Chelan City Council will have a new look next year

by Dennis Rahm

The initial counting of ballots from the Tuesday General Elections shows Erin McCardle holding a 57 vote lead over incumbent Mayor Bob Goedde McCardle has garnered 52.25% of the vote compared to 47.02% for Goedde.

The City of Chelan will also see at least three new council members in 2024 as Terry Sanders, Brad Chitty, and Jon Higgins were all elected in uncontested races. Current councilman Mark Ericks was re-elected in another uncontested race.

Meanwhile, if the McCardle lead holds up in the mayoral race, it would then necessitate the appointment of another city council member to fill her unexpired term.

In other election results, former Chelan Fire and Rescue Chief Mark Donnell is winning his race for Commissioner 1 in Fire District 7. Donnell has just over 62% of the vote compared to 37.53% for Ben Laughlin.

Voter turnout in Chelan County was just over 27%. Over 14,000 ballots have been counted in Chelan County and it’s estimated another 5,261 ballots remain to be counted county-wide.

The next round of counting remaining ballots will take place on Thursday, and the election will be certified on November 28.

Click here for Chelan County election results as they are updated.