COUNTY – Whatcom County voters selected Jack Louws as the new County Executive, and re-elected Sam Crawford and Barbara Brenner to their Whatcom County Council seats.
Results show Louws took nearly 54 percent of the vote, with 34,460 ballots cast in his favor, over Doug Ericksen, who received 29,489. Louws is the former mayor of Lynden; his father was named the first County Executive in 1979. Ericksen, elected as a State Senator in 2010, will continue his position.
In the Whatcom County Council District 1 race, outgoing County Executive Pete Kremen took the seat at nearly 51 percent, over current member Tony Larson, who was elected last year to a one-year term.
Sam Crawford was re-elected to his seat over challenger Christina Maginnis. Ballot counts gave both candidates a lead over one another at different times, but as of Nov. 16, voting showed Crawford as the winner with 50.37 percent.
Barbara Brenner was re-elected to her seat with 56.75 percent of the vote. Challenger Alan Black received 43.25 percent.
Whatcom County Charter Amendment No. 1 creating a salary commission passed by about 61 percent.
In other election news, Debbie Adelstein will serve as the new County Auditor, and Steve Oliver was re-elected as the County Treasurer. Bill Elfo was re-elected as County Sheriff, and received nearly 75 percent of the vote over challenger Steve Harris.
Port of Bellingham District 3 Commissioner Jim Jorgensen was re-elected to his seat, by a margin of about 73 percent, over challenger Michael Murphy.
Locally, Everson City Council member Andy Rowlson was re-elected with 59.8 percent of the vote. Daniel Bennett received 80.6 percent of the vote to win his Nooksack City Council seat, and Marshall Judy, also on the Nooksack Council, won his district with 64.8 percent of the vote.
Two new commissioners will sit on the Columbia Valley Water District board, serving the Paradise Lakes community. Shane Janitscheck defeated incumbent Gerald Kern, and Victoria Anderson took 63.8 percent of the vote over Ben Kjeldgaard.
Fire District 14 will have a new commissioner. Leonard (Shorty) Bjornstad took 53.8 percent of the vote over incumbent Chris Moe.
As of Nov. 16, a total of 68,943 ballots were counted by the Auditor’s Office. Approximately 150 ballots remained. Voter turnout was approximately 58.8 percent. The election results will be finalized of Nov. 29.
Election results
Election results will be certified Nov. 29. For a full listing of results, visit the Whatcom County Auditor’s website at www.whatcomcounty.us, and click on Auditor, then election results.