Related stories

List of news stories about 2001 election in San Juan County

Primary Election statistics by precincts

Results of Sept. 18 primary election

Candidates for 2001 election

Port of Friday Harbor Commission candidates

Friday Harbor Town Council candidates answer questions

Greens meet August 11

Bid for re-election lost in the mail

Stuart Island Cemetery District election: A choice but more of the same

66 percent of county's voters new in last decade

Elections Department Web site

Deadlines for General Election set

posted 09/22/01
The last day to register and still vote at the polls is Saturday October 6, 2001. Mail-in voter registration forms can be picked up at all the public libraries on Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Islands or at the Elections Department on the first floor of the courthouse at 350 Court Street, Friday Harbor. The mail in form must be postmarked no later than Saturday October 6, 2001.

Voters wishing to vote with an absentee ballot should contact the Elections Department by Wednesday, Oct. 10 in order for their request to be processed with the bulk mailing of absentee ballots. Absentee ballots and vote by mail precinct ballots will be mailed on Wednesday, October 17, 2001.

Ballots must have E-911 addresses

posted 09/22/01
Residents need to make sure the Elections Department has their updated E-911 address. If they have moved, they should contact the Elections Department to update their precinct and resident address. Hundreds of ballots were returned undelivered because the address was not current.

While ballots correspond to residence addresses not mailing addresses, the Elections Department needs to have both addresses. Voters cannot be transferred to another precinct after October 5, 2001.

Please contact the Elections Department no later than Friday October 5, 2001 if you have an address change within the County. Contact Sandy Gillespie at 360.378.3357, fax # 360.378.8856, or in person at the Courthouse, Elections Department on the first floor, 350 Court St., Friday Harbor, WA 98250. You can also e-mail the department at sandyg@co.san-juan.wa.us/elections

42 percent turnout in primary election

posted 09/18/01
Forty-two percent of the 8,012 ballots mailed out for the Sept. 18 primary have been sent in and counted. County Elections Supervisor Sandy Gillespie expects about a 45 percent turnout when all the ballots are counted. There are 400 ballots in the elections office waiting to be counted. 140 of those are from Orcas Island, 98 are from Friday Harbor residents.

The top two vote getters in each race will appear on the November ballot.

• Town Council Position No. 3:
  Wally Gillette and Howard Rosenfeld
• Port of Orcas District No. 1:
  Bob Gamble and Ulanah McCoy
• San Juan Island School Board Position No. 1:
  Bryn Barnard and Robert Mancuso
• Port of Friday Harbor:
  Mike Ahrenius and Lee Anderson.

Mail in primary election Sept. 18

posted 09/18/01
The primary election is a mail-in election, there are no polling sites open. Ballots can be dropped off at the Elections Office on the first floor of the county Courthouse. Only registered voters on Orcas and San Juan Islands are voting in this election. The election is for four races where there were more than two candidates for a single position.

If you have not received your ballot call the elections office at 360.378.3357. Last week there were more than 400 ballots which had not been delivered due to lack of updated addresses. The ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday, Sept. 18 to be counted in the primary election. Elections Supervisor Sandy Gillespie recommends voters ask Post Office staff to handstamp the postmark to ensure the proper date.

No ballot, call Sandy and Debbie

posted 09/12/01
Ballots were mailed to San Juan and Orcas Islands voters on August 29, 2001, if you have not received a ballot please contact the Elections Department at 360.378-3357 as soon as possible. Ballots mailed after September 14, 2001 cannot be guaranteed delivery by Election Day.

Voted ballots must be postmarked no later than September 18, 2001. If you are mailing your ballot on either September 15 or 17 from one of the county Post Offices please have your local postmaster hand stamp your envelope to insure a valid postmark since all mail is now sent to Everett for automatic sorting.

Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than September 18,2001. They must be returned in the envelope provided, the affidavit must be signed by the voter and first class postage must be affixed to the envelope.

Voted ballots may be delivered in person to the San Juan County Auditor's Office, 350 Court Street, Friday Harbor, Washington, during normal business hours (8:30 am to 4:30 P.M.) until September 17, 2001. On Election Day, September 18, 2001, the Election Department in the Auditor's Office will be open from 7:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M. for deposit of your Vote-By-Mail ballots.

Replacement Ballots may be requested in person or by telephone or fax at the office of the San Juan County Auditor, Elections Department, First Floor, 350 Court Street, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. during regular business days. On Election Day replacement ballots can be obtained between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. If you have any questions about replacement ballots please contact the Elections Department at 360.378.3357 or by fax at 360.378.8856.

There are no polling sites for this election.

Ballots not delivered to old addresses

posted 08/31/01
San Juan County Elections Supervisor said a tray of ballots was returned to the elections office because the addresses were not the updated E-911 addresses. Voters who did not receive their ballot should contact the elections office at 360.378.3357.

Voter registration deadlines
set for mail-in primary election

posted 08/10/01
San Juan County residents have until Sept. 3 to register to vote in the upcoming primary election. Through Aug. 18, registrations can be done in the county elections office, in public libraries or by mail. Registrations between August 19 and Sept. 3 must be done in person in the county Auditor's office.

Elections Supervisor Sandy Gillespie said registrations will also be done at the fair. "People should look for Debbie Emery or me," she said.

The Sept. 18 primary is a mail-in election. No polling places will be open. Ballots are scheduled to be mailed out Aug. 29.

There are four primary races in the county:

• San Juan Island School District Director position #1
• Town of Friday Harbor, Council Pos. #3
• Port of Friday Harbor Commissioner
• Port of Orcas Commissioner District #1.

One more candidate files

posted 08/07/01
Only two of the 46 positions up for election lack a candidate. Orcas Island cemetery district incumbents Calvin McLachlan and Todd Shaner will remain in office because no one signed up to run for their positions.

Earlene Rothauge signed up to run for position No. 1 in the Cattle Point Water District during the special filing period. The Elections Department opened up a three-day filing period to fill the three positions left open after the close of the regular filing period. Rothauge was the only candidate to file during the special period.

Primaries necessary in four races

updated 07/30/01
All but three of the 46 offices for election this fall have candidates. Four positions have enough candidates to trigger a primary election. Twenty-six candidates are running unopposed.

Filing for elective office closed at 4:30 p.m. Friday, July 27. There are three candidates for San Juan Island School Board Position No. 1, Port of Friday Harbor, Port of Orcas District No. 1 and Town Council Position No. 3. In the Sept. 18, 2001 primary, the field will be reduced to two candidates per office. The remaining two will face off in the Nov. 6 general election.

Mayor Gary Boothman and Lopez Port Commissioner Bob Porter are running for reelection unopposed. The three incumbents up for election on the Orcas Island School Board do not have any opponents. The fourth open seat will be filled by Janet Brownell who is unopposed. Paula Molitor will join Shaw Island School Board incumbent on the board. Both are running unopposed.

The two incumbents on the Lopez Island School board each face challengers. There will be two fresh faces on the San Juan Island School Board. The two incumbents did not run for reelection. There are five candidates vying for the two positions.

San Juan County Hospital District No. 1 has two retired physicians, one EMT and a deputy among the candidates for the three positions open on the board.

Friday Harbor Town Council will change from a four-to-one female/male ratio to a two-to-three ratio. All five candidates for the two open positions are men.

No one signed up to run for the two Orcas Island Cemetery district seats or the Cattle Point Water District position. Sandy Gillespie, county elections supervisor will hold a special three-day filing period. It is tentatively scheduled for August 1, 2 and 3, 2001. If no one files during that time, the incumbent remains in office until the next election. The position does not appear on the ballot and no write-in candidates are allowed for that position.

Candidates have until August 2 to change their mind and withdraw from a race.

A complete list of the candidates is listed below.

Twenty-six candidates running for office

posted 07/24/01
In the first day of in-person filing, twenty-six San Juan County residents signed up to run for elected office. Four of the races -- Port of Lopez Commissioner, Port of Friday Harbor Commissioner and two Lopez School Board positions -- have two candidates vying for election.

San Juan Island's hospital board may see two new faces on its board. Dr. James Patterson and Karen Weeks have signed up for Positions 1 and 4. Incumbent Dr. John Geyman will seek reelection to Position 5.

Sharon Kivisto and Matt Pranger
can be reached:
phone: 360.378.3748      fax: 360.378.9748
by e-mail: news@sanjuanislander.com

by mail: San Juan Islander
PO Box 1118
Friday Harbor, WA 98250 USA

about us