WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. – Results from Tuesday’s election are coming in.
In the At-Large County Council race incumbent Barry Buchanan is ahead of Kamal Bhachu 54 to 46 percent.
Buchanan has served on the Bellingham City Council but says he likes the breadth of issues he sees at the county level.
“We can do more for more people,” says Buchanan. “It’s just a broader set of legislative issues that we can get accomplished.”
An agreement between diverse parties on industries at Cherry Point is among accomplishments he says the current council should be proud of.
Michael Lilliquist looks like he’ll maintain his Ward 6 position on the Bellingham City Council.
He leads Eve Smason-Marcus with just over 68% of the early tally.
Races for Ward 2 and Ward 4 were uncontested with Hollie Huthman and Skip Williams taking those seats.
Russ Whidbee is ahead in a tight race for Bellingham City Council At-Large.
“Truly I’m excited for the opportunity to represent Bellingham’s citizens and people and friends that I’ve known here for 30 or 40 years,” says Whidbee.
But that race is too close to call at this early stage as he leads Kristina Michele Martens by fewer than 500 votes.
The incumbents are leading both races for Port of Bellingham Commissioner.
Michael Shepard is ahead of John Huntley in District 1 with just over 55%.
Ken Bell leads Kelly Krieger for District 2 with almost 55% of the vote.
These tallies are from the initial count of ballots by the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office.
Another ballot count will be released Wednesday at 5 p.m.
The auditor will certify the results on November 23rd.
You can find the full election results on Whatcom County’s website.