Reporter for The Canyon Weekly
Detroit incumbents Jim Trett, Eric Page and Todd Smith appear to have been re-elected to seats on the City Council based on unofficial returns as of Wednesday.
Trett currently serves as mayor. The position will be filled by a vote of the new council when councilors are sworn into office in January.
Four positions were on the ballot, with Trett securing 72 votes, Page at 57 and Smith at 56. The fourth person on the ballot, newcomer Christine Rasmussen received 39 votes.
Oregon Secretary of State’s Office results, however, showed write-in candidate Dean O’Donnell, the former owner of the Mountain High Grocery, with 54 write-in votes.
Ken Yutzie and Tim Luke also campaigned as write-ins, but it was unclear if their totals came anywhere close to O’Donnell’s. All of the totals could grow based on late-arriving returns, particularly from those registered in Detroit who might have mailed in their ballots from out of town.
Luke serves on the current council but had to go the write-in route when his schedule did not permit him to file his paperwork by the deadline.
All other council and mayoral candidates in the Santiam Canyon were running unopposed.
Chemeketa College: The college’s attempt to finance upgrades and remodeling through a bond measure apparently have failed. Measure 24-507 was trailing by a 58.6% to 41.4% margin. It would have generated $140 million in improvements paid for by district tax payers. The bond, had it been approved, would have replaced an expiring $92 million bond and use the same rate of 27 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. For a home valued at $400,000, the property owner would pay $108 per year, or about 30 cents per day. The Chemeketa Community College board placed the measure on the ballot via a unanimous vote on June 26.
Sheriff: Nick Hunter, who was appointed earlier this year by the county commissioners to head the Marion County office, was easily retained. Hunter had 63% of the votes to 36% for Stacy Rejaian, a deputy in Hunter’s department.
Soil & Water: Incumbent Peggy Hart defeated Tony Shepherd by a 61.6% to 37.8% margin in the battle for the districtwide at-large director No. 1 slot. Angela Plowhead ran unopposed in Zone 4. The Santiam Canyon is in Zone 5. That position will be on the 2026 ballot.
