First results released in Whatcom County WA primary election, with few surprises

Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu and Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood escaped primary challenges and appear to be heading for the Nov. 7 general election, according to initial ballot returns released Tuesday night.

Sidhu was in first place among six candidates in his bid for a second term when the first count was posted after the polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Dan Purdy was in second place.

Fleetwood was leading four challengers and an organized write-in candidate in his bid for a second term. Kim Lund was in second place Tuesday night.

“I’m thankful and happy with the results. I look forward to the fall campaign and sharing a healthy vision for the future of Bellingham,” Fleetwood told The Bellingham Herald in a text message.

Sidhu told The Herald that he saw the results as a sign that voters appreciated his leadership through crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and two rounds of flooding on the Nooksack River.

“It is very gratifying. All the work we have done for the past four years, that recognition is important,” he said in an interview.

Sidhu had 35% of the vote to Purdy’s 28%.

In the race for the Bellingham City Council’s at-large seat being vacated by Kristina Michele Martens, who was running for mayor, Jace Cotton was leading with 32% to Russ Whidbee’s 24%.

Both Cotton and Whidbee had solid leads over the other three candidates.

“We did a lot of door-belling over the last couple of days. For me, it shows that voters chose pretty decisively that they want bolder action on the housing crisis,” Cotton told The Herald in an interview.

Only the two candidates with the most primary votes will advance to the general election in Washington state’s vote-by-mail elections.

Tuesday’s primary included only the races where more than two candidates were seeking the same office.

On the ballot were nonpartisan city, county and school board positions.

A second ballot count was expected about 5 p.m. Wednesday, and would include the last of the ballots from official drop boxes and ballots that arrive in Wednesday’s mail, as long as they were postmarked before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

A total of 159,742 Whatcom County residents were registered to vote, and 35,592 ballots were returned Tuesday, according to the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office.

That’s a turnout rate of 29%, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office.

Here’s how key Whatcom County races stood Tuesday night:

Whatcom County Executive

Satpal Sidhu was leading with 35% of the vote for Whatcom County executive, followed by Dan Purdy with 28%. Alicia Rule was third with 18%, Barry Buchanan had 14%, Misty Flowers had 3% and Sukhwant Gill had 2%.

Whatcom County Council at-large

Jon Scanlon was leading for the open at-large seat position B on the Whatcom County Council with 37% of the vote, followed by Hannah Ordos with 31%, Atul Deshmane with 22%, and Jerry Burns with 9%.

Whatcom County Council 4th District

Mark Stremler was leading with 46% of the vote for the council’s 4th District seat which includes Lynden and rural Whatcom County south to just north of Bellingham. County Councilwoman Kathy Kershner was second with 44%, and Katherine Orlowski was third with 10%.

Bellingham mayor

Seth Fleetwood was leading the race for Bellingham mayor with 40% of the vote, followed by Kim Lund with 25%. Mike McAuley was third with 16%, followed by Kristina Michele Martens with 13% and Christopher McCoy with 5%. Write-in votes totaled 1%, but it was unknown how many of those votes were for the registered write-in candidate Joel Johnson.

Bellingham City Council at-large

Jace Cotton was leading for the open at-large seat with 32% of the vote, followed by Russ Whidbee with 24%. Garrett O’Brien was in third place with 19%, followed by Paul Schissler with 13% and Maya Morales with 11%.

Bellingham City Council Ward 1

Councilwoman Hannah Stone was leading with 59% of the vote for the Bellingham City Council’s Ward 1 seat, followed by Eamonn Collins with 35% and Michi Marcher with 6%.

Blaine candidate arrested

Among the other races on Tuesday’s ballot was Tana Perkins Reneau, a candidate for the Blaine school board who was arrested in June on child rape and torture charges. Reneau is free on bond and remained on the ballot. Despite her arrest, Reneau had 23% of the vote, behind Ben Lazarus with 43% and Dean Berkeley with 33%.