With 21.95 percent of ballots returned Tuesday night, the city of Airway Heights Proposition 1, which would help fund a proposed $13 million recreation center, was passing comfortably with 62.10 percent yes votes, 349 – 213. If successful, the center would be built on the city’s 70-acre park land located to the north along Deno Road.
In local legislative races, Democratic Lynnette Vehrs was leading all five candidates in the race for the 6th District’s state House of Representatives Position 1 race, with Republican Mike Volz running second. At press time, Vehrs had 44.10 percent of the vote, 8,391 ballots, with Volz at 29.22 percent, 5,545, and fellow Republican Ian Field in third with 17.62 percent and 3,345 votes.
The Position 1 seat is open due to the resignation of incumbent Kevin Parker last spring.
In the 6th District Position 2 race, incumbent Republican Jeff Holy led Democratic challenger Shar Lichty with 56.30 percent of the vote to Lichty’s 43.44 percent. Both candidates will advance to the General Election in November.
In the race for the 5th Congressional District seat, incumbent Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers appears to be heading to a November rematch with Democratic challenger Joe Pakootas. The two faced off in 2014, and McMorris Rogers was leading all five candidates as of Tuesday night with 39.41 percent of the vote, although Pakootas was much closer than he was after the 2014 primary, garnering 33.01 percent as of press time.
Independent candidate Dave Wilson was also doing better than his 2014 showing, grabbing 15.48 of the vote, although likely not enough to send him on to November’s ballot. Only the top two candidates in any race move on from the primary to this fall’s general election.
According to Dave Ammons, communications director for the Washington Secretary of State’s office, voter turnout statewide was running about 24 percent, with turnout in eight counties – including Ferry, Garfield and Lincoln in Eastern Washington – at 30 percent.
In select statewide races, incumbent Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee and Republican challenger Bill Bryant are headed to a November face off, with Inslee collecting almost 49 percent of the vote. In the race for Commissioner of Public Lands, Republican Steve McLaughlin was leading with 39.10 percent of the vote, with Democrat Hillary Franz running in second at 20.84 percent while former Spokane mayor Mary Verner was in fourth.
Erin Jones and Chris Reykdal are both headed to the November ballot in the race of Superintendent of Public Instruction while Republican Mark Miloscia and Democrat Pat McCarthy were both comfortably in the top-two in the state auditor race. Incumbent Democrats Bob Ferguson and Mike Kriedler will both win comfortably in the attorney general and insurance commissioner races.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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