Kaety Jacobson easily wins re-election to Lincoln County commission; Miller and McEntee will face off in November for Position 1

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com

Lincoln County Commissioner Kaety Jacobson, who four years ago defeated an incumbent in a May primary race, easily won a second term in Tuesday’s primary election to avoid a potential runoff in November.

While ballots will continue to trickle in to the county elections office the rest of the week, as of a second round of counting Wednesday night Jacobson received 59.4 percent of the 14,372 ballots counted so far in a four-way race for her Position 3 seat on the county commission. To win outright in the primary, a candidate needed to get more than 50 percent of the vote — which Jacobson has done.

Mark Watkins of Newport, a developer and former restaurant owner who was sharply critical of commission actions the past two years and campaigned heavily, finished a distant second with 19.8 percent of the votes.

After a second day of counting Wednesday, Jacobson had 8,535 votes, Watkins 2,853, Newport city councilor Ryan Parker had 2,004 and Randy Mallette of Otis had 980.

“Thank you Lincoln County for electing me to serve you for another 4 years,” Jacobson said in a statement Wednesday. “I am deeply appreciative and honored by this. I look forward to continuing our work together over this next term to create a thriving Lincoln County for all.”

Jacobson also acknowledged the eight others who ran for two commission positions.

“Running for office takes a lot of courage, and everyone whose name was on the ballot deserves recognition for their willingness to serve,” she said.

There will be a November runoff for the open Position 1 on the board of commissioners because none of the five candidates received more than 50 percent of the vote. Commissioner Doug Hunt is retiring.

Lincoln County public information officer Casey Miller, who received 31.8 percent (4,492 votes) after Wednesday’s second round of counting, will face off against restaurant owner Carter McEntee of Newport who had 25.2 percent (3,557 votes).

Waldport Mayor Greg Holland was a distant third with 16.7 percent (2,356) of the vote, while Port of Newport Commissioner Walter Chuck received 1,881 votes and Lincoln City councilor Mitch Parsons 1,835 votes.

In a statement to YachatsNews, Miller said the May campaign was a “vigorous experience” with many voters sharing questions, concerns and viewpoints.

“My goal has been to share myself and demonstrate my knowledge so that you might best determine if I am ready for the work desired of a commissioner,” Miller said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to further earn your respect and trust in the coming months. I believe we can build a stronger community with thoughtful and smart local governance.”

McEntee did not respond to a request for comment.

Because there are so many county commission candidates – five seeking Position 1 and four seeking Position 3 — it was unlikely that any one candidate would get more than 50 percent of the vote. Jacobson beat those odds again, following up on her victory when she knocked off an incumbent commissioner in the May 2018  primary in a two-way race.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Lincoln County Clerk Dana Jenkins reported the county had counted 15,668 of 40,223 ballots it had mailed to voters. It has counted 96 percent of all ballots cast. The turnout through Wednesday was 40.1 percent.

The clerk’s office released results just once Tuesday night and another round Wednesday. The next vote count released will be at 5 p.m. Friday and a final, unofficial tally at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 24.

To see how Lincoln County voted in local and statewide races, go to the Lincoln County elections page here

For all results of federal and state races,  go to the Oregon Secretary of State’s election website here

For live coverage of Oregon’s statewide and Congressional races, go to Oregon Capital Chronicle’s reports here

Lincoln County mailed 40,223 ballots for Tuesday’s primary. Non-affiliated voters – residents who declined to register with a political party – now outnumber Republicans or Democrats in Lincoln County. There are 14,861 nonaffiliated voters in the county, 13,592 registered Democrats, 8,701 registered Republicans, and 2,889 people registered with minor parties, said Jenkins.

There’s tweak in Oregon election law that is changing Tuesday night’s voting deadline – and how the county and state will report results.

Oregon legislators changed voting laws last year to allow any mail ballot with an official U.S. Post Office postmark on May 17 to be counted. Previously, they had to be in the hands of county clerks by 8 o’clock election night – with officials warning voters to use drop boxes or hand deliver ballots 3-4 days before an election.

Now they can be mailed Tuesday until Post Offices close. That means ballots will trickle in to the county the following 2-3 days, Jenkins says.

To avoid a November runoff, one person has to get more than 50 percent of the vote. Going back to 2014, whenever there have been four or more candidates seeking a county commission position in the May primary there has always been a runoff in the November general election.

McEntee, a first-time candidate, generated at three complaints to the Oregon Secretary of State for not filing required contribution and expenditure reports until mid-March, and then not having state-required information printed on his campaign material. According to the financial reporting system with the Oregon Secretary of State’s  office, as of last week McEntee reported $10,600 in contributions, including $5,800 from his Salishan restaurant, and expenditures of $7,750;

Miller, also seeking public office for the first time, reported $5,900 in contributions, expenditures of $1,130 and personal loans and expenditures of $12,470 for a campaign deficit of $7,700.

Jacobson had a beginning balance of $2,178 from her 2018 race and as of last week had reported $16,500 in contributions and expenditures of $14,100;