Former Grant County Clerk Brenda Percy, left, who is assisting current Grant County Clerk Laurie Cates, right, on a part-time basis, hands out preliminary results of the primary election at the Grant County Courthouse on May 21, 2024.

CANYON CITY — Grant County residents have elected a new county commissioner and justice of the peace.

According to the latest unofficial results posted on Tuesday, May 28, commissioner candidate Mitchel Wilson received over half of the ballots cast in the May 21 election, garnering 66.72% of the vote in the two-way race against Frances Preston.

Wilson, who owns Wilson’s Welding and Fabrication in John Day, received 1,598 votes to 773 for Preston. Preston is a retired Forest Service administrator.

“For me (the most important thing is) the budget,” Wilson said shortly after the preliminary results were posted. “It’s figuring out how we can save some money and tighten things up. Thanks to the community in Grant County for having faith in me.”

Rich Tirico, a medical death investigator and special investigator for the Grant County District Attorney’s Office, received over half the ballots cast for justice of the peace, with 1,313 votes or 53.99% of the vote tally as of May 28. Tirico was running against Blue Mountain Eagle columnist Dale Valade and Josh Fuller, who works at Wilson’s Welding and Fabrication in John Day.

Wilson will take his seat on the Grant County Court in January, joining County Commissioner John Rowell and the winner of the race to succeed County Judge Scott Myers.

In the four-way contest for county judge, County Commissioner Jim Hamsher and Blue Mountains Forest Partners Executive Director Mark Webb appeared to be headed to the November ballot, although current Justice of the Peace Kathy Stinnett was a close third, trailing Webb by just 10 votes.

If no one receives more than half the total vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in the November general election.

Hamsher received 31.26% of the ballots cast with 826 votes, followed by Webb garnering 738 votes, or 27.93%. Stinnett was just behind with 728 votes, or 27.55%, followed by Grant County Watermaster Eric Julsrud with 346 votes, or 13.1%.

While close, the margin between Webb and Stinnett is probably not small enough to trigger a recount.

“When the difference in the number of votes case for a nominated elected and the closest apparently defeated candidate are not more than 1/5th of 1 percent of the total votes they both got, … that would trigger an automatic recount,” Cates said.

Based on the most recent vote totals, the margin between Webb and Stinnett would have to be 3 votes or less to require a recount.

The race for county treasurer also appeared headed to the November ballot, with none of the four candidates polling more than 50% of the vote.

Incumbent Julie Ellison was leading as of May 28 with 1,136 votes, or 45.6% of ballots cast. Danielle Kimball, a bookkeeper for her husband’s construction business and an insurance agent for Jeanette Radinovich State Farm in John Day, was in second place with 723 votes, or 29.02%, setting up a November runoff between her and Ellison.

Stacie Holmstrom was in third place with 377 votes, or 15.13%, followed by Dani Carter with 250 votes, or 10.04%.

Carter is a bookkeeper for Russell’s Custom Meats and Deli and Pioneer Feed Farm and Country Store, and Holmstrom, of John Day, has been chief financial officer for the Jefferson County School District since 2021.

Holmstrom publicly stated she had withdrawn from the race, though she missed the March 15 deadline for removing her name from the ballot.

Grant County Clerk Laurie Cates said voter turnout in Grant County was lower than the last big May primary election held here, with about 49% of registered voters casting ballots in this year’s election compared with more than 60% voter participation in the county two years ago.

“I was rooting for us to get a 50 percent turnout and I guess, potentially, with mail-ins, we could hit that, but a lot of the counties were reporting in the low 20s,” Cates said on election night. “When I looked at the secretary of state’s website, the state average was at 19.1% returns.”

Those numbers have crept up somewhat as mailed-in ballots trickled in. As of May 28, Grant County’s turnout was at 49.99%, while the statewide number was 33.64%.

Cates said she couldn’t say why turnout was low throughout Oregon, but “that’s what’s being reported around the state.”