Thursday, October 1, 2026
A number of candidates registered strong performances in the Aug. 5 primary election to continue on their path toward becoming elected leaders in Olympia, Tumwater, Yelm and Thurston County.
Two candidates from each race in those jurisdictions will now move on to the Nov. 4 General Election.
In the Port Commissioner, District No. 3 contest, Anthony Hemstad and Krag Unsoeld moved on with 3,413 and 3,410 votes, respectively, according to unofficial totals released by the Thurston County Auditor’s Office, Elections Division.
In the Olympia City Council, Position No. 4 race, incumbent Clark Gilman and Wendy Carlson advanced with 3,176 and 2,749 votes, each. In the Olympia City Council, Position No. 6 contest, incumbent Robert Vanderpool and Justin Stand moved on with 3,112 and 1,965 votes, respectively.
In the Olympia City Council, Position No. 7 race, Paul Berendt and Caleb Geiger advanced with 3,376 and 2,859 votes, each.
In the Yelm mayoral contest, incumbent Joe DePinto and JW Foster moved on with 307 and 266 votes, respectively. In the Yelm City Council, Position No. 6 race, David Johnstone and Nicole Sims advanced with 223 and 202 votes, each.
In the Olympia School Board, District No. 3 contest, Renee Fullerton and Rhyan Smith moved on with 5,279 and 3,079 votes, respectively. In the Olympia School Board, District No. 5 race, Gilbert Lamont and Emily Leddige advanced with 3,572 and 3,362 votes, each.
In the Tumwater School Board Director, District No. 1 contest, Julie Watts and Sarah Overbay moved on with 2,903 and 1,691 votes, respectively. In the Tumwater School Board Director, District No. 3 race, incumbent Ty Kuehl and Daniel Meis advanced with 2,512 and 1,882 votes, each.
In the Yelm School Board Director, District No. 1 contest, incumbent Frank King and Ray Duncan moved on with 1,457 and 620 votes, respectively. In the Yelm School Board Director, District No. 4 race, Ryan Jewell and Debbie Edwards advanced with 1,151 and 951 votes, each.
A proposition that would have provided an ongoing source of funding for parks and recreation in Lacey failed to pass muster with voters in the Aug. 5 Primary Election.
A total of 4,052 people voted against City of Lacey Proposition 1, which would have established the Lacey Metropolitan Park District, while 3,388 supported the proposal, according to unofficial results from the Thurston County Auditor’s Office.
The outcome was much better for two other propositions — Fire Protection District No. 9 (McLane Black Lake) Proposition 1 and Tanglewilde Parks and Recreation District Proposition No. 1.
The District No. 9 proposition was approved by 1,759 voters and rejected by 740 voters. The Tanglewilde proposition was approved by 180 voters and rejected by 102 voters.
A total of 27,506 ballots were cast in the Aug. 5 Primary Election, which represented a voter turnout of 17.78 percent.
7 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
Honestyandrealityguy
We did not get ballots.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 Report this
Boatyarddog
Uh oh! a Conspiracy! And a democRAT was behind it (; (: LMAO
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 Report this
JulesJames
Excellent voting by Lacey! Creating a special taxing district for Parks is lazy governance. Fund basic services from the General Fund. Fund Capital Improvements by the voters.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 Report this
mathisje
Revenue sources for local governments are limited and constrained. Levys and bonds are needed too. As a rule, Capital Budgets are used to support existing infrastructure.
Unreasoned political rants serve no purpose other than demonstrate the writer's inability for critical thinking.
Thursday, August 7, 2025 Report this
OvercastDays
Little weird to claim these candidates all advanced just based on the first night’s results. There weren’t really any close races for second place, so they’re not wrong, but the way this article is written suggests it will be a mere formality to make these results official, while in reality not all of the ballots mailed or dropped by 8:00 on election night have yet been counted. They might continue to be counted for a couple more days. You’d think we would have figured this out by now!
Thursday, August 7, 2025 Report this
JW
Good. No more special parks districts!
Thursday, August 7, 2025 Report this
OldKid
I received a ballot for the parks vote only. When I reported to the Auditor's office that I hadn't received candidate ballots, I was told they'd come later. They never did. Hopefully, I was a rare exception.
OldKid
Saturday, August 16, 2025 Report this