Editor’s note: The Grays Harbor County Auditor has posted early election results for the General Election. With more than 9,000 ballots counted and about 2,000 left to go, the next update will be on Thursday afternoon. Only about 18.5% of registered voters participated in the election, according to the auditor.

Voting in Grays Harbor County’s general election is now in the past, the interest now is on the thoughts of the candidates of the contested Aberdeen races.

Aberdeen Mayor — Doug Orr vs. Debi Pieraccini

In the tightest contested Aberdeen race, Doug Orr leads Aberdeen City Councilor Debi Pieraccini by two votes in the mayoral race. The count is 832 votes for Orr with 830 votes for Pieraccini. It shouldn’t be a surprise given the August Primary Election was close the whole way.

How is Orr feeling right now? On Wednesday afternoon he was removing his campaign signs. He took a couple minutes to respond.

“I’m not really very confident yet,” Orr said of his razor-thin lead. “We’re gonna have to see. It could go either way. I’m disappointed I lost votes but it looks like Pieraccini lost votes as well.”

Orr said he won’t really know, or have an idea of who wins until it’s actually over.

“I think it’ll stay pretty tight,” Orr said. “The vote was so even that if there’s 2,000 votes left to count, she might get 1,000 and I might get 1,000. I don’t think anyone can call where it’s gonna go.”

Orr, like other candidates, was disappointed in the voting turnout. About 23% of the county’s registered voters sent in a ballot.

“The turnout was really sad but that’s something we have to work on,” Orr said. “I guess people have to have a reason to vote.”

While there is a celebration in the works, it’ll happen tonight. But it’s not for the win.

“I’m having a little dinner party,” Orr said. “It’s not celebrating the win, it’s celebrating the contest. My people did a great job. I didn’t realize it would turn out to be such a nonpolitical bunch of BS in there.”

Once the vote is certified, he’ll have a party then too.

“Even if we lose, we’ll still have a party,” Orr said. “My people did a great job and I’m so proud of them. And I’m proud of myself.”

And it seems as though Pieraccini is also remaining calm. With a two-vote deficit, there doesn’t seem to be reason to panic.

“I am just going with the flow,” Pieraccini said. “I would have preferred a solid voter turnout win or lose, but such is life.”

Pieraccini said she hopes to win, because it was the whole purpose of spending six months campaigning.

Pieraccini shared gratitude for her constituents.

“I thank everyone of my supporters for trusting me with their votes,” Pieraccini said.

Ward 5 Position 9 — Riley Carter vs. Joshua Francy

Riley Carter, who gave an ultra-enthusiastic answer. Carter currently leads by 25 votes over incumbent Joshua Francy. The count is 77 votes for Carter with 52 votes for Francy.

Carter responded with an effusive answer that will be censored for print.

“Absolutely,” Carter said. “I have two words — —— yeah. Thank you.”

Joshua Francy, who is down by 25 votes to Carter, did not provide an election reaction comment by press time.

Ward 4 Position 7 — Stan Sidor vs. Glenn Meissner

Next up is the largest lead amongst the contested races, where Sidor leads Glenn Meissner by 187 votes. The count is 321 votes for Sidor with 134 votes for Meissner.

Sidor responded with a lot of positivity in his lead.

“I am very confident that my substantial lead will hold and I expect that it will widen,” Sidor said. “I know of at least some voters who are supporting me who did not get their ballots into the system until election day and so their votes have not yet been counted. What the results reflect, I believe, is my demonstrated responsiveness to the citizens in the Fourth Ward in the past year since selected to fill the seat that had been vacated. I intend to continue with a strong commitment to being responsive to the citizens of the ward and city.”

Will Sidor celebrate? It appears he already has.

“A number of us candidates gathered last night and enjoyed some good food and company, and discussed our plans for making Aberdeen a better city in which to live and work, that is celebration enough,” Sidor said. “Now, it is time to proceed with plans I have for the coming two years of the term for which I expect to be elected to benefit the city.”

Meissner, down 187 votes with 2,000 left to count in his first city election, doubts he’ll make a comeback.

“I am a bit disappointed by my numbers, but it’s not completely unexpected,” Meissner said. “I was outspent by what seems a pretty wide margin on campaign materials, which makes a big difference. Some of my campaign strategies fell through such as strategic sign placement and my door knocking efforts. It was my first political campaign, so I will take this as a learning experience moving forward.”

Meissner wished good luck to Sidor in a Facebook post about his campaign.

Meissner also said it was “jarring” to see the “voter turnout was so low.” About 22.6% of the 48,824 registered voters voted, according to the Grays Harbor County’s auditor website.

In addition to addressing the importance of local elections because they have a “larger effect on the average person’s day-to-day life than state or federal positions,” he also thanked his supporters.

The last two contested Aberdeen races feature narrow leads as well.

Ward 6 Position 12 — Sydney Renae Newbill vs. Bessie Jones

Sydney Renae Newbill leads Bessie Jones by 10 votes. The count is 112 votes for Newbill with 102 votes for Jones.

Newbill sounded encouraged by the work she did on the campaign and because of that, is confident going forward.

“Although it is only a 10-vote lead for this first count, I believe in the strength of my campaign and the support of the people,” Newbill said. “I am optimistic about the outcome.”

But Newbill isn’t counting her chickens until they’ve hatched.

“It’s likely that this race will be tight all the way until the 28th,” Newbill said about the date the count result is finalized. “It was (tight) in the primary and I am expecting similar results in the General Election.”

In case Newbill wins, she wants to go out to dinner to celebrate.

“Anyone who knows me knows I’ll have a hard time putting the work down long enough for dinner, let alone a larger, more elaborate celebration.”

Jones, who is down by 10 votes to Newbill, did not provide an election reaction comment by press time.

Ward 3 Position 6 — Scott Prato vs. Norm Klein

Another hotly contested race sees an early lead for Scott Prato over Norm Klein. Prato leads Klein by 11 votes. The count is 154 votes for Prato and 143 votes for Klein.

Prato sounded satisfied by his lead so far.

“I am reasonably confident about winning the election,” Prato said. “I don’t really expect the vote margin to grow percentage wise but who knows for sure?”

Prato is another candidate who wished more people voted throughout the area.

“I am not surprised, but somewhat disappointed that only 1-in-5 voters thought that this race was important enough to turn in a ballot,” Prato said.

Prato wants to make sure he knows what he’s doing as a councilor, should he win the election.

“I plan on celebrating by signing up for a seminar or two on how to be an effective council member,” Prato said. “Then to start picking up signs. And then I will probably head down to one of our fine local breweries for a celebratory beverage.”

While Klein trails as of Tuesday night’s ballot count, he gave an update to how he is doing while down by 11 votes.

“Yes, it’s nerve wracking to see how close the count is,” Klein said. “We both will have to wait until Thursday for the final results. I am still cautiously optimistic about the final outcome.”

Klein also had a few words to say to his supporters who voted for him.

“I want to thank everyone who did vote for me and hopefully we can build on this if I get on the council,” Klein said.”

Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.