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Astoria’s mayor race is still too close to call

ByDana Whitcomb

A week after Election Day, Astoria still doesn’t know who its next mayor will be.

Laura Parker, a Clatsop County juvenile probation counselor, leads Sean Davis, a combat veteran who announced his run in February, by 59 votes in the four-way race, according to unofficial results reported by The Astorian. The count after the Nov. 4 update stood at 1,605 for Parker and 1,546 for Davis. Former Ward 2 Councilor Tom Brownson had 785 votes, and Ward 1 Councilor Andy Davis had 694. There were 17 write-ins.

Parker’s lead has moved around since election night, from 27 votes in the first returns to 64 in a late update before settling at 59. The next batch of counted ballots is expected by 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. Clatsop County expects final updates by Nov. 25, and the election is scheduled to be certified by Nov. 30.

Oregon votes by mail, and ballots postmarked by Election Day can still arrive and be counted for several days afterward. Voters whose ballot signatures didn’t match their file also get a window to fix them. In a race this close, those late and cured ballots are what decide it. Oregon’s automatic recount kicks in only when the margin is no more than one-fifth of 1% of the votes cast in the race. With more than 4,600 votes counted in the mayor’s race, a 59-vote gap sits well outside that line for now, so a recount would only come into play if the late ballots narrow it sharply.

Both front-runners have been gracious so far. “I also recognize that this election isn’t over until every vote is counted,” Parker said in a statement the day after the election. Davis told KMUN on election night, “We’re going to get a good mayor no matter who it is.”

The winner replaces Mayor Sean Fitzpatrick, who chose not to seek a second four-year term.

What voters did decide

Most other Astoria results were clear by Wednesday morning.

In Ward 1, which covers Uniontown and the surrounding neighborhood, Jim Forrester led Andrew Kipp 705 to 510 for the seat Andy Davis is leaving. Forrester said he wanted to “get rid of the divisiveness we’ve had” over the vacant homes tax initiative. In Ward 3, downtown, incumbent Elisabeth Adams led photographer Justin Grafton 716 to 464.

Voters also weighed in on three proposed changes to the city charter, with mixed results:

  • Measure 4-244, which would have added two at-large seats and grown the council to six members plus the mayor, was failing 1,837 to 2,663.
  • Measure 4-245, which requires council approval before the mayor appoints or removes members of city boards and committees, was passing 2,479 to 2,120.
  • Measure 4-246, a broader rewrite of charter sections on council vacancies, the city manager, the municipal court and the city attorney, was failing 1,802 to 2,614.

The vacant homes tax, Measure 4-247, failed by a wide margin.

Taken together, the charter votes send a fairly specific message. Voters said no to a bigger council and no to a sweeping rewrite of how City Hall is organized, but yes to giving the council a check on the mayor’s appointments. That change will matter to whoever wins the mayor’s race, since the mayor’s picks for planning, parks and other advisory boards will now need a council majority.

Around the county

Elsewhere in Clatsop County, most local races were uncontested or decided early. Warrenton Mayor Henry Balensifer won another term without an opponent, and incumbent Commissioner Paul Mitchell held Position 4. Seaside Mayor Steve Wright was unopposed, and Padraig Ansbro led Patrick Barker for Seaside’s Ward 4 seat. Seaside’s Ward 3 seat remains vacant because no one from the ward has applied for the appointment.

In Cannon Beach, Mayor Barb Knop was unopposed for a second term, and Steve Weight and incumbent Lisa Kerr led for the two open council seats, with Michelle Valigura close behind. Cannon Beach voters turned down the dune management measure by a wide margin.

In Gearhart, Karl Leigh led Joseph Clark for council Position 1 and Virginia Dideum was unopposed for Position 3. Countywide, voters approved the Clatsop Care Center Health District’s $34 million bond for a new skilled nursing facility.

Results are posted on the Clatsop County elections page as each update is released.

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