By Pat Jenkins
The Dispatch
Voters in south Pierce County have a few more days to help pare the list of potential commissioners for the Port of Tacoma and South Pierce Fire and Rescue.
The primary election ends Aug. 1, which is the last day ballots can be turned in by mail or at official dropboxes.
Results of the primary will reduce races that have three or more candidates on the ballot to the two finalists for the general election in November. There are two such contests for voters in south Pierce County:
• Tacoma Port Commissioner Position 1, a countywide race, has three candidates, but only John McCarthy and Eric Holdeman are actively campaigning. The third, Jim Jensen, dropped out after admitting he made insensitive and offensive comments online before he officially became a candidate. But he didn’t withdraw his candidacy in time to be taken off the ballot, so his name is still there and he could advance to the general election in November if he has one of the top two vote totals in the primary.
The race is to replace Commissioner Connie Bacon, who isn’t seeking re-election.
• South Pierce Fire Commissioner Daniel Morris, who has held the Position 4 seat since 2011, has two challengers –Jody Westing, a nurse supervisor, and Alan Simmons, a former career firefighter. Voters who live within the fire district wil decide which two candidates move on.
In keeping with predictions of a low voter turnout throughout the county, neither the fire or port contests are expected to generate heavy interest in south Pierce communities. As of last Friday, with 11 days left until the deadline, the percentage of eligible voters who had returned their ballots to the Pierce County elections department was 5 percent for the port race and 7 percent for fire commissioner.
Elections department officials predict 19 to 21 percent of the 499,090 registered voters countywide will cast ballots. Like the south end of the county, most areas have little on the ballot, which translates to low voter involvement.
Among the official dropboxes provided by the county where ballots can be deposited 24 hours a day until 8 p.m. Aug. 1 are ones located near Eatonville (the Barney’s Corner mini-mart at State Route 161 and Eatonville Cutoff Road), in Spanaway (the Roy Y transit park-and-ride at Pacific Avenue and State Route 507), in South Hill (the Graham Fire and Rescue station at 10012 187th St. E. and the Pierce County Library branch at 15420 Meridian Ave. E.), and Roy City Hall (216 McNaught Road S.). A list of all locations countywide is available on the county auditor’s website.
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