VANCOUVER, Wash. — Several candidates endorsed by the Southwest Washington Central Labor Council in the August primary will advance to the general election in November. In Washington, the two candidates that receive the most votes in the primary move on to the general election.
Vancouver City Council
In the three-way race for Position 2, labor-endorsed incumbent Erik Paulsen outpolled his opponents, taking 64.73% of the vote. Maureen McGoldrick finished second with 20.87%.
Clark County Commission
Labor Council-endorsed incumbent Republican Gary Medvigy was the top vote-getter, capturing 58.18% of the vote. His Democratic challenger, Adrian Cortes, a special education teacher for the Camas School District, finished with 41.82%. In Washington, all partisan elections appear on the primary ballot even if only two candidates are seeking the position. The winner in November will serve a one-year unexpired term.
Vancouver School Board
Lisa Messer captured nearly 30% of the vote to finish first in a four-person race for Position 4. The Heritage High School science teacher will face Kathy Decker, an early childhood educator, in November. Decker received 28.26% of the vote. The Labor Council also endorsed 18-year-old Lindsay Luis in the race. She finished fourth, taking 16.21% of the vote.
Tracie Barrows, a school psychologist in Evergreen Public Schools, was the top vote-getter in a four-person race for Position 5. Barrows received 44.69% of the vote. Chris Lewis, a certified public accountant, finished second with 26.29%.
In the race for Position 1, labor-backed Caressa Milgrove finished third (21% of the vote) out of four candidates. Incumbent Dale Rice won with 37.79% of the votes cast. Kyle Sproul took second with 32.52% of the vote. Rice, an investment adviser, has been on the school board for 29 years.
Voter turnout in the primary was low, with only 20.3% of registered voters casting ballots.
November endorsements
The Southwest Washington Labor Council made several early endorsements for the November General Election. They are backing the re-election of Ty Stober to the Vancouver City Council; they support Jack Burkman running for Vancouver Port Commissioner, Position 3; and they endorsed Bethany Rivard and Rachel Rogers for Evergreen Public Schools School Board Position 2 and Position 4, respectively.
