Wolfe, Rogers lead commission seat contest in Thurston County

County Commissioner Cathy Wolfe appears to have made it through to the general election with Olympia Councilwoman Karen Rogers at a close second in the race for the seat Wolfe has held for three terms.

Wolfe garnered 32.6 percent of the votes while Rogers received 30 percent, according to unofficial results from the Thurston County Auditor’s Office on Tuesday night.

The results show the two Democrats topping former Tenino mayor Ken Jones, a Republican who received 24 percent of the votes, and former county commissioner George Barner, who pulled in 12 percent of the votes. Barner listed “Independent Demo” as his party preference on the ballot.

“I am very happy and very pleased and am looking forward to a positive and very productive campaign on the issues,” Wolfe, 67, said Tuesday night from Democratic headquarters in downtown Olympia. In addition to serving as a county commissioner, Wolfe has  served three terms on the state House of Representatives.

If re-elected, Wolfe said she looks forward to the county moving to the newly built Accountability and Restitution Center in 2013, continuing the implementation of the recently adopted critical-areas ordinance and looking seriously into having impact fees for the county to supplement development.

“I just want to keep it positive and focused on the issues, and hope that’s what we both do,” Wolfe said. “I really want to thank everyone that worked so hard on my campaign. It was a whole lot of work and I’m looking forward to more.”

Rogers, an Olympia Councilwoman since 2010, said she had no idea how the primary election would go, but is relieved to have ­apparently made it through to the general election.

“It’s been a very close race and it will be interesting to see where George and Ken’s voters go to,” she said. “You can’t predict anything, all we can do is campaign as hard as possible and make sure we are reaching out to the people.”

Rogers also has served on the Thurston County Economic Development Council, Intercity Transit Authority, Thurston County Law and Justice Council and Thurston County Planning Commission.

Rogers said she is looking forward to putting the skills she has utilized at the city level to the test at the county level. If elected, her focus would be on keeping jobs in Thurston County and being responsible with county dollars, in reference to the 2-year-old ARC that remains empty.

She hopes to address the issues the other candidates brought up.

“There are a lot of people who live in south county, about 38 percent, and they haven’t been heard,” Rogers said. “They have a right just as much as everyone else to be well represented and that is something I hope to do, listen to everyone regardless where in the county they live or what party they are from – if they live in Thurston County, they count.”

ckrotzer@theolympian.com
360-754-5476