Council seat ballot goes to recount

Rick Sorrels

The vote count between Stan Flemming and Derek Young for county councilmember for District 7 is extremely close.  

A manual recount is required, which will start on Dec. 1. 

District 7 represents the Key Peninsula, Gig Harbor Peninsula, and the area just across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. This councilmember is the most influential voice and vote that the residents of the Key Peninsula have. Flemming has held the position since elected in 2010. Young, the challenger, served as an elected councilmember for the city of Gig Harbor from January 1998 to December 2013. 

There are 74,490 registered voters in District 7, with 45,562 casting votes in the November General Election, which makes for a 61 percent voter response rate. 

At press time, there were only 102 votes separating the two candidates, with Young leading.  The law requires a manual recount if the vote separation is less than either one-fourth of one percent of the votes cast, or less than a 150 vote spread. 

There are still a few overseas ballots trickling in, along with some ballots where the voters forgot to sign, etc, that are being reconciled. 

The county auditor is required to certify the election results by Nov. 25. This certification will be subject to the required manual recount.  

According to Mike Rooney, the Pierce County elections manager, “the manual recount will start on Dec.1, with the final results available Dec. 4 or 5.”