Whatcom sheriff, Bellingham mayor elections appear decided with few ballots left to count

It appears that Bellingham will have a new mayor, and the race for Whatcom County sheriff looks final after a third round of ballot totals was released Thursday night.

Mayor Seth Fleetwood was trailing challenger Kim Lund, former head of the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation, by 53% to 46% after a third day of counting.

With only an estimated 250 ballots left to count, her victory appears final.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Lund told The Bellingham Herald on Thursday.

“We live at the local level and local government is what shapes our lives,” Lund said by phone, just minutes after Thursday’s election results were posted.

Fleetwood led on Election Night by 140 votes but fell behind by 52% to 48% on Wednesday and Lund held her lead Thursday.

Lund said she was looking forward to “transformative change” on a variety of issues facing the city, and she took a moment to thank Fleetwood for his decades of service to Bellingham and Whatcom County.

Fleetwood was an original advocate of the Greenways tax that built the city’s parks and trails system, and he served on both the Bellingham City Council and Whatcom County Council before he was elected mayor in 2019.

“I want to thank Seth for all his service to the community. We should all feel grateful (to him),” Lund said.

In a text message, Fleetwood told The Herald that he is grateful for the close relationships he’s made with colleagues at the city.

“Serving as mayor has been the honor of a lifetime and I’m grateful to have had this opportunity. I will miss the work at City Hall and all the friendships I have made. I congratulate Kim and stand ready to help and assist in the transition,” Fleetwood said.

Sheriff’s race decided

In the only other race that remained uncertain, Blaine Police Chief Donnell “Tank” Tanksley retained his lead over Undersheriff Doug Chadwick by 52% to 48% in the race for sheriff and is the apparent winner.

“I’m very humbled that the voters of Whatcom County have confidence in me to be their sheriff,” Tanksley told The Herald in a phone call.

“I look forward to getting to work,” he said.

Chadwick told The Herald that Tanksley will be leading a Sheriff’s Office that’s staffed with dedicated law-enforcement professionals.

“Mr. Tanksley is going to inherit a well-run organization with great people and I want to see that continue,” Chadwick said by phone.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office who do a difficult job for strangers everyday,” he said.

He said he was “disappointed” in the election results, but at the same time he said he was heartened by the passage of the jail funding measure after two failed attempts.

“That passed decisively, and I feel good about that,” he said.

Chadwick said that he hoped the Sheriff’s Office would maintain its focus on public safety, especially drug interdiction in the face of the fentanyl crisis.

“That’s what’s driving crime and a lot of the homelessness issues we’re seeing,” he said.

Election certified Nov. 28

Auditor’s Office officials conduct elections but do not declare winners and losers, Auditor Diana Bradrick told The Bellingham Herald.

Tuesday’s election won’t be official until certification, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. Nov. 28.

But too few ballots remained to be counted to flip the numbers in Bellingham and Whatcom County races.

Other contests

▪ County Executive Satpal Sidhu defeated business executive Dan Purdy by 58% to 42% for the top elected position in Whatcom County after the second round of ballot totals were released about 5 p.m. Wednesday.

▪ John Scanlon defeated Hannah Ordos by 57% to 43% for the County Council at-large seat.

▪ A ballot measure seeking a sales tax of 20 cents on a $100 purchase to fund a new jail and related services won by 63% to 37% after second ballot count and appears to have passed.

▪ County Council member Ben Elenbaas defeated Jackie Dexter by 61% to 39% for a second term in District 5, which includes Lummi Nation, Ferndale, Blaine, Birch Bay and Point Roberts. Elenbaas appears to have won.

▪ County Council member Kathy Kershner lost to challenger Mark Stremler by 52% to 47% in District 4, which includes Lynden and rural Whatcom County south to Bellingham.

Bellingham races

▪ Jace Cotton was leading Russ Whidbee by 54% to 46% for the open Bellingham City Council at-large seat being vacated by Kristina Michele Martens,

▪ Bellingham Councilman Dan Hammill was leading challenger Liz Darrow for the Ward 3 seat by 57% to 42%.

▪ Bellingham City Councilwoman Hannah Stone was leading challenger Eamon Collins for the Ward 1 seat by 59% to 41%.

▪ A pair of Bellingham ballot measures calling for a higher minimum wage and tenant protections against steep rent hikes also appeared to have won on Wednesday, with the minimum wage passing by 58% to 42%. and the renter protections passing by 62% to 38%. Those initiatives were supported by a grassroots group called Community First Whatcom, whose spokesman is Cotton, the City Council candidate.

▪ The Greenways tax renewal passed 67% to 33%.

There were 159,767 active registered voters on Wednesday, according to the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office website. A total of 82,223 ballots had been returned and 81,079 ballots were accepted.

Voter turnout was 51%, according to the Auditor’s Office.

Another ballot total is due to be announced Nov. 17.