31 percent; state wide, voters voted to repeal by 64.85 percent. The measure concerned an expansion of the Business and Occupation Tax and a narrowing of certain exemptions.

--Advisory 18, Engrossed House Bill 2242: Wahkiakum voted to repeal 656-225, 74.46 percent; state wide, voters voted to repeal by 61.94 percent. The measure concerned modifications and additions to state property taxes for common schools.