Elections Supervisor Heather Boyer and Chief Deputy Auditor Tom Stanton work together to check ballots as part of the machine recount in the Lewis County Clerk’s race.
Anthony Ahrens, center, hugs Carla Shannon, right, and James Shannon, left, as it was announced that Shannon leads Tinney in the County Clerk’s race Nov. 7 at the Lewis County Courthouse in Chehalis. Subsequent counts put Tinney ahead. His election was confirmed by a recount Tuesday.
Lewis County Clerk Scott Tinney watches the beginning of the machine recount process Tuesday morning in the Lewis County Courthouse. After the election was certified last week, Tinney was ahead of challenger Carla Shannon by 38 votes.
Appointed incumbent Scott Tinney has officially been named the winner of the race for Lewis County clerk.
His slim lead over challenger Carla Shannon was confirmed through a machine recount at the Lewis County Auditor’s Office Tuesday. Tinney picked up one additional vote during the count, which showed him ahead of Shannon 7,319 votes to 7,280.
“After the recount of votes cast for the office of Lewis County Clerk, the Canvassing Board certified that there was a one vote change to the original totals certified on November 28, 2017,” the auditor’s office wrote in a press release. “Upon inspection of the 2,100 under voted ballots, there was one ballot that had a very light mark across the response position for Scott Tinney that the system did not pick up. The mark was consistent with the rest of the ballot. The Canvassing Board determined it should be a vote for Scott Tinney. The total was adjusted to reflect that vote. The official certified winner for the office of Lewis County Clerk, as determined by machine recount is: Scott Tinney.”
The outcome follows a neck-and-neck race to replace retired clerk Kathy Brack.
When the first vote count was released on election night, Shannon led Tinney by 255 votes, but the incumbent clerk caught up as late votes were tallied.
“I was far enough behind after that first count that most people with knowledge on the subject were telling me those votes couldn’t be made up,” Tinney told The Chronicle last week. “To come back and take the lead and win it is pretty humbling actually … I’d just like to thank everyone who supported me.”
Tinney has served as Lewis County clerk since he was appointed to the position by the Lewis County Board of Commissioners in November 2016 after former clerk Kathy Brack retired before the end of her term.
A committee of Lewis County Republicans picked Shannon, a deputy clerk, as their top choice to replace retiring clerk Brack last year; however, Tinney was the committee’s third choice, and was ultimately appointed to the position by the county commission.
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This story will be updated for Thursday’s edition of The Chronicle. Previous reporting by The Chronicle was used in this story.
