The contest for Position 2 on the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners was still close too early to call on Thursday morning with challenger David “Bubba” King currently receiving just enough votes to avoid a runoff in the fall.
With 23,039 ballots counted as of 10 a.m. May 23, King had tallied 50.29% of the vote, compared to incumbent Lindsay Berschauer’s 44.66% and David Wall’s 5.04%. The clerk’s office expects to release revised numbers in the coming days.
Under state law, a candidate must receive at least 50% of the vote in order to avoid a runoff in the fall during the general election.
King issued a statement about 90 minutes after the early results were released on Tuesday evening, May 21.
“While we await the final results of the election for Yamhill County commissioner, I want to thank everyone for their support and their vote in my campaign,” he wrote. “I especially want to thank my wife Sarah and our kids and the rest of the campaign team for all you’ve done and for being part of this.
“Thank you to the Yamhill County clerk and the team processing voter ballots. We will continue to closely monitor results and we close the day knowing we worked hard, ran an honest campaign and that your voice will be heard.”
As of Thursday morning, voter turnout in Yamhill County was 31.17%: 23,998 of 77,003 registered voted in the election.
Oregon law allows for ballots postmarked on Election Day to be counted if received within the following week. Undervotes in the commissioner contest counted for 791 votes, 26 ballots signified neither candidate on their ballots and there were 27 write-in votes.
Both Berschauer and King have been very active in campaigning, especially in the county’s two largest towns — Newberg and McMinnville. Berschauer has planted campaign signs by the thousands along major highways, while King’s approach appears to have been more centered on canvasing door-to-door in neighborhoods, either in person or via campaign workers adorning houses with door hangers.
Berschauer’s background includes being commissioner since January 2021, three years as chairwoman. She has also been the District 6 chairwoman for the Association of Oregon Counties, representing Yamhill, Marion and Polk counties, and has served on the Yamhill County Budget Committee prior to being elected. She owns a political consultant business as well.
King’s public service experience includes backing community-supported agriculture (CSA) at his farm for neighbors struggling with food insecurity, starting a give-back program to nonprofits in Yamhill County, past owner of Honey Pie Pizza and serving as the current president of Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce.
On the issues
The pair differ on some issues, including funding for the public health department and seeking grants to run county programs.
They agree that providing more affordable housing is key to addressing homelessness in the county, with Berschauer touting the county’s efforts to expand use of accessory dwelling units in rural residential zones and partnering with McMinnville and Newberg to fast track the county’s land use process.
King advocates for patching up the county’s soured relations with SEDCOR and the Missing Middle Housing Fund, working with county’s largest employers and developers to promote affordable housing solutions and partnering with city officials to garner state and federal money for shovel-ready housing projects.
They differ on the commission’s relationship with county administrators and rank-and-file employees, with King calling out Berschauer’s sometimes harsh treatment of county administrators. He says he will advocate for county employees and recognize that they are professionals with considerable training.
Campaign finances
The race between first-term incumbent Berschauer and challenger King has been a pitched one, with both garnering significant campaign contributions to get their messages out across the county, primarily through yard signs and newspaper and cable TV ads.
As of May 21, King had tallied $61,025 in cash contributions and in-kind donations. The Newberg organic farmer’s cash expenditures topped $78,950 and he had a remaining cash balance of $10,879. Berschauer’s war chest was a tick richer. As of May 21, she had amassed $65,385 in cash contributions and in-kind donations. Her cash expenditures topped $48,357 and she retained a cash balance of $18,940.
The third candidate for the commissioner spot, retired Newberg chemist David Wall, had no reported contributions or expenditures as of May 21.
First-term commissioner Kit Johnston and third-term commissioner Mary Starrett are not up for reelection in the May primary.
The race continues
Additional unofficial results will be released as viable ballots are received and processed throughout the day Wednesday. Additional counts will continue Thursday of ballots dropped off at ballot boxes, as well as “cured” ballots and ballots postmarked by election day.
Curing ballots involves the clerk’s office reaching out to voters to determine their intent when it’s unclear on the ballot. The clerk’s office, under a state law implemented in 2023, has until June 12 to complete curing ballots.
The final results of the race will be published by 6 p.m. June 17, barring a challenge or the need for a recount due to a race being decided by less than one-fifth of 1%.
The number of ballots, first received by the clerk’s office as a trickle, slowly began climbing as the May 21 election day approached. As of April 24, only 11 ballots had been received. On May 10, 1,365 ballots arrived, then 2,548 appeared on the eve of election day.
Other county races
Kate Lynch (district attorney) and Jennifer Chapman (25th Circuit judge) ran unopposed for their positions in the election. Derrick Wharff (tax assessor) and Sam Elliott (sheriff) are also running unopposed, but in the general election in November instead.
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