The votes are in: Whatcom County political contests shape up for the November election

Races for the Nov. 7 general election are taking shape as the results of a second round of ballot counting were released Wednesday afternoon in Washington state’s vote-by-mail elections.

Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu and Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood held their leads in results posted at the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office website at 5 p.m.

Ballots that were counted Wednesday included those from official drop boxes that were locked 8 p.m. Tuesday and those that arrived in the mail Wednesday with postmarks before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Only the top two candidates in the primary will advance to the general election, regardless of party.

Sidhu will be seeking a second four-year term against Lynden business executive Dan Purdy, and Fleetwood will face Kim Lund, an engineer and former nonprofit manager.

Political activist Jace Cotton and financial adviser Russ Whidbee held the top two spots for the Bellingham City Council’s at-large seat being vacated by Kristina Michele Martens, who was running for mayor.

In a race that could tip the balance of power on the County Council, Jon Scanlon, a consultant working with Indigenous communities and conservation organizations, was leading Hannah Ordos, a customer support manager, for the at-large seat.

Tuesday’s primary included only the races where more than two candidates were seeking the same office.

This year’s races include nonpartisan city and county government posts, as well as school boards and other public agencies.

Anther ballot count was expected about 5 p.m. Thursday, but no major race remained close enough to change with the number of estimated ballots left to count at 192.

A total of 159,742 Whatcom County residents were registered to vote, and 56,451 ballots were returned Tuesday, according to the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office.

That’s a turnout rate of 36%, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office.

Here’s how key Whatcom County races stood Tuesday night:

Whatcom County Executive

Satpal Sidhu was leading with 35% of the vote for Whatcom County executive, followed by Dan Purdy with 28%. Alicia Rule was third with 18%, Barry Buchanan had 14%, Misty Flowers had 3% and Sukhwant Gill had 3%.

Whatcom County Council at-large

Jon Scanlon was leading for the open at-large seat position B on the Whatcom County Council with 37% of the vote, followed by Hannah Ordos with 31%, Atul Deshmane with 23%, and Jerry Burns with 9%.

Whatcom County Council 4th District

Mark Stremler was leading with 46% of the vote for the council’s 4th District seat which includes Lynden and rural Whatcom County south to just north of Bellingham. Kathy Kershner was second with 43%, and Katherine Orlowski was third with 10%.

Bellingham Mayor

Seth Fleetwood was leading the race for Bellingham mayor with 37% of the vote, followed by Kim Lund with 25%. Mike McAuley and Kristina Michele Martens were tied with 16% and Christopher McCoy was last with 5%. Write-in votes totaled 1%, but it was unknown how many of those votes were for the registered write-in candidate Joel Johnson.

Bellingham City Council at-large

Jace Cotton was leading for the open at-large seat with 34% of the vote, followed by Russ Whidbee with 23%. Garrett O’Brien was in third place with 18%, followed by Paul Schissler with 12% and Maya Morales with 12%.

Bellingham City Council Ward 1

Councilwoman Hannah Stone was leading with 57% of the vote for the Bellingham City Council’s Ward 1 seat, followed by Eamonn Collins with 36% and Michi Marcher with 6%.

Blaine candidate arrested

Among the other races on Tuesday’s ballot was Tana Perkins Reneau, a candidate for the Blaine school board who was arrested in June on child rape and torture charges. Reneau is free on bond and remained on the ballot. Despite her arrest, Reneau had 23% of the vote, behind Ben Lazarus with 44% and Dean Berkeley with 33%.