Gregg leads sheriff's race; McKay bond measure sees initial support
Other money propositions also passing; county sees surge in voter registrations.
Updated
A trio of Quincy residents finalized their ballot choices Tuesday evening at the Grant County Courthouse in Ephrata. Local elections staff said several hundred people showed up in person throughout the day to register as voters. Photos by Randy Bracht
EPHRATA — In perhaps the highest profile local race on the Nov. 3 general election ballot, Grant County sheriff candidate Darrik Gregg is leading incumbent Joey Kriete by nearly 1,300 votes, 6,670 – 5,392, based on preliminary results Tuesday night.
Gregg, a sergeant with the Moses Lake Police Department and a former chief deputy with the sheriff’s office, hopes to succeed Kriete, who is seeking a second four-year term. Both are Republicans from Moses Lake with extensive law-enforcement backgrounds.
The sheriff’s race is among five contested elective positions within Grant County government, all of which carry four-year terms beginning Jan. 1. Initial tallies for the others were:
— Assessor: In a surprising bid, Republican Anson Bartrand of Beverly is outpolling Clayton Johnson of Ephrata by nearly 2,000 votes, 7,152 – 5,195. Bartrand was a write-in candidate in the August primary who received enough votes then to advance to the general election despite having no formal training in property appraisals. But he has been active in local GOP politics and that may have bolstered his standing over Johnson, a non-partisan candidate who has nine years’ experience in the assessor’s office where he currently works at a senior market sales analyst. The winner will succeed outgoing assessor Melissa McKnight, who did not seek reelection.
— Auditor: Shannon Falstad of Ephrata, a longtime courthouse employee, was appointed interim county auditor following the retirement of Michele Jaderlund in June. Falstad leads Darci Homesley of Moses Lake, a financial officer with the county MACC dispatch center, by nearly 1,800 votes, 6,652 – 4,884. Both are Republicans.
— Commissioner/District 3: Kelly Raap of rural Ephrata has a 1,010-vote advantage over Shannon Durfee of Quincy, 6,187 – 5,177. The winner will succeed longtime incumbent Cindy Carter of Royal City, who is retiring from office at the end of December. Both candidates are Republicans — Raap works for a bookkeeping/payroll services firm and helps with family farm finances; Durfee operates a local administrative/marketing business and serves as a school board member.
— Superior Court Judge/Position 3: In early results, private practice attorney Ken Chadwick of Moses Lake leads Trevor Bevier of Soap Lake, a deputy prosecuting attorney for Grant County, by 908 votes, 6,228 – 5,320. They are vying for the non-partisan position held since January by governor-appointed Judge Jennifer Richardson, who was eliminated from contention after finishing third in the August primary.
In another contested non-partisan race, incumbent Grant County PUD commissioner Larry Schaapman of Quincy appears poised to win a third six-year term in office representing District 3, which encompasses the southwest portion of the county. Schaapman received 88% of the vote on Tuesday despite a write-in campaign by Jacque Rasmussen of Quincy, whose name did not appear on the ballot.
A non-binding advisory proposition to increase Grant County’s sales tax by 0.1% is being rejected by nearly 60% of voters. County commissioners placed the measure on the ballot to gauge public sentiment about the potential tax hike, which could raise upward of $1.24 million annually to fund additional resources for mental health, chemical dependency, and “therapeutic court” services.
Local money measures all passing
Four funding proposals sought by local governments were receiving voter approval in Tuesday’s early tallies.
— Grant County Public Hospital District No. 4, which operates McKay Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Soap Lake, garnered over 65% of the vote for its proposed 30-year, $9.94 million construction bond measure. A 60-percent majority vote, plus “validation” with at least 40% turnout by district voters in the last general election, is needed for passage. If ultimately approved, the bond will be part of a larger funding package to add assisted living units, memory care units, and a community wellness center to the hospital campus.
— Grant County Fire District No. 7, based in Lakeview, was narrowly passing its levy-lift proposal at 60.8%, just above the needed 60% threshold. The proposition calls for raising the district’s property tax levy rate from 25 cents to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation to provide increased funding for emergency medical services.
— Moses Lake voters are favoring a proposed sales tax increase of 0.1% within city limits for additional funding dedicated to police and public safety services. The measure, which needs a simple-majority vote for approval, was passing at 54.9%.
— At 74% approval, Wilson Creek-area voters favor retaining a one-year maintenance-and-operations levy for their local cemetery district.
Election officials see surge in same-day voter registrations
While they didn’t have specific numbers, elections staff at the courthouse estimated that several hundred people showed up in person Tuesday to register as voters and cast their ballots.
An elections monitor from the Secretary of State’s Office in Olympia spent the day in Ephrata and said operations went smoothly despite the influx of new voters.
Overall voter turnout was 25.4% with 13,505 ballots tabulated from Grant County’s 53,138 registered voters. The turnout percentage is expected to rise as more ballots are counted in the days ahead. The next update is scheduled late Wednesday afternoon.
By law, Washington’s 39 counties must certify their results by Nov. 24 for submission to the Secretary of State, who will finalize all results by Dec. 3.
At a drive-up drop box outside the courthouse in Ephrata, a county elections worker assisted a voter with finalizing his ballot just a few minutes before the polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
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Gregg leads sheriff's race; McKay bond measure sees initial support
Other money propositions also passing; county sees surge in voter registrations.
EPHRATA — In perhaps the highest profile local race on the Nov. 3 general election ballot, Grant County sheriff candidate Darrik Gregg is leading incumbent Joey Kriete by nearly 1,300 votes, 6,670 – 5,392, based on preliminary results Tuesday night.
Gregg, a sergeant with the Moses Lake Police Department and a former chief deputy with the sheriff’s office, hopes to succeed Kriete, who is seeking a second four-year term. Both are Republicans from Moses Lake with extensive law-enforcement backgrounds.
The sheriff’s race is among five contested elective positions within Grant County government, all of which carry four-year terms beginning Jan. 1. Initial tallies for the others were:
— Assessor: In a surprising bid, Republican Anson Bartrand of Beverly is outpolling Clayton Johnson of Ephrata by nearly 2,000 votes, 7,152 – 5,195. Bartrand was a write-in candidate in the August primary who received enough votes then to advance to the general election despite having no formal training in property appraisals. But he has been active in local GOP politics and that may have bolstered his standing over Johnson, a non-partisan candidate who has nine years’ experience in the assessor’s office where he currently works at a senior market sales analyst. The winner will succeed outgoing assessor Melissa McKnight, who did not seek reelection.
— Auditor: Shannon Falstad of Ephrata, a longtime courthouse employee, was appointed interim county auditor following the retirement of Michele Jaderlund in June. Falstad leads Darci Homesley of Moses Lake, a financial officer with the county MACC dispatch center, by nearly 1,800 votes, 6,652 – 4,884. Both are Republicans.
— Commissioner/District 3: Kelly Raap of rural Ephrata has a 1,010-vote advantage over Shannon Durfee of Quincy, 6,187 – 5,177. The winner will succeed longtime incumbent Cindy Carter of Royal City, who is retiring from office at the end of December. Both candidates are Republicans — Raap works for a bookkeeping/payroll services firm and helps with family farm finances; Durfee operates a local administrative/marketing business and serves as a school board member.
— Superior Court Judge/Position 3: In early results, private practice attorney Ken Chadwick of Moses Lake leads Trevor Bevier of Soap Lake, a deputy prosecuting attorney for Grant County, by 908 votes, 6,228 – 5,320. They are vying for the non-partisan position held since January by governor-appointed Judge Jennifer Richardson, who was eliminated from contention after finishing third in the August primary.
In another contested non-partisan race, incumbent Grant County PUD commissioner Larry Schaapman of Quincy appears poised to win a third six-year term in office representing District 3, which encompasses the southwest portion of the county. Schaapman received 88% of the vote on Tuesday despite a write-in campaign by Jacque Rasmussen of Quincy, whose name did not appear on the ballot.
A non-binding advisory proposition to increase Grant County’s sales tax by 0.1% is being rejected by nearly 60% of voters. County commissioners placed the measure on the ballot to gauge public sentiment about the potential tax hike, which could raise upward of $1.24 million annually to fund additional resources for mental health, chemical dependency, and “therapeutic court” services.
Local money measures all passing
Four funding proposals sought by local governments were receiving voter approval in Tuesday’s early tallies.
— Grant County Public Hospital District No. 4, which operates McKay Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Soap Lake, garnered over 65% of the vote for its proposed 30-year, $9.94 million construction bond measure. A 60-percent majority vote, plus “validation” with at least 40% turnout by district voters in the last general election, is needed for passage. If ultimately approved, the bond will be part of a larger funding package to add assisted living units, memory care units, and a community wellness center to the hospital campus.
— Grant County Fire District No. 7, based in Lakeview, was narrowly passing its levy-lift proposal at 60.8%, just above the needed 60% threshold. The proposition calls for raising the district’s property tax levy rate from 25 cents to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation to provide increased funding for emergency medical services.
— Moses Lake voters are favoring a proposed sales tax increase of 0.1% within city limits for additional funding dedicated to police and public safety services. The measure, which needs a simple-majority vote for approval, was passing at 54.9%.
— At 74% approval, Wilson Creek-area voters favor retaining a one-year maintenance-and-operations levy for their local cemetery district.
Election officials see surge in same-day voter registrations
While they didn’t have specific numbers, elections staff at the courthouse estimated that several hundred people showed up in person Tuesday to register as voters and cast their ballots.
An elections monitor from the Secretary of State’s Office in Olympia spent the day in Ephrata and said operations went smoothly despite the influx of new voters.
Overall voter turnout was 25.4% with 13,505 ballots tabulated from Grant County’s 53,138 registered voters. The turnout percentage is expected to rise as more ballots are counted in the days ahead. The next update is scheduled late Wednesday afternoon.
By law, Washington’s 39 counties must certify their results by Nov. 24 for submission to the Secretary of State, who will finalize all results by Dec. 3.