All Port of Olympia races too close to call after first vote count Tuesday night
All three Port of Olympia races were too close to call Tuesday night after the release of the first round of vote tallies.
All of the candidates in the District 1 race as well as candidates for the new seats representing District 4 and District 5 on the port commission are separated by a few percentage points.
In the District 1 race between former longtime commissioner Bill McGregor and newcomer Jasmine Vasavada, Vasavada held a sliver of a lead with 19,240 votes (50.1%) to his 19,018 (49.5%). There were 148 write-in votes cast.
Vasavada had this to say:
“My countywide race is close, but I’m proud of the strong showing against someone with a well-known name, and grateful for the incredible support I’ve received from roughly 200 individual donors and volunteers who have knocked on thousands of doors to help get out the vote.”
In the District 4 race, it was more of the same: Maggie Sanders was leading Rose Chiu Gundersen, 50.1% to 49.4%. The vote margin was less than 300 votes, with Sanders holding 19,056 to Gundersen’s 18,782.
Sanders could not be reached. Gundersen said the early returns were not what she was hoping to see, although a lot of votes still need to be counted.
“I am hopeful,” she said. “It is close.”
In the District 5 contest, Sarah Tonge was ahead 51.5% to Troy Kirby’s 48%. Their race had the widest margin: Tonge had 19,516 votes to Kirby’s 18,190.
Tonge said she was excited about the results and was thankful and humbled by the support. If she continues to hold a lead, she is prepared to work hard and do her best as a potential commissioner.
Kirby did not count himself out Tuesday, saying a win was still “doable” with more votes still to be counted, especially those who may have voted in the past couple of days.
“She ran a clean race,” said Kirby about his opponent.
Current commissioner Joe Downing chose not to run again for the District 1 seat.
This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 8:44 PM.
