Port of Olympia candidates Evans, Hansen ahead in early primary returns
.JPG "The Port of Olympia’s marine terminal warehouse.")
Port of Olympia District 3 candidates Amy Evans and Joel Hansen are leading in the race to advance to the general election, according to early election returns released Tuesday.
The ultimate winner in November will replace incumbent E.J. Zita, who chose not to run for reelection.
Commercial real estate broker Amy Evans is leading with 41.3 percent of the vote, followed by Joel Hansen with 34.2 percent. Melissa Denton was a distant third at 23.6 percent. Only two candidates advance to the general election ballot.
Evans, 41, said Tuesday night she was excited about the outcome and stuck close to her campaign theme of collaboration.
“I’m thankful people came out to vote and want to work together,” she said.
Hansen, 46, who works for a business called CapStone Solar, which has an office in Lacey, said he, too, was excited to continue the conversation about what the port can do for the county.
“We all want the same things when we look out over the horizon,” he said.
Family law attorney Denton, 60, sounded disappointed Tuesday night, although she wasn’t ready to concede, she said.
“To the victors go the spoils,” she said, adding that she considered both Evans and Hansen to be decent and courteous people.
However, she said she has not made a decision about a future endorsement.
There was no primary in the District 2 port race, which is between Bob Iyall and Jessie Simmons. Longtime port commissioner Bill McGregor currently holds the District 2 seat, but he, too, decided not to run again.
The winner of the District 2 and 3 races will join District 1’s Joe Downing on the commission.
The county will certify the election results on Aug. 17 after additional ballot counts. Auditor Mary Hall estimates about 10,000 more ballots from county drop boxes have yet to be counted and mail-in ballots postmarked Tuesday are still on the way.
Only 40,000 ballots, amounting to 20.4% turnout, were counted Tuesday night.
This story was originally published August 3, 2021 at 8:57 PM.
