The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – Strong community support sends incumbent Waitsburg Mayor Walt Gobel into his sixth term after receiving 213 votes in Waitsburg’s preliminary city election results calculated Monday night. First-time mayoral challengers Debra Callahan had 63 votes and Delores Nettles had 34 votes.

Based on preliminary results, the council will remain unchanged, with the exception of Kate Hockersmith, who will replace Callahan. Hockersmith gave longtime Waitsburg council frontrunner Kevin House a run for his money this year by receiving 254 votes to House’s 260, in her first bid for a council seat.

Incumbent council members Marty Dunn (235 votes), K.C. Kuykendall (212 votes), and Karl Newell (201 votes) retained their seats with challenger Karen Gregutt falling just short of a fifth-place seat with 193 votes. Final election results will be certified on April 20.

Karen Gregutt and Markeeta Little Wolf received two write-in votes each for mayor. Little Wolf also received five write-in votes for council. Other council write-ins were (as spelled on the ballots): John Stellwagen and Debra Callahan with two votes each. Stan Bly, Jim Davidson, Ken Beasley, Gerry Baker, Clint Reser, Jerrod Crow, Mary L. Philipps, Rhonda Coufal, Christopher Lee Phillips, and Ryan Araya each received one write-in vote.