UNION COUNTY — Residents across Union County decided the future of their cities by casting their votes for mayor and city councilors on Nov. 5.

Cove, Elgin and Island City had contested mayoral races and uncontested city council races. Elgin and La Grande residents also weighed in on measures to amend their city charters.

Voters in Union decided a contested mayoral race and one contested city council race.

The remaining elections in Imbler, La Grande, North Powder and Summerville all were uncontested. 

Here are the unofficial election results so far as of 9:30 p.m. from the Union County Clerk’s Office:

Cove

In Cove, challenger Gerald “Bud” Forrest is facing off against incumbent mayor Sherry Haeger. Haeger had the lead, with 58.3% of the vote while Forrest had 40.9% of the vote.

Haeger has served as mayor since she was elected to her first term in 2020.

Boss Parker, Alexis Cannon and Jason Hagey ran uncontested for city council. Respectively, they have 26.1%, 28.7% and 37.9% of the vote.

Elgin

In a repeat of the 2022 Elgin mayoral election, incumbent Stanley James Johnson is facing off against former mayor Risa Hallgarth.

Johnson, who is seeking his second term as mayor, is ahead with 54.7% of the vote. Hallgarth has received 44%.

Hallgarth was appointed mayor in 2021 by the city council to fill the remaining 23-month term of her predecessor, Allan Duffy. She had served on the council for four years and was its president at the time of Duffy’s resignation.

Louise Burck and Larry N. Hicks are running uncontested for city council. They have 37.1% and 55% respectively.

While Ballot Measure 31-122 remains close, initial results indicate that Elgin residents have cast their votes in opposition to adopting an updated city charter with 48.8% voting for the measure and 51.2% voting against it.

The new charter would have been based on the League of Oregon Cities model charter and aimed to introduce three key changes. First, it would have given the mayor the power to appoint members to city committees. Second, it would have allowed the council to fill the pro tem city administrator position for the remainder of the term rather than in six-month increments. (It still retains the city administrator as an elected official).

Lastly, the new charter would allow the city council to adopt its own election rules and adopt state laws through reference.

Imbler

In Imbler, Mayor Jason M.L. Berglund Sr. won his third term as mayor with 98.9% of the vote. He ran unopposed for the position.

Familiar faces will be rejoining the city council. Incumbents Doug G. Turnidge, Daniel J. Daggett and Bob Trotter each won their races for Position 2, Position 4 and Position 6 with 98.8%, 100% and 98.8% of the vote.

Island City

Island City’s incumbent mayor Dave Comfort is facing off against challenger Patrick Hemann. Comfort is ahead with 65.9% while Hemann has 33.6% of the vote.

Comfort is seeking his third term as mayor. Hemann currently holds Position 4 on the city council. He ran unopposed for the position in 2022. His term is not set to expire until the end of 2026.

For city council, Kevin Hampton won his uncontested bid for Position 5 with 98.7% of the vote.

La Grande

In La Grande, Justin Rock won his second term as mayor. He ran unopposed and received 98.5% of the vote.

Incumbents David Glabe and Mary Ann Miesner will also be rejoining the council after running uncontested. Glabe won Position 3 with 98.9% of the vote and Miesner took Position 4 with 98.6%.

A new face on the city council will be Rikki Jo Hickey, who ran unopposed for Position 2 and got 98.3% of the vote.

La Grande voters were rejecting a city charter amendment.

As of 8 p.m., only 42.9% of residents voted in favor of Ballot Measure 31-121 while 57.1% of residents were against it.

The measure aimed to introduce three changes to the new charter. First, it would have eliminated the council position numbers and instead would have had voters cast their votes for their top-three candidates. Second, it would have eliminated the need for a primary election. And it would have allowed the council to fill midterm vacancies through appointment for the remainder of the term.

North Powder

Three new faces joining the North Powder City Council after victories in which all three were unopposed.

Doris “Midge” Clause won Position 1 with 78.8% of the vote. She will replace Vicki Townsend, who currently holds the position. Tonya Dias took Position 4 with 78.7% of the vote. Dias will replace Justin Wright. Alan Brown won Position 6 with 93% of the vote and will replace Logan McCrae.

Summerville

The Summerville City Council had three uncontested races. Jered Schwabauer won Position 2 with 95.5%, Simon Kinney won Position 4 with 97.6% and Lyle Mann won Position 5 with 100% of the vote.

Union

In Union, challenger Derek “Big Red” Stevens faced off against incumbent Susan Hawkins for mayor.

Hawkins is leading with 60.6% while Stevens has 38.6% of the vote.

Hawkins is seeking reelection following the completion of her first term as mayor. She ran in 2022 to replace Leonard Flint, who chose to step down from the position. Prior to being elected as mayor, she served six years on the city council.

New faces will also be joining the city council.

Donald D. George is in the lead for Position 5 with 64.9% while Tim Day has 34.7% of the vote. Both are seeking to replace John Farmer, who currently holds the position.

Kori Cox won Position 1 with 100% of the vote. Cox ran unopposed for the position, which is currently held by Jay Blackburn.