WHIDBEY NEWS-TIMES: State rep, assessor race remain close

Jessie Stensland reports on the latest election results:

Two races affecting Whidbey Island have thin margins, with counts since Election Day trending in favor of Republican candidates.

The race for Island County assessor is far too close to call while the charged contest between state Rep. Greg Gilday, a Republican, and Democrat Clyde Shavers will depend on whether there are enough votes left to count in Legislative District 10 for Gilday to overcome Shavers’ Election Day lead.

They Said It

[Assessor candidate Kelly] Mauck wasn’t surprised by the results.

“I knew it was going to be a tight race from the outset, particularly given the results in the primary,” he said. “I am extremely optimistic and look forward to the final vote totals. I believe it’s a tight race because we have two good candidates on the ballot.”

[Assessor candidate Theodore] Kubisiak said he’s not sweating the ballot counting since he did everything he could before the election and now just has to wait to see what the voters decided. He admitted to being disappointed with the number of undervotes, with more than 2,500 people casting ballots but choosing not to vote in the assessor race.

Kubisiak said he tried to make a stand for change by running without a party affiliation for an office that should be nonpartisan. He said it’s tough to be a trailblazer.

“People like to ask for change,” he said, “but in reality they often disdain change.”