Tim Callison took a 44-vote lead and appears to be headed to the Langley mayor’s office in 2016. Georgia Gardner and Nancy Fey are also leading the races for Whidbey General Hospital commissioner.
Early general election ballot results released from the Island County Auditor’s Office showed Callison with 233 votes. Sharon Emerson trailed with 189 ballots.
“We’re very encouraged,” said Callison, who stepped out of an Election Day gathering with friends at a restaurant in Langley.
“The fact that I have 55 percent of the vote is very surprising to us,” he added.
Emerson was not ready to concede, and said she wanted to see all of the ballots counted.
“What can I say, I’m behind,” she said. “It might stay that way, and it might not. I’ll just wait and see and let the people’s will be done.”
“I think I ran a good campaign and did the best I could do … I’m real happy for all the support I have gotten,” she added.
In the hotly contested race for position 2 on the hospital board, incumbent Georgia Gardner is far ahead of rival Rob Born. Gardner has 6,925 votes, or 60 percent, while Born has 4,639 votes, or 40 percent.
“I didn’t have any idea how it was going to go,” Gardner said. “I had tremendous support from all the people I talked to when I was bell ringing.”
The other race for the hospital board is too close to call. Nancy Fey, who was appointed to the board in 2013, is slightly ahead of challenger Erika Carnahan. Fey has 4,734 votes, or 51 percent, while Carnahan has 4,593 votes, or 49 percent.
General election results will be certified Nov. 24. If his lead holds, Callison will work with what is largely the same council as exists today. Only one new candidate entered the race this year: Ursula Shoudy, who ran unopposed to take over Councilman Jim Sundberg’s position. He chose not to seek reelection. Shoudy received 252 votes.
Councilman Bruce Allen was elected with 264 votes to his second term and Councilwoman Robin Black, Callison’s wife, was elected to her first full term with 248 votes. She has promised to resign, however, contingent on her husbands election.
