Sanders edges away from Gundersen in latest ballot count for Port of Olympia races

Rolf Boone
·1 min read

Clear leaders emerged Thursday in two Port of Olympia commission races while one remained very close, according to the latest ballot count.

New results were released Thursday afternoon. The next count is set for Saturday, according to the Thurston County Auditor’s Office. An estimated 11,000 ballots still need to be counted.

In the District 1 race, Jasmine Vasavada extended her lead over Bill McGregor with 51.95% of the vote to his 47.7%, the Thursday tallies show. On Wednesday, she was ahead 50.7% to his 48.9%.

Sarah Tonge in the District 5 race continues to lead Troy Kirby. Her lead has now grown to 53.2% to his 46.4%. On Wednesday, her lead was 52% to Kirby’s 47.6%.

Meanwhile, the District 4 race remains very close. On Wednesday, Rose Chiu Gundersen inched closer to Maggie Sanders, but on Thursday Sanders edged away from Gundersen.

Based on the Thursday numbers, Sanders is leading with 50.4% of the vote to Gundersen’s 49.2%. They are separated by 688 votes. On Wednesday, Sanders led with 50% of the vote to Gundersen’s 49.5%.

The District 4 and 5 seats are entirely new to the commission, while the existing District 1 seat is held by Commissioner Joe Downing, who chose not to run for re-election. The District 2 commissioner is Bob Iyall and the District 3 Commissioner Amy Evans Harding, neither of who were up for election this year.