Dreon, Fournier maintain lead in Thurston County Commissioner races after Wednesday tallies

Rachel Dreon and Wayne Fournier maintained their leads in two competitive races for seats on the Thurston County Board of Commissioners in updated Wednesday results.

Dreon, a Democrat, was leading JW Foster, an independent, by nearly 6,200 votes in the race for the District 2 seat, according to tallies released Wednesday by the county Auditor. The margin was slightly less than it was on Tuesday.

Whoever wins the race will replace Gary Edwards, an independent, who is retiring .

In the District 4 race, current Commissioner Fournier, a Democrat, was leading Rob Laymon, who stated no party preference.

The winners will join Commissioners Tye Menser, Carolina Mejia and Emily Clouse, all Democrats, on the board. Mejia was also up for re-election this year, but she ran unopposed. The five-member commission serves over 300,000 residents and will manage an operating budget of about $474.2 million in 2025.

The county Auditor's Office indicated they had counted about 110,296 ballots through Wednesday, which represents 53.2% of the 207,296 registered voters. However, there were still an estimated 34,000 ballots left to be counted.

Ballots only needed to be dropped off or postmarked by Nov. 5, and crowds of people lined up at county voting centers throughout the day Tuesday to vote or register and vote.

"It's been a terrific day," Hall said Tuesday.. "It's been a busy day. We did three trips to our ballot boxes and they were heavy every time we went out there. Turnout at the voting centers was fantastic."

She said she expected turnout to reach as high as 80%.

In 2020, the last presidential election year, 83.8% of the county's then 201,865 registered voters participated, according to final certified results. In the August primary, turnout was about 44% of 200,449 registered voters.

Thurston County will post any changes in vote tallies and outcome as additional ballots are counted until the county certifies the results on Nov. 26. The Washington Secretary of State will then certify the results by Dec. 5.

Thurston District 2

In the District 2 race, Dreon led with 53,091 votes (52.8%) as of Wednesday. Foster had 46,900 votes (46.7%). Though Foster gained some ground between Tuesday and Wednesday, Dreon still had a significant lead.

Dreon learned of the initial results at Octapas Cafe in Olympia where she spent Tuesday evening with other Democratic candidates. She said she felt "incredibly grateful for the trust and support" of Thurston County voters.

"The results are still not all the way decided, but it feels like a victory," Dreon said. "And it really reflects the hard work and dedication of my team and the thousands of conversations that we've had."

Dreon thanked those who knocked on doors and shared her message. She said she's ready to "roll up her sleeves" and get to work.

"We set out to bring real solutions and build a Thurston County that works for everyone," Dreon said. "I think that tonight's results affirm that vision."

When reached for comment Tuesday, Foster congratulated Dreon and said the vote difference appeared too large to overcome.

"She did a really good job in her campaign and clearly the voting populace would prefer the Democrat to the independent in this race," Foster said. "I wish her well and look forward to returning to my retirement."

Dreon describes herself as a progressive Democrat and proud 2004 graduate of Thurston County Drug Court. She has a professional background in behavioral health.

She previously worked as a budget chief for the Washington State Department of Health and Human Services and as a Business Operations Administrator for the DSHS Office of Forensic Mental Health.

She currently works for the King County Department of Community and Human Services as a Behavioral Health Workforce Investments Manager.

Dreon also serves on the Thurston County Treatment Sales Tax Advisory Committee , a group of nine volunteers who make non-binding recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners about how to spend Treatment Sales Tax dollars.

If elected, Dreon has promised to support more affordable housing, protect the environment and use her budgetary experience to further mental health services and homelessness initiatives and address the opioid epidemic, according to her voter guide statement.

Foster, an independent, became interim mayor of Yelm in 2016 and then won a four-year term in the 2017 election. Prior to that, he served on the Yelm City Council from 2011 to 2016. Notably, he also served as a firefighter and paramedic from 1979 to 2013.

Foster, a Marine Corps veteran, previously told The Olympian he chose to run as an independent because he believes he has supported people and issues on both sides of the political divide and he feels the commission should be non-partisan.

District 2 covers eastern Thurston County from the Nisqually Reach to Alder Lake and includes the City of Yelm and parts of Lacey.

Thurston District 4

The election tally for Thurston County Commissioner District 4 shows Fournier with 61,683 votes (62%) as of Wednesday.

Laymon had 37,049 votes (37.3%, only slightly chipping away at Fournier's lead between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Fournier reacted positively to the early results Tuesday and said it marked a career high for him.

"I'm pretty happy," Fournier said. "I was feeling good coming into it and I'm over the moon. Those are the best results of any of the elections I've ever run in. ... I'm looking forward to continuing to work to make Thurston County a better place for us all to live in."

Fournier has only served a one-year term as county commissioner. He previously served as Mayor of Tenino from 2015 to 2023 and as a City Council member there from 2012 to 2015.

Fournier campaigned on his record as a county commissioner. If re-elected, Fournier has promised to foster "sustainable growth" that preserves the county's natural beauty and bring people together to collaboratively address shared challenges, according to his voter guide statement.

Laymon did not respond to a request for comment.

The winner of this race will serve a full four-year term on the board. Fournier's shortened term was a product of a staggered election schedule for the District 4 and 5 seats, both of which were created in 2022 after the county population surpassed 300,000.

District 4 covers southwest Thurston County including south Tumwater and the cities of Tenino, Bucoda and Rainier.

Fire Protection District 8 Levy

Tallies on Wednesday showed the South Bay Fire District levy lid lift passing with 60.5% ballots in favor of the measure.

If approved, Thurston County Fire Protection District 8 (South Bay) will be authorized to levy a maintenance and operations excess levy of $1.9 million in 2024, $2 million in 2025, $2.1 million in 2026 and $2.2 million in 2027.

The district estimates the total estimated 2024 tax levy rate with the excess levy will be about $2.01 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

The Board of Fire Commissioners for District 8 sent the proposition to voters because current assessed values in the district are not high enough to pay for needed service levels, according to their explanatory statement.