Orcas Island has a Public Hospital District. The preliminary count shows 77% voting for the district. There are still a couple hundred ballots to count. The ballots yet to be counted are those that were mailed or were dropped in the ballot box at the Senior Center but not yet received by the County elections office. There are 600 total ballots, but these include ones for San Juan Island. The final numbers will be released by May 4th and the election certified then. However, the margins for the PHD and for each of the candidates was large enough that the results will not change.
PHD passes.
Commissioners in order of votes received:
- Art Lange
- Richard Fralick
- Pegi Groundwater
- Patty Miller
- Diane Boteler
You can see the official results on the County elections page.
The vote difference between Fralick and Groundwater is currently one vote. The additional ballots may cause the order of Fralick and Groundwater to change. The number of votes determines the length of the initial term. The two with the most votes will serve a six-year term. The next two will be up for election in four years, and the one with the fewest votes will be up for election in the fall of 2019.
Our surveys that many of you participated in accurately predicted the win, and the results were very close to the actual vote. Our April survey showed 72% voting for the PHD with 15% undecided. The undecideds fell about 50/50 into the “For” and “Against” camps between the Feb and April surveys. Thus, if we add half of the undecideds to those saying they would vote “For,” we end up with the survey predicting 79% with a plus or minus 5%. In other words, the survey predicted a result of between 74% and 84%. Thank you for your participation.
We believe that we have demonstrated that a well-designed and neutral survey which is representative of the community can be used to accurately measure the public’s opinion on various issues. We believe, then, that this is a very valuable tool allowing various boards, commissions, and councils to know the opinions of the broader public. This will allow them to hear from more than just the few who regularly attend meetings. Your participation here is another way for your voice to be heard, and that is the goal achieved.