LA GRANDE — Candidates and voters in Union County eager for election results had to show patience Tuesday, Nov. 8.

An audit log report that tracks the number of ballots run through the tally machine did not look right to Union County Clerk Robin Church. She made the decision to stop the count late in the afternoon on Election Day until she received clarification about the report.

Church said she reached out to the tally machine’s manufacturer, Election Systems & Software, for confirmation. The manufacturer confirmed there was nothing wrong with the audit log and it was just a change in formatting on the report.

“I wanted confirmation that everything was correct before we started again,” she said. “It just has to be right.”

Tallying resumed around 8 p.m., but all ballots that were counted prior to the stop — approximately 4,000 ballots — needed to be recounted, Church said. The final tally for the night was reported just after midnight. Election officials were back bright and early — resuming the count at 8 a.m. Nov. 9 at the county clerk’s office.

As of 11:30 a.m., Church estimated there was another two hours of counting left to tally the ballots received through drop boxes around the county.

The ballots that have been counted so far have Justin Rock winning in his bid for La Grande mayor.

Rock has 63.4% of the vote while Mathew Miles has received 36.1% as of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, according to unofficial election results.

Rock and Miles are running to replace outgoing Mayor Steve Clements, who announced in February he would not seek another term. Clements has served four terms as mayor, winning his first election in 2014. His term will officially end at the first regular session of January 2023, when new councilors are sworn in. The mayor and city council are nonpartisan positions.

Corrine Dutto with 55.6% of the vote leads in the race for Position 7 over Cody Vela, who has just 44%.

Both are running to fill the position currently held by Rock. Dutto and Vela have generated plenty of interest in the race.

Vela, who moved to La Grande in 2010 after serving in the U.S. Army as an infantry sergeant, was accused of online bullying and abrasive online interactions leading up to the election. A number of people said they experienced menacing social media posts from Vela, and provided screenshots, including threats to throw them off committees, as the campaign season ramped up in late September.

Vela falsely claimed to have a pending investigation against Max Kultov, a La Grande resident and member of the city’s budget committee, for telephonic harassment and interference with an election.

The La Grande Police Department confirmed there is no active investigation open on Koltuv for harassment.

Dutto is the focus of a state Elections Division investigation after a complaint was filed with the office against Dutto, according to Ben Morris, communications director for Oregon’s Secretary of State.

The complaint alleges Dutto failed to register a committee, which is required for any candidate who raises or spends more than $750.

The other contested race is Position 6. Denise Wheeler has 58% of the vote, just ahead of David Moyal’s 41.6%.

Moyal and Wheeler are running to replace John Bozarth, who has served more than 10 years on the city council.

Molly King is the only candidate on the ballot running unopposed. She will join the council in Position 5 in January.

King will replace Gary Lillard, who has served various positions within the city for almost 30 years.

Challenger takes early lead in race for Elgin mayor

Elgin mayoral candidate James Johnson is just ahead with 60.8% of votes, while incumbent mayor Risa Hallgarth has received 37.7%, according to unofficial results from the Union County Clerk’s Office.

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.

Both Johnson and Hallgarth are lifelong Elgin residents.

New councilor David Reed will join the Elgin City Council with 40.6% of votes, along with returning councilor Rocky Burgess with 48.9%. There are a total of three open council seats and only two names on the ballot.

Elgin voters approved a measure to amend the city charter to combine the city recorder and city administrator into a single role with 57.9% of voters in favor.

Voters, however, did not approve a measure to amend the city charter to make the city administrator a hired position rather than an elected official. The measure failed with nearly 55% of voters voting against the measure.

The issue was on the ballot due to the increasing number of rules and regulations that a city administrator needed to know.

The final measure on the ballot seemed to allow electors to pay a $50 fee rather than collecting 20 signatures to appear on a ballot. A large majority of voters were against this amendment — with 72.1% opposed.

Weeks leads over Anderson in North Powder council race

North Powder had four contested seats on the ballot — including a race for mayor and three city council positions. Incumbent mayor John Frieboes is ahead with 56.1% of the vote while challenger Jeff Nielsen has 43.9%.

City council candidate Barbara Weeks is winning with 51.6% of the vote while Cody Anderson has received 48.4%, according to unofficial results from the Union County Clerk’s Office.

Weeks and Anderson are competing for Position 2 — currently occupied by Joyce Lawyer.

Incumbent Jeffrey Grende for Position 3 is just ahead with 54.4% of the vote, while Mike Wisdom has received 45.6%.

Candidate Lindsey Thompson has pulled ahead with 60.9% of the vote, while Bo Hansen has received 39.1%. Thompson and Hansen are both vying for Position 5 — currently occupied by Michael Morse.

No contested races in Imbler, Cove, Summerville, Union, Island City

The Imbler City Council had three candidates running for a total of four open seats and each winner is an incumbent.

Jason Berglund Sr. has won his second term as mayor with 94.4% of the vote. Rock Vicek with 96.3% of the vote and Teressa Dewey with 98.9% will be returning to the city council.

In Summerville, Sheri Rogers will join the council with 94.9% and Ken Smith with 97.1% of the votes.

Cove Mayor Sherry Haeger returns for another term as the mayor of Cove after an uncontested race.

Haeger has 78.4% of votes, according to unofficial results from the Union County Clerk’s Office.

Returning council member Matt McCowan has 42.3% of votes and Eric Stone will join the Cove City Council with 41.9%. Both McCowan and Stone were uncontested.

In Union, Susan Hawkins, who has served on the city council for the past six years, will be the new mayor with 96.3% of the vote. Hawkins will succeed Leonard Flint, who is stepping down as mayor after serving six years.

Joining Hawkins on the council are Dick Middleton in Position 2 with 91.2%, John Black in Position 4 with 98% and Anita Boyer-Davis in Position 6 with 98.1%.

Middleton previously served on the Union City Council for about four years in the 1980s. Black and Boyer-David are newcomers to the council.

The Island City City Council had four uncontested races and a lot of new faces will join the council.

Incumbent mayor Dave Comfort — with 96.8% of the vote — will remain a familiar face in Island City. Joining Comfort on the council are Louis “Richie” Mentgen in Position 1 with 99.4%, Patrick Hermann in Position 4 with 99.7% and Debra Comfort in Position 6 with 96.3%.

Union voters pass library levy

Union voters passed a five-year option levy for the Union Carnegie Public Library. The option levy, Measure 31-116, passed with 65% of the vote.

The option levy will raise enough for the library to be able maintain its present staff and its level of service, according to Union City Administrator Doug Wiggins.

“It shows that our community really wants our library here,” Wiggins said.

The option levy will cost property owners about $1.05 for each $1,000 of assessed property value, meaning the owner of a $100,000 home would pay $105 a year for the levy.

The levy will replace a five-year option levy for the library that will expire next June. That levy costs property owners $1.21 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Wiggins said if the levy were not approved, the city would not have been able to afford to draw anything close enough money from its general fund to make up for the money it would lose. Wiggins said there would have had to have been a huge reduction in services.