Port of Olympia District 1 race set between Downing and Barner

Port of Olympia District 1 candidates Joe Downing and George Barner solidified their showing in Tuesday’s primary election after an updated ballot count on Thursday showed no change between the challenger and incumbent.

Both will square off against one another for the District 1 seat this fall. Downing captured 43.4 percent of the primary vote, followed by Barner at 37 percent.

The third candidate in the race, executive chef Joseph Treacy Kreger, 57, did not advance because he won only 19.5 percent of the vote.

Barner, 73, who is seeking a third term on the port commission, said Thursday he was pleased with the results, especially for someone who was still trying to assemble an election team days before the candidate filing deadline of May 18.

“I think it turned out pretty well,” said Barner about Tuesday’s vote, adding that he had rung a lot of doorbells in the last two or three weeks.

As for the next stage of the campaign, Barner acknowledged that Downing has the money, making him a well financed candidate.

“It will be an interesting race,” Barner said. “I don’t know exactly how it will go, but I’m optimistic.”

He also said he was planning to reach out to candidate Kreger to see whether he could gain his support.

Downing, 61, a senior financial examiner with the state Department of Financial Institutions, could not be reached on Thursday, but he led all port candidates in fundraising, including those in the District 3 race, with about $22,000 in cash contributions.

His top donor was Clydia Cuykendall, a former colleague on the Port of Olympia citizens advisory committee. Downing served on that committee for six years.

The primary election is set to be certified on Aug. 18. As of Thursday, voter turnout stood at 22.2 percent.

This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Port of Olympia District 1 race set between Downing and Barner."