Analysis of Bainbridge vote shows tsunami of opposition to I-976

Study shows split results in council races.

Tim Eyman didn’t change many minds on Bainbridge Island.

Unofficial returns from Bainbridge’s 23 precincts show there was overwhelming opposition to Eyman’s Initiative 976, the “$30 car tab measure,” according to a Bainbridge Review analysis of the Nov. 5 General Election.

Statewide, I-976 passed with 53 percent of the vote.

Kitsap County voters also said “yes” to the measure, and I-976 collected approximately 50.1 percent of the vote here.

But on Bainbridge, the “no” votes added up to 80.9 percent of all ballots cast on the island.

Ballot returns through Tuesday showed 9,644 votes against I-976, and 2,276 votes in favor. The initiative was rejected by a majority in every precinct on the island.

Wing Point, the island’s most right-leaning precinct historically, rejected the measure with a 79.8 percent “no” vote.

Four positions on the Bainbridge Island City Council were on the ballot on Election Day, and the Review’s analysis of precinct returns shows South Ward candidate Michael Pollock ran the most successful campaign of any candidate for council.

Pollock won majorities in all 23 precincts, a feat unmatched by any other council candidate on the ballot.

Wednesday’s updated vote tally gave Pollock 57.5 percent of the vote over incumbent two-term Councilwoman Sarah Blossom in the South Ward race, who pulled in 42.2 percent of the vote.

Unofficial precinct returns from earlier in the week showed Pollock wrapped up more than 60 percent of the vote in five precincts.

His greatest support came in the precinct of Ferncliff, with 68.1 percent, where Pollock had a 228-vote advantage over Blossom (422-194). Pollock also surpassed 60 percent of the vote in Meadowmeer (61.5 percent), New Brooklyn (62), Finch (64.2), and Blue Heron (66.4).

Councilwoman Leslie Schneider, who was losing in the first tally on Election Night but rallied to win after the majority of late-arriving votes fell her way, carried 20 of 23 precincts in her race against challenger Grayson William Wildsmith.

In Wednesday night’s tally, Schneider has 53.9 percent of the vote to Wildsmith’s 43.8 percent.

Schneider won a majority vote in just 17 of the 20 precincts she won, according to an analysis of earlier, unofficial returns.

Her best showing was in Ericksen (65.3 percent), followed by Eagle Harbor (62), Tolo (60.4) and Skiff Point (60.2).

Wildsmith won three precincts: Ferncliff (59.2 percent), Port Madison (50.1) and New Brooklyn (49.3).

Wildsmith and Schneider were separated by just one vote in New Brooklyn, 147-146, in the earlier vote count this week.

Incumbent Councilman Kol Medina won 16 of Bainbridge’s 23 precincts over challenger Kevin Fetterly in the North Ward race.

Medina collected more than 60 percent of the vote in five precincts: Ericksen (64.9 percent), Ferncliff (64.9), Winslow (63.6), Blue Heron (62.5), and Azalea (61.6).

Fetterly won seven precincts, most on the island’s north end.

He won majorities in six precincts — Port Madison (55.7), Manzanita (55), Island Center (53.8), Finch (51.5), and Seabold (50.4) — and beat Medina in Torvanger with 49.8 percent, winning that precinct by one vote (277-276).

In the race for the council’s at-large seat, Kirsten Hytopoulos won 17 of the island’s 23 precincts.

Anthony Oddo, the other candidate in the race, won six precincts outright.

Hytopoulos found her greatest support in the precinct of Ferncliff, where she pulled in 67.5 percent of the vote.

Her tally exceeded 60 percent in three other precincts: Blue Heron (61.2 percent), Finch (60.4), and Skiff Point (60.3).

Oddo did best in Crystal Springs, garnering 53 percent of the vote.

He also won the precincts of Wing Point (52.9), Rolling Bay (52.9), Port Madison (50.7), Winslow (50.6) and Island Center (50.3).

The Kitsap County Elections Division will continue to count eligible ballots until the election is validated later this month.

At the time of the Review’s look at unofficial precinct returns, Bainbridge turnout was higher than Kitsap County as a whole.

Bainbridge’s turnout stood at 53.1 percent earlier this week.

Wednesday, county election officials said turnout countywide had risen to 43.6 percent.

Turnout was above 50 percent in 18 precincts on Bainbridge. The lowest turnout was in Eagle Harbor (48.24 percent), while the highest was in Tolo (57.97).

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