Lake County’s two mayoral races were settled last Tuesday night with council members stepping into leadership roles in January.

Laura Dever, a Polson City Commissioner, won the race for mayor against Marlow (Phil) Thelan, 671 to 436. A total of 1,115 votes were cast. Dever, who joined the commission in 2021, replaces Eric Huffine, who opted not to run this year.

In an interview prior to the election, 57-year-old Dever vowed to focus on improved communication and public involvement and work “to maintain Polson’s unique character, even as it grows.” She listed the condition of the city’s streets and lack of affordable housing as the two biggest issues facing Polson.

In Ronan, councilman Ryan Corum bested Wendy Davis, 221 to 84, with 306 votes tallied. Corum takes the gavel from Chris Adler, who chose to step down this year. Corum, 44, is a local businessman who has served as police commissioner and is currently a volunteer firefighter. In a pre-election interview, he mentioned his “strong relationships” with city staff and department heads, and said he aims to “keep our city moving in a positive direction by focusing on practical solutions to real issues.”

Two-term incumbent Chris Heffern held on to his council seat in St. Ignatius, claiming 72 votes in a four-way race for two open positions. Former mayor Steve McCollum was the other winner with 73 votes. Incumbent and council president Daniel Thompson received 63 votes and Shay Farmer collected 58 of the 312 votes cast.

In uncontested races:

Ronan: Lindsay Myers retains her seat in Ronan’s Ward 2, and Micah Robertson filed to replace Marlene Melton in Ward 3. There were no candidates for Corum’s position in Ward 1. Incumbent Allysen Jones was the sole candidate for city judge.

Polson: Lori Schrader-Young will take Dever’s place in Ward 2 and Jake Holley will serve a second term in Ward 1. In Ward 3, Brodie Moll steps down in January after two terms, and Tracy McDonald will take his place on the commission.

Some ballots rejected due to birthdate requirement

Lake County Election Administrator Toni Kramer said the first election in the new office at the Dave Stipe Annex went well. “We are so grateful to be in this office,” she said. “It is very convenient to have everything on one level, and no stairs for voters is very nice, too.”

She said the new state requirement that voters enter their birthdate on envelopes for mail-in ballots had forced her department to reject 23 ballots. An additional 38 ballot issues were resolved before the deadline of 5 p.m. last Monday when voters responded to staff outreach.

The ballots rejected due to missing birth dates would not have changed the outcome of any contest, she added. However, in St. Ignatius, 46 voters only notched one candidate instead of two. Those so-called undervotes could potentially have changed the outcome in the close four-way race for two seats, where just 16 votes separated the top vote-getter from the last-place finisher.

The canvass was held yesterday, Nov. 12 at 1:30 p.m.