Port Orchard City Council member Rob Putaansuu, who campaigned on a pro-growth, business-friendly platform, has won a decisive victory over incumbent Mayor Tim Matthes in the city’s sometimes bitter Nov. 3 general election.
Putaansuu garnered 62.9 percent of the mayoral vote. Matthes trailed at 36.7 percent, with all 13 precincts counted.
Council incumbents John Clauson and Cindy Lucarelli were winners in their contests to retain their Position 4 and Position 5 seats, respectively.
Clauson, who has had a seat on the City Council for 32 years, took 54.8 percent of the vote. His challenger, retired Puget Sound Naval Shipyard employee Nick Whittleton, trailed with 44.8 percent.
Lucarelli won in her bid for reelection. She defeated challenger Marcus Lane, an Olympic College Workforce Development manager, with 67.4 percent of the vote by registered voters. Lane garnered 32.2 percent.
Two open seats for the Council were up for grabs. Shawn Cucciardi, director of Columbia Hospitality, convincingly won the Position 1 seat over challenger Keith Law, an Olympic College nursing student. Cucciardi had 61.7 percent to Law’s 37.8 percent.
Clancy Donlin easily won the At-Large position with 91.9 percent of the vote. His write-in challenger, Bill Christensen, gathered 8.1 percent in his write-in effort. Christensen joined the race after the filing deadline and ran a spirited write-in campaign.
Voters were asked to approve Proposition 1, a $4.9 million bond measure for Kitsap County Fire District 7, otherwise known as South Kitsap Fire and Rescue, to upgrade its apparatus, and fire and safety equipment.
The measure received 70.2 percent approval to 29.8 percent voting not to approve. The measure must meet a voter threshold based on the election turnout numbers.
The fire district serves 72,000 residents in South Kitsap over 117 square miles. The bond measure will cost the owner of a $275,000 home in the district approximately $3.43 a month, or $41.25 each year for five years.
South Kitsap School District 402 directorships were on the line. Two incumbents retained their seats. Patty Henderson, District 1 candidate incumbent, and Greg Wall, District 5 incumbent, were unopposed. The only contested school district race was between incumbent Keith Garton and Brian Lightbody. Garton won 52.5 percent of the vote to Lightbody’s 46.5 percent.
Incumbent Susan Way retained her West Sound Utility District Position 1 seat by defeating challenger Jeannie Screw by a 55 to 44.1 percent margin.
Just 24.4 percent of registered voters in Kitsap County cast their ballots in the election, according to the county’s Election Division.
