Although the Ocean Shores mayoral race appears to be headed to a photo finish, the outcomes of all five City Council contests were made clear with the release last Friday of updated, though still not final, vote counts. All of the candidates responded to a request for comment from The North Coast News. The results through Nov. 8 and the candidates’ comments follow:
For Council Position 2, appointed incumbent Kathryn Sprigg leads Michael Darling 1,537-1,109.
Sprigg: “This was a lively campaign and I thank my opponent for the race he ran. I knocked on a lot of doors and met some great people; all were cordial and freely shared their ideas and aspirations for our town. I will listen and represent every citizen in Ocean Shores and I’m grateful for the community support.”
Darling: “This was a great experience. Running for office is all about giving back to this great community. Despite our differences, I’m confident all candidates want what’s best for OS. If I held any disappointment, it would be we still get less than half our citizens to vote and be heard. That breaks my heart.”
For Council Position 3, elected incumbent Lisa Griebel did not seek reelection. Frank Elduen led Richard Wills, 1,421 – 1,204.
Elduen: “I would like to thank everyone for their support. I’m looking forward to working with the council members to accomplish the things that are important to the citizens of Ocean Shores.”
Richard Wills: Chose not to comment.
The tightest of the Council races was for Position 4, where elected incumbent Jon Martin was leading Lorraine Hardin, 1,372 – 1,283.
Martin: “As it has been a lengthy and at times a heated campaign it is my hope whoever is mayor or on the council can work together to focus on the critical issues facing our city. I do believe all candidates want what is best for Ocean Shores and we do not always agree exactly on the direction. The votes show a divided city; it will be a challenge for the council and whoever is mayor to reduce that divide. I do believe it can be done.”
Hardin: “This campaign was a positive experience for me from start to finish. I was able to introduce myself to the community without any animosity toward my opponent and very little misinformation about my platform put out against me. I am quite happy to be as close in this race as we are, considering it is my first campaign effort.”
Elected incumbent Bob Peterson has, so far, received more ballots than any other local candidate. He leads challenger Chuck Anderson, 1,546–1,060.
Peterson: “I personally am not surprised as to the results obtained to date (11/11/2019). I think there were some quality people running for the various positions and unfortunately not all can win. That being said, I want to thank Chuck Anderson for adhering to our agreement to keep our contest civil. The focus is obviously now on the outcome of the mayoral race.”
Anderson: “I congratulate my worthy opponent for retaining his seat on the council. I hope his next term will be productive and address some of the changes that need to be made. It is time for our community to come together and work with whomever is in power for the benefit of our great city.”
For Council Position 7, appointed incumbent Eric Noble was leading David Linn, 1,358 – 1,226.
Noble: “I want to thank David Linn for running such a positive and gracious campaign. He is a good man who would have made a fine council member. I hope going forward all the candidates can put their differences behind and put the city first. We will not all agree but I do hope we can at least agree to disagree and look ahead in moving Ocean Shores to be the best for ALL the people. In my opinion this election divided the city in a negative way and we need to now come together and listen to the different perspectives and hopefully come to a consensus on the best way forward.”
Linn: “I learned a great deal about myself as a candidate and how I could have done better. I met some really great people in the process, and I hope that my thoughts about the various issues discussed in this campaign have had some positive impact on the public discourse.”
