Election produces some surprises, new mayors

NEWPORT — There were some surprises in the Tuesday, Nov. 4 Pend Oreille County General Election.

In the race for Cusick Council Member No. 1, incumbent councilmember Afton Servas was trailing challenger Everett Alford 17-12 after the first count on election night. By the next count Thursday, Nov. 6, Servas had pulled ahead by two votes, 19-17. That count is the latest, with one more count before the day the election is certified Tuesday, Nov. 25. Servas said she was surprised by the turnaround. “We’re a really small town and we typically don’t have a huge turnout,” Servas said. “I was super excited that I was able to retain my seat.”

She is committed to Cusick’s water and wastewater issues, she said. She thanked former mayor Tina Alford for her service and was looking forward to working with the new mayor. “The council has done some really great and productive things in the last couple years, and I’m just excited to be able to continue that work,” Servas said. In the election for Cusick Mayor, incumbent Tina Alford was outpolled 34 16 by write-in candidate Robert Reinhardt, who registered as a write-in after he missed the election filing deadline by a day. He was the only write-in candidate who won his race. “We don’t normally have as many write-in candidates who actually file to be write-in candidates as we did this time,” Pend Oreille County Elections Manager Liz Krizeneski said. Reinhardt says he was grateful to the people who wrote him into office. He said he meant to register but missed the deadline by a day, so he campaigned for their votes as a registered write-in.

“I went door to door and put up a banner,” Reinhardt said.

Reinhardt says he started paying attention to Cusick politics in 2023 when the Calispel Valley Library in Cusick was facing a rent increase. In 2023, he ran as a write-in candidate for council against Tina Alford, losing that race 22-12.

He said he owns an eBay store and is relatively new to the area. “I’m not a Republican or Democrat, I’m an open-minded kind of guy,” he said.

In an open race for Metaline Falls mayor, Sherice McAnerin is defeating Walter Minsal 78-19. The position was open after incumbent mayor Tara Leininger was defeated in the Primary Election.

McAnerin said she felt humbled that so many voters placed their trust in her.

“I’ve never run for any public office before, and so I will have a lot of learning to do,” McAnerin said. “I am not afraid to roll up my sleeves.”

Also in Metaline Falls, Mark Lockwood has 61 votes to Robbin Witty’s 33 for Town Council Member No. 2. Lockwood wrote in an email that he felt moved to be able to work for the town in an official capacity, a responsibility he plans to take seriously.

His primary goal is to build Metaline Falls’ digital presence, which is part of his agenda to improve oversight and increase engagement between the town government and residents.

“Rather than a ‘victory,’ instead I feel I earned trust,” Lockwood wrote. “I look forward to working hard for Metaline Falls because I signed up for service, not just a title.”

In the Newport City Council race for the No. 1 position, Nathan Weathers is leading John Spring 209-179.

Previously appointed a council member to fill a vacancy, Weathers wrote in an email that he was grateful for the 400 in Newport who voted this year, urging the remaining 1,000 registered voters in the city to get involved.

“At our community level we don’t need to be mirroring the politics all around us, but should be asking ourselves, ‘How can I help those around me?’” Weathers wrote. “For me that meant tossing my hat in the ring to let my neighbors decide if I could represent them well on the council.”

In the race for Fire District 4 Commissioner, Alan Thompson is winning with 281 votes to JoAnn Boggs’ 214. Thompson was grateful to those in Fire District No. 4 who voted for him, he said, and is looking forward to the outcome of the proposed merger with Fire District No. 2. While he is opposed to an additional tax, he does support a county-wide emergency services district.

“I’m excited to get started and see where we can take it,” Thompson said.

In that race, 15 voters received ballots that did not include the Fire District 4 Commissioner race. New, corrected ballots were sent to all affected voters once the omission was discovered, according to Pend Oreille County Auditor Marianne Nichols, who distributed a news release announcing the mistake.

In the race for Town of Ione Council Member No. 5, Ken Timmreck is leading with 63 votes to 40 for Cory McNeal. He is recovering from a recent medical procedure and didn’t comment.

In addition to Cusick and Metaline Falls, Ione will have a new mayor. Dan Nutt ran unopposed and received 77 votes. He takes over from Ione Mayor Mike Shipley, who did not seek reelection as mayor.

Pend Oreille County voters voted no on the five-year, $18 million Riverside School District capital levy, 133 no votes to 114 yes votes. Part of the district is in Pend Oreille County. The Spokesman-Review reported that the levy only had 42.2% district-wide voter support.

Pend Oreille County voters also said no to Deer Park’s $14.5 million capital levy by a 15-3 vote. The levy sits at 45.4% support among Spokane, Pend Oreille and Stevens counties, the Spokesman-Review reported Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Gary Vanderholm was leading the Riverside School District Director No. 1 race in Pend Oreille County with 143 votes, leading Sarah Ramsden, who got 89 votes.

Pend Oreille County voters rejected Senate Joint Resolution 8210, which would amend the state constitution to allow the state to invest money in the stock market to grow a longterm care program, with 2,379 rejecting and 1,370 approving.

So far, voter turnout is at 34.4%, a 2.09% decrease since last year and about the average every year, Krizeneski said. She does not expect voter turnout to increase much before election results are finalized at certification.