Banks, Elections, News

First Election Results: Banks Fire Board

Polls have closed for the May 16 special district election, and the Washington County Elections Division has released the first count of ballots already received by the office.

Another batch is expected Tuesday night around 10 p.m.

While more results will continue to arrive, the results of the Banks Fire District Board are clear: Everyone who filed to run is a winner tonight, because all three candidates ran unopposed.

All three candidates applied for a vacant seat in 2022 after the recall of board chair Mark Schmidlin left an open seat, making this the second time they’ve sought a position on the board but the first election for all three candidates.

In position 2, Clint Jackson pulled in 97.4% of the vote in the first results issued Tuesday just after 8 p.m.

Last year when first seeking a seat on the board, Jackson said he’s lived in the Banks area for 45 years, raising a family and building his business in that time.

Jackson is part owner of Banks’ Five Star Builders, and also serves on the city’s Economic Development Commission.

“I feel strongly about giving back and being a servant to the community that has made this all possible, he said in his first stab at the job.

In position 4, Mark Standley Jr.—Standley was appointed to the seat to fill the remainder of Schmidlin’s term—has won his first full term with 97.4% of the vote.

Standley has experience in firefighting, both in and out of Banks. His application notes he volunteered for the Amity Fire District for ten years before moving to Banks, where he volunteered with the district for a couple of years.

Standley is also a co-owner of Bighorn Logging.

“I see this as a great opportunity to give back to my community again,” Standley wrote when he first sought the position in 2022.

In position 5, Pete Lux won a four year term, with 97.2% of the vote so far.

Lux, himself a firefighter for two decades according to his application, said he understands the challenges facing a rural district.

Lux served as a firefighter with Washington County Fire District 2 prior to that district’s annexation into Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, where he is now a lieutenant. 

“I feel it’s important to be active and engaged within the community,” Lux wrote in 2022.

Results will be continue to be posted to the county’s voter turnout webpage and submitted to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office.

The county plans to report vote totals again tonight at 10 p.m., then Wednesday, May 17 at 4 p.m., Friday May 19 at 4 p.m., and again on Friday, May 26 at 4 p.m.

The final report will come Monday, June 1 at 4 p.m. when the vote is certified.

Where’s my ballot?
Washington County voters can track the status of their ballot through BallotTrax.

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Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.

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