The Hermiston City Council certified the May primary elections of Doug Primmer as mayor and Cameron Bendixsen as municipal court judge during Monday’s regular council meeting.
Primmer, currently the council president, received 1,094 of the 2,154 votes cast. Because he received more than 50% of the vote, Primmer will be the only mayoral candidate on the general election ballot. Councilor Jackie Linton received 518 votes, Councilor Nancy Peterson received 352 votes, Manuel Salazar received 181 votes, and there were nine write-in votes. Bendixsen ran unopposed.
Candidates for four at-large positions on the Hermiston City Council will also appear on the general election ballot. The nonpartisan position is open to anyone living within Hermiston city limits and the deadline to file as a candidate is Aug. at 5 p.m. More details are available at www.hermiston.gov/elections or by visiting Hermiston City Hall.
Three candidates have so far filed for at-large council seats – Jeff Kelso, Josh Roberts and Martell.
The general election is Nov. 5 and the next terms for mayor, at-large city councilor, and municipal judge begin in January 2025. The mayor and councilor terms are four years and the municipal judge term is two years.
Local elections and initiative petitions are managed by the Umatilla County Elections Division, which tallies votes and valid signatures and returns the verified results to municipalities for official certification.
The Elections Division reported on June 28 that an initiative petition to allow retail marijuana sales and create a marijuana sales tax received only 896 of the needed 1,614 valid signatures necessary to appear on the November ballot. The measure will not appear on the ballot.
