PORT TOWNSEND — Incumbents on the Port Townsend School Board appeared headed toward reelection in the first count of ballots from Tuesday’s election.
The voter turnout for the general election was 32.89 percent countywide, or 9,117 ballots returned out of 27,716 provided registered voters in Jefferson County.
An estimated 274 ballots were on hand to count on Tuesday night with more expected to arrive by mail in the next few days. The next count of ballots is planned by 4 p.m. today.
District 2 board member Simon Little received 3,759 votes, or 72 percent against challenger Annie Bartos who received 792 votes, or 15 percent.
Little was appointed to the school board in June to fill out the remaining term of Jeff Taylor, who left his position on the board to take a teaching job at Port Townsend High School.
Little said Wednesday he was feeling pretty good about the results and encouraged by the support shown through the vote.
He has plans for the future.
“I’m particularly interested in focusing on the facilities and developing a long-term plan with a focus on the high school campus,” Little said.
Bartos could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Matt Klontz received 3,813 votes, or 73 percent, for the District 3 board seat against Nancy Papasodora who received 859 votes, or 17 percent.
Klontz — a civil engineer with the Port of Port Townsend — said he was happy to have won and on the school board wanted to support Superintendent Linda Rosenbury.
“It may sound strange,” Klontz said, “but I know my opponent to be a kind-hearted person and it would have been nice to see her have more votes.”
His first time running for office was a good one, Klontz said, with good community engagement and cordial interactions with the community.
“It’s been a great adventure, I learned a lot,” Papasodora said. “Even if I didn’t win I’ve got a lot of knowledge for the next time.”
Papasodora — a former bus driver whose grandchildren are currently in the district — said she started her campaign at the last minute and next time would start earlier and do more meet-and-greets.
Position 5 Director at Large Nathanael O’Hara received 2,531 votes, or 49 percent against challenger Timothy Hawley who received 2,056 votes, or 40 percent.
O’Hara and Hawley did not immediately respond to request for comment.
According to the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office, District 1 Director John Nowak — a former nurse with Jefferson Healthcare running unopposed — received 3,943 votes, or 76 percent, against 18 votes cast for write-in candidates.
________
Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsula dailynews.com.
