Incumbents, Shober Pull Out the Win

Democrat Larry Maggi and Republican Diana Irey-Vaughn have each secured another term as Washington County Commissioner, according to unofficial results from the county election office.

Results show Maggi with 30.1 percent and Irey-Vaughn with 26.7 percent.

The third commissioner seat was won by Democrat Harlan Shober, with 21.8 percent of the vote. He edged out Republican Bill Northrop, of Peters Township, by an unofficial total of 386 votes.

Although absentee ballots still have to be counted, Shober remained cautiously optimistic that his lead would hold.

“It’s kind of a semi-sweet feeling that I have right now,” he said after the final precincts were counted. “It’s nice to be 300 and some votes ahead after the regular county, but I’ll breathe a little easier after the absentee ballots are counted. I won’t assume anything just yet.”

Shober said all the commissioner candidates waged good campaigns. “No one beat each other up, and it was all positive," he said. "Everyone ran on what they could bring to the table.”

For his part, Northrop said it is not surprising that Republicans are making significant gains in a traditionally Democratic stronghold.

“This is the closest we’ve seen two Republicans come to winning (the commissioner’s race) in a long time, and I’m excited about that," he said.

Northrop said he continues to hold out hope that the absentee-ballot count could sway the election in his favor.

“A lot of those absentee ballots are from Peters, and I believe they will be favorably Republican," he said. "It may be enough to close that 384-vote gap.”

Both Shober and Northrop agreed that the closeness of the commissioner’s race demonstrates the importance of individual votes. “We hear all the time that every vote counts, and it was really illustrated here that it’s important to vote and express our freedom in a Democracy,” Shober said.

Northrop agreed.

“I tell people all the time that every vote counts,” he said. “This is a great example of such a race where collective decisions of if a person is going to vote can determine an election.”

For Irey–Vaughn, Tuesday’s win will give her a fifth term as county commissioner. She said she has a great respect for the voters of Washington County.

“It’s a great feeling to know that the taxpayers have put their trust in me,” she said. “I love the people and I love serving the people of Washington County. About a third of our budget is for human services, and it always feels good to help people in need. I have made some great friends in the county.”

Maggi said he is glad to see the campaigning end, and that he looks forward to getting down to the business at hand before Washington County.

“I do think it was a good campaign, but bit was a long campaign after Bracken Burns decided not to seek reelection,” he said. “Now we all have to concentrate and work together to continue to makes Washington County a great place to live.”