Incumbent Falls in Fire Commissioner Race, Emery Wins

According to results released by King County Elections at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9, trounced incumbent with 4985 votes, or 79.83% of the vote counted so far, to Olson’s 1325 votes, or 20.95%. With 8081 ballots cast, Emery has taken the seat.

The past year has seen a changing of the guard at Woodinville Fire & Rescue, among allegations of mismanagement. In June, fire commissioner Randy Ransom resigned, citing health issues as his reason for leaving. He was replaced by Gerry Vucci, who was supported by the board and the union. In  August, I. David Daniels was put on administrative leave as chief after receiving a vote of .  A settlement with Daniels wasn’t reached until October and the district has yet to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Daniels’ predecessor, Dennis Johnson, who was removed from his post by the board in 2009.

Olson, who first won his seat on the commission in 1999, did not have the support of IAFF Local 2950; the union endorsed Emery.

Elections will post results at 4:30 p.m. each week day on the Elections website until election certification on Nov. 29. Voters can also use the ballot tracker feature on the website to confirm that Elections received their ballot for processing.