Final ballot count sets races for city council, school board
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 5 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | August 18, 2021 1:05 AM
EPHRATA — The Aug. 3 primary election was certified Tuesday, with some tight races in Grant and Adams counties.
Dustin Swartz will challenge incumbent Karen Liebrecht for the Moses Lake City Council 2 seat in the general election Nov. 2, as Liebrecht and Swartz were the top two vote-getters in the three-way primary race for the council seat. Liebrecht received 1,043 votes, or 34%, to 1,010 votes, or 33%, for Swartz. The third candidate in the race, Eric Eleazar Salgado, received 959 votes, or 32%.
Judy Madewell will challenge current Moses Lake Mayor David Curnel in the race for the Moses Lake City Council 5 seat this fall. Madewell received 1,394 votes, or 46%, to 1,275, or 42%, for Curnel. The third candidate in the race, Devin Deitrick, received 305 votes, 10%.
Kevin Fuhr and Rachel Roylance Gallacci will compete for Moses Lake School District Director 4. Fuhr received 2,724 votes, 40%, to 2,410 votes, 36%, for Roylance Gallacci. Two candidates, Matt Paluch and James Liebrecht, trailed. Paluch received 1,166 votes, or 17%, and Liebrecht received 435 votes, or 6%.
Moses Lake School District voters rejected the district’s three-year educational programs and operations levy request. The levy proposal received 3,617 “no” votes, 52%, to 3,331 “yes” votes, 48%. The levy would have raised about $7 million per year.
Othello Parks and Recreation District voters rejected a one-year maintenance and operations levy request. The levy received 524 “yes” votes, 54%, and 447 “no” votes, 46%. Because it is a revenue measure, the levy request required 60% approval to pass.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
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