PORT TOWNSEND — Democrat Heidi Eisenhour won the District 2 seat on the Board of Jefferson County Commissioners in the general election race against fellow Democrat Lorna Smith, who conceded the contest Wednesday morning.
The commissioner race was the only contested local government race in the county during Tuesday’s general election.
Eisenhour will fill the seat currently held by David Sullivan, who opted not to run again for the position he has held for the past 16 years.
Two ballot counts have been held. Another count is planned by 4 p.m. Friday.
Eisenhour, 49, chief operations officer of the Northwest Maritime Center, welcomed the news.
“I’m feeling optimistic and humbled and grateful for the support of our community,” she said. “We’re feeling good.
“It was a lot of work this campaign. I’ve never campaigned at this level before and my team put in a great effort, but you know, up until last night, I didn’t really have a sense for how it would go, and I felt really grateful for the support of the community,” she continued.
“I’m feeling really optimistic that the votes will hold. I just want to thank everybody who supported me. I’ve said it a lot during my campaign … that community counts, and together we can achieve almost anything.
“I look forward to representing everyone in Jefferson County. I have not taken anything for granted this entire campaign.”
Lorna Smith
Smith, 69, executive director of Western Wildlife Outreach, conceded the election in an emailed letter Wednesday morning, congratulating Eisenhour and expressing her appreciation for her campaign team.
“My campaign team did a wonderful job,” Smith wrote. “The effort was entirely grassroots, with hundreds of volunteers working for weeks on end to canvass and phone call on my behalf. I am particularly proud that we ran a clean campaign based on my record of public service.
“In the end, with no Republican candidate in the race, the voters chose to go with my opponent. I am sure she will do a great job for our county. I look forward to taking some time off from politicking, but I am not going anywhere,” she continued.
“I will still be serving Jefferson County as a volunteer as I have done for the past 10 years, for the Jefferson Land Trust, as a member of the Planning Commission, as a member of the Conservation Futures Committee, and as vice president of the Olympic Forest Coalition.”
The election will be certified by the county canvassing board at 1 p.m. Nov. 24.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5 or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.