Sean C. Morgan
Based on preliminary unofficial results, the write-in incumbents on the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District Board of Directors and the Sweet Home School Board will retain their seats.
Linn County Elections Supervisor Derek Sterling released preliminary results Monday. The results remained subject to change through Tuesday evening, June 4, based on ballots dropped at locations in other counties and challenged ballots.
Sweet Home had four positions with incumbents who intended to seek re-election but did not file for the May 21 election. Two School Board positions and one Sweet Home Cemetery District position did not have candidates.
For the School Board, Debra Kay Brown received 63 write-in votes for the Cascadia position. Second place was Debra Brown with 12 votes, which will not be counted for the incumbent because multiple Debra Browns reside in the area. Mike Rice finished in third with three write-in votes.
Joseph Nelson received write-in six votes, the largest number, for the Foster position. In second was Noelle Heitzmann with three votes. Incumbent Angela Clegg, who lives outside the Foster boundary area, received two votes, along with seven other persons.
For the Crawfordsville position, incumbent Toni Petersen received 10 votes to win the election. She had chosen not to run for the position.
She told The New Era Monday that she needed time to decide whether she would continue serving in the position. Skeeter Weatherly received three write-in votes to finish second.
Incumbents Jenny Daniels and Mike Reynolds, as filed candidates, won their elections conventionally.
For the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District, Tim Geil, Jeanetta Charlene Adams and Larry G. Johnson won position one, position two and position three respectively.
Geil received 41 write-in votes. Rick Petersen received 22 write-in votes after a late announcement of his write-in candidacy. Bud Mather and John Marano each received four write-in votes.
Adams received 59 write-in votes. Mather received four.
Johnson received 64 write-in votes. John Adamson received three.
For each of the three positions, the other incumbents also received a handful of votes.
For Cemetery District position three, Colin Brown received 18 write-in votes, and Kyle Sullens received 10 votes.
If the results remain unchanged after the final day of counting, Sterling said each of those receiving the most votes will officially win the position. He will send acceptance letters by certified mail to each winner. They must return to the letters to accept the position.