BONNERS FERRY — With no contested races in Tuesday's general election, there were no surprises as to the winners.

Winning election to their respective posts are Bonner County commissioner, District 1, Les Pinkerton; county commissioner, District 2, Tim Bertling; county clerk, Pam Barton; county treasurer, Jennifer Economu; county assessor, Olivia Drake; and county coroner, Chad Workman.

Candidates will be sworn into office on Jan. 11, 2027.

In the race for Boundary County commissioner in District 2, incumbent Les Pinkerton was re-elected with 4,732 votes.

Pinkerton was first elected to the seat in 2024, replacing Wally Cossairt on the board. He previously served on the county's Republican Central Committee and retired after a 32-year career with the U.S. Forest Service.

In the race for Boundary County commissioner in District 2, incumbent Tim Bertling was re-elected with 4,651 votes.

Bertling was seeking his third term in office, saying he opted to run because he cares about the community.

“This isn’t about politics for me — it’s about service,” Bertling said. “Like many of you, I’ve watched decisions being made that impact our livelihoods, our land, and our way of life. I believe we need leadership that understands rural communities — leadership that supports our timber industry, protects our natural resources, and keeps our economy strong.”

Deputy clerk Pam Barton will be sworn in as Boundary County clerk after winning election to the post Tuesday with 4,712 votes. She ran unopposed for the seat.

In a candidate survey prior to May's primary election, Barton said she planned to immediately begin focusing on a smooth transition from her current role as deputy clerk to county clerk. She also planned to meet with court deputies to assess needs for a new justice center and improve flow at the auditor counter to reduce bottlenecks.

Incumbent Jennifer Economu was re-elected as Boundary County treasurer with 4,905 votes; incumbent Olivia Drake was re-elected as county assessor with 4,724 votes; and Chad Workman was re-elected as county coroner with 4,802 votes.

After a late night, outgoing Boundary County Clerk Glenda Poston said the election went smoothly, with final numbers updated to the state by midnight as roughly 70% of the county's registered voters turned out for the Nov. 3 election.

"Voter turnout was good, but I hoped for a bit more," Poston said. "I would imagine that the election staff was OK with a 68% turnout factor."

While it is too early to indicate how many new voters the county had, Poston said that after the registration deadline, the county had 8,442 registered voters, with 5,761 voting in Tuesday's election.

Poston praised the county's election staff, led by Boundary County Elections Clerk Cherry Grainger.

"Our election staff is tremendous, and one can never thank them enough," she said. "Cherry does a phenomenal job keeping things moving along."

While flu season sidelined several election workers, Poston said the county pulled in different volunteers and shifted other folks into the gaps to ensure a smooth election.

"One would never know the difference," she added.

Poston praised the county's election volunteers, thanking them for their hard work on what is a long day.

"It is truly amazing that we have over 80 volunteer workers from within our county who show up to work at 7 a.m. and get home anywhere from 9 p.m. until midnight," she added. "It’s a long day for them, and I would encourage everyone to remember to thank those poll workers."

    Tim Bertling.
  

    Barton
  

    Economu
  

    Olivia Drake
  

    Chad Workman.