The result of a race for a seat on the Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue board that was too close to call May 18 was made final and official Tuesday.
Challenger Todd Holt of Waldport defeated incumbent Peter Carlich of Tidewater 401-396 for a 4-year term for Position 2 on the board. The five-vote difference was outside the margin for an automatic recount, said Lincoln County Clerk Dana Jenkins.
Two weeks ago Holt had a two-vote lead – 395 to 393 – a margin that would have triggered a recount had it stayed the same.
But ballots of district residents mailed in other counties still had to be counted, and Jenkins had 14 days to notify voters to sign their unsigned ballots or fix signature problems.
Holt will be one of three new members on the five-member COCF&R board in July. Kathryn Menefee won a three-way race for Position 3, ousting longtime incumbent Dave Brooks, and Buster Pankey was unopposed for Position 1 after board chair Tim Grady decided not to seek re-election.
The COCF&R board has been embroiled in internal controversy for several years as it tried to deal with complaints from firefighters, volunteers, its former medical director and others over former fire chief Gary Woodson’s performance. The issues went broadly public in early May when YachatsNews published a story saying how the board agreed to quietly let Woodson go in February with a $14,000 severance after employees complained he had been sending them pornography.
Holt, Menefee and Pankey all ran campaigns critical of the current board, although Carlich had opposed Woodson’s severance, .
