PORT TOWNSEND — Heather Dudley-Nollette held a sizable lead over Ben Thomas for Jefferson County Commissioner, although both will advance to the general election in November.
Dudley-Nollette received 1,522 votes, or 73.63 percent for the District 1 seat, and Ben Thomas received 545 votes, or 26.37 percent.
Current District 1 commissioner Kate Dean chose not to run for re-election.
Heidi Eisenhour is running unopposed for District 2, where she is currently county commissioner. She received 100 percent of the vote with 1,683 tallied ballots.
Dudley-Nollette is the executive director of Bayside Housing. She has served as president for the Port Townsend Main Street Program, and vice chair for the Jefferson County Economic Development Council. She has previously been awarded Main Street citizen of the year as well as Jefferson County Chamber business leader of the year.
Thomas has served on Port Townsend City Council for the last three years. In addition, he is a father and a winemaker.
Thomas is currently chair of Jefferson Transit Authority board, vice chair of Jefferson County Fairgrounds and vice chair of the Peninsula Regional Transportation Planning Organization.
He said the primary results were “not a great sign.”
“I was not setting up for a primary run, because there were two people in the primaries,” he said. “[Moving forward], I’ll reassess and see what the chances are. I’m going to step-aside, talk with supporters and see what the chances are and what strategies should be. I don’t have that fully mapped out, but this is the time for that.”
Dudley-Nollette could not be reached for comment by phone or email.
“She did a really good job in the debates,” Thomas said. “I think she did a better job than I did in the debates. I think that really helped her as well.”
The general election is Nov. 5.
________
Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman @sequimgazette.com.
Heather Dudley-Nollette.
