Low Turnout, Clear Winners in Wasco County's Special Election

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May 21

Low Turnout, Clear Winners in Wasco County's Special Election

The Dalles, Ore., May 21, 2025 — Voter turnout in the May 20 Special District Election reached 22.46%, with 4,233 of the county’s 18,845 registered voters casting ballots. And while turnout out was low, several boards will be filled with new faces as newly elected officials take their seats in July.

North Wasco County School District #21

Zone 1: Betsy Hege won with 254 votes (97.69%), defeating write-ins who received 6 votes.
Zone 4: David Polehn was elected with 194 votes (54.34%), defeating John T. Nelson (160 votes). There were 3 write-ins.
Zone 5: Kevin A. Kramer won with 333 votes (73.35%), defeating Shannon Wilkinson (119 votes). There were 2 write-ins.
Zone 7: Katie Kelley earned 331 votes (58.69%) to defeat Steve Lawrence (230 votes). There were 3 write-ins.

Dufur School District #29

Position 1: Anne Kelly won with 278 votes (55.27%), defeating Tina Coleman (220 votes). There were 5 write-ins.
Position 3: Sean Egeland won with 298 votes (55.81%) over Stan Ashbrook (236 votes).
Position 4: Dave Beeson narrowly defeated Joseph Harvey, receiving 252 votes (50.70%) to Harvey’s 244 votes. There was 1 write-in.

South Wasco County School District #1

Zone 1: Justin Gotham ran unopposed and won with 425 votes. There were 2 write-ins.
Zone 3: Nancy Salas Juarez was elected with 295 votes (57.06%), defeating Paul Koerschgen (217 votes) and 5 write-ins.
Zone 4: Shelley Cocco narrowly beat Greg Wiedeman, 251 votes (52.51%) to 226 votes (47.28%). One write-in vote was cast.
Zone 6: Kevin Duling won with 359 votes (60.95%), defeating Elizabeth Unti (230 votes).

Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue

Position 2: Mike Erland won with 1,446 votes (58.03%) over Corey A. Case, who received 1,044 votes. Two write-in votes were recorded.
Position 4: Chris Schanno secured the seat with 1,439 votes (56.83%) against David Jacobs (1,092 votes). One write-in vote was cast.

Other Contested Races

Juniper Flat Rural Fire Protection District

Position 4: Brian Silvey won with 63 votes (76.83%) over Casey Ford (19 votes).

Mosier Fire District

Position 3: Steven Fisher won with 141 votes (98.60%), defeating write-in challengers who received 2 votes.

Tygh Valley RFPD

Position 3: A.J. Mead was elected with 79 votes (98.75%), defeating write-ins with 1 vote.

Wamic Rural Fire Protection District

Position 5: Cindy Koch won with 153 votes (98.71%), defeating two write-in candidates.

Ballot Measures

Measure 33-114 (White River Health District tax levy):
Passed with 442 votes (63.78%) in favor and 251 votes against.
Measure 33-113 (Dufur Recreation District operations levy):
Passed with 316 votes (80.82%) yes and 75 votes no.

Other Notes:

Dozens of uncontested races saw incumbents or sole candidates re-elected with minimal write-in opposition.
Several water, fire, and education district seats across rural Wasco County had low vote counts but solid winners.

For a full breakdown of races and vote counts, Wasco County's unofficial results PDF is available here.