Voters in Banks, USA have their say

Oregon voters had their say in the 2024 election, and from top to bottom, change is on the way.

In Banks, voters resoundingly ousted the incumbent mayor. At the presidential level, Oregon voters were in the minority, granting eight electoral votes to Kamala Harris, who ceded the election to former President Donald Trump, who saw the race called for him by the Associated Press early Wednesday morning.

Here are the highlights of Tuesday night’s election.

Banks Mayor

Banks residents opted for change, ousting an incumbent at a time when Banks is facing unprecedented growth and change.

In the latest election results, the Washington County Elections Division showed current City Councilor Marsha Kirk winning the race with an insurmountable lead.

Kirk drew 380 votes to current Mayor Stephanie Jones’ 283 votes, or 55.96% to 41.68%. While some results will continue to trickle in from mail in ballots over the next few days, it’s not feasible that enough would arrive to dramatically alter those results.

“I would like to thank the voters of Banks that showed they have the trust in me to be their next mayor,” Kirk said in a message to the Banks Post. “I’m hoping that we can work together and plan how we want to keep Banks small town feel even with the changes that will be coming,” Kirk added.

Noting that two developments will cause growth in the city, Kirk noted her belief that the Banks community would get through the changes.

“As we all move into the upcoming holiday season and we spend time with our friends and family, I would like you to take some time to think about what community means to you,” Kirk said. “After, I will be asking you all to help me decide some of the things we want to do in our community to keep that feeling,” she added.

Noting that she had campaigned on communication and community, Kirk said she would hold herself and the wider community to those ideals.

“One thing that has been lost in our city is that we work for you,” she said.

“I also want to give mayor Stephanie Jones a thank you for your service as mayor the last 4 years and on City Council,” Kirk said.

Jones also thanked her supporters.

“Thank you to everyone who displayed a sign, followed this page, talked about me to your neighbors and voted for me,” Jones said in a statement shortly before polls closed.

Jones said she would apply for a vacant position on the city council. Kirk will likely have to resign her current city council seat to take office as Mayor in January, leaving an open position that can be filled by a city of Banks resident who is a registered voter and who has lived in city limits for at least 12 months. Kirk’s original term was to last through 2026. In a message to the Banks Post, Kirk said she would seek guidance from city staff on the exact order of operations on transitioning from a city council position to taking office as mayor.

(Editor’s note: The procedure here is not entirely clear. The Banks Post will contact city staff to see what the timeline is regarding resignations)

Banks City Council

Three city council seats were up for election Tuesday; two were uncontested, with both candidates breezing to an easy victory, while the sole contested seat, between incumbent Marilyn McCalister and challenger Debra L Berry, will go to the incumbent.

While some write-in activity — names in write in campaigns are not immediately available without filing a public records request, which can take weeks — appeared in the first batch of results, each incumbent will retain their seat.

In the only contested City Council race, CC6, incumbent Marilyn McCalister is on track to win with 66.67% of the vote to challenger Debra L. Berry’s 32.67%.

In CC2, incumbent Don Giannetti will win a four-year term, with results showing him at 96.65% of the vote.

In CC4, incumbent Peter Edison is on track to secure another term, adding four years to his time on the City Council, where he has also served as mayor. Current results show him at 91.04% of the vote.

Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District

One contested seat had a clear winner, and two uncontested races saw victories.

Steve M Vangrunsven will win the at-large Position 1 seat with 98.6% of the vote, as will Gales Creek resident Eldon Jossi in Zone 2 (Gales Creek, Cherry Grove, Gaston, Watts) with 98.31%. That’s right, a Gales Creek resident saw 126,060 votes.

The only contested race in the district, Zone 1, between Jerry Ward and Elaine M Stewart, shows Stewart winning with 64.82% to Ward’s 34.35%.

The Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District is divided into five zones, each of which is represented by a distinct elected board member, and two additional members are elected to serve as at-large directors for the entire county. All positions are four-year terms.

What is the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District?

“We work with Washington County residents on a cooperative, voluntary basis to conserve our shared resources for current and future generations. We do not create or enforce natural resource regulations or land-use rules,” the agency’s website reads.

House District 31

The race for House District 31 will yield a western Washington County resident representing Gales Creek and Banks constituents in Oregon’s House of Representatives for the first time in years.

Buxton-area resident Darcey Edwards will head to Salem, with 59.22% of the vote for the Republican candidate to Democrat Jordan Gutierrez’ 37.26%. In a distant third, Libertarian Robert Miller drew 3.3% in results.

“I am incredibly proud of the campaign we ran—one focused on real issues and grounded in the values of accountability, community, and commitment,” Edwards said in a statement. “As your representative, I promise to work tirelessly for a safer, stronger, and more prosperous Oregon,” the representative-elect added.

House District 31 represents much of the far northwest corner of Oregon, including Banks, Gales Creek, and Vernonia.

Suzanne Bonamici heading to another term in U.S. House of Representatives

Representing Oregon’s 1st Congressional District, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici is headed to another two year’s representing Oregon’s northwest corner in Washington D.C.

With 67.22% in current results, Bonamici, a Democrat, holds a commanding lead over Republican challenger Bob Todd’s 29.86%.

“Thank you to the voters of NW Oregon for their confidence in me. I am grateful to be able to serve another term in Congress. Together we can create a better, brighter future,” Bonamici said in a statement.

Libertarian Joe Christman held a distant third place at 2.7%.

Bonamici has served in her role since 2012 after winning a special election to replace former Congressman David Wu, who resigned amid a sexual assault allegation.

State jobs

Three of Oregon’s top positions were up for grabs this cycle. In fact, none of the three races had an incumbent, a rarity in any election cycle.

All three positions will go to the Democratic candidate, dashing the hopes of Republicans, who saw an opportunity to grab the statewide Attorney General position for their party.

Former Secretary of State’s Shemia Fagan’s resignation amid a scandal over her decision to accept a lucrative side gig as a cannabis consultant, despite being in charge of auditing Oregon’s Cannabis industry left the race wide open. Her appointed replacement, LaVonne Griffin-Valade, did not run for election to the office.

Instead, Tobias Read, the state’s current State Treasurer, will take the spot in January with 53.8% of the vote to Republican opponent Dennis Linthicum, who received 43.19% of the vote in current results.

Nathalie Paravicini, nominated by the Pacific Green and Progressive parties, received 2.91% of the vote.

For State Treasurer, Elizabeth Steiner will take the job in January with 49.17% to Republican challenger Brian J Boquist, who received 44.47% of the vote.

Mary King, representing the Working Families and Pacific Green parties, received the widest support of any third party candidate for a state level position with 6.26% of the current vote.

For Attorney General, Dan Rayfield will take the state’s top legal job with 53.35% of the vote to Republican Will Lathrop’s 46.53%.

State Measures

Five measures were on the ballot; two passed and three failed. We’ll list the ballot tiles and their results here.

Measure 115 (Amends Constitution: Authorizes impeachment of statewide elected officials by Oregon Legislature with two-thirds vote by each House; establishes process) passed with 62.84% of the yes vote to 37.16% no.

Measure 116 (Amends Constitution: Establishes ‘Independent Public Service Compensation Commission’ to determine salaries for specified officials; eliminates legislative authority to set such salaries) failed, with 53.29% of the vote saying no to the 46.71% yes vote.

Measure 117 (Gives voters option to rank candidates in order of preference; candidate receiving majority of votes in final round wins) failed, with
59.56% of voters saying no and 40.44% saying yes.

Measure 118 (Increases highest corporate minimum taxes; distributes revenue to eligible individuals; state replaces reduced federal benefits) was the biggest loser of the night: Almost four out of five voting Oregonians said no, at 78.80% to the 21.2% saying yes.

Measure 119 (Cannabis retailers/processors must remain neutral regarding communications to their employees from labor organizations; penalties) passed with 55.23% saying yes to 44.77 saying no.

President

Former President Donald Trump won a second term to the nation’s highest office, four years after he failed to win a second term, making him just the second U.S. president to serve two nonconsecutive terms.

In the waning hours of Election night, Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances of winning the Oval Office narrowed, and then vanished altogether as swing state after swing state was called for Trump.

As Tuesday drew to a close in Oregon, Trump declared victory, though no major news publication had yet called the race.

“I wanna thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president, and your 45th president,” he said at a rally Tuesday night.

Shortly after Wednesday began in Oregon, the Associated Press had called enough Electoral Votes for Trump, more than needed to win the election.

As Trump’s victory became evident, Harris was nowhere to be found.

Harris’ Campaign co-chair, Cedric Richmond, addressed a crowd of supporters at Howard University Tuesday night.

“We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken,” he said.

“So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight, but you will hear from her tomorrow,” he promised.

Harris finally conceded the race Wednesday afternoon.

“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for,” Harris said. “But hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.”

When Trump is sworn back into the office, he will follow in the footsteps of President Grover Cleveland, who was first elected to the office in 1885, lost to Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and then reclaimed the presidency again, serving his second and final term from 1893 to 1897.

While his split terms have one precedent in history, Trump will make his own mark in the history books as the first convicted felon to win a presidential election. Should he finish his term, he will also be the oldest serving president.

Oregon joined most of the West Coast in voting for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Federal, statewide, and local election results can be found online at results.oregonvotes.gov. Information on county elections, including turnout and a schedule of when additional votes will be released, can be found on the Washington County Elections Division website.