Three new faces will be on the Hermiston City Council when it convenes for its first meeting of the year on Jan. 13 and three familiar names will have said goodbye.
Jeff Kelso, Josh Roberts and Allen Hayward were elected Tuesday night to the council and incumbent Maria Durón was re-elected to another term. Hermiston voters chose those candidates for the four at-large council seats that were open this year.
Kelso, Roberts and Hayward will fill the three at-large seats vacated by Councilors Rod Hardin, Doug Primmer and Nancy Peterson. Hardin and Peterson chose not to run for re-election, while Primmer ran successfully for mayor to succeed Dave Drotzmann.
The results, as of 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office, shows Kelso received 3,247 votes, Roberts 2,839, Durón 2,979 and Hayward 1,858 votes. Those four beat out Bryan Miller who received 1,397 votes and Luz Martell who garnered 1,708 votes.
Kelso said he was “humbled” by the results.
“I’m thrilled and humbled and honored to be elected by my fellow citizens to serve in this capacity,” Kelso said Tuesday night. “I love this community.”
Roberts said he was “totally stoked” to join the council.
“I think I’ll do a great job for the city and I’m happy the citizens of Hermiston felt the same way,” he said.
Durón, a family engagement specialist for the Hermiston School District, said she felt “privileged” to serve another term on the council.
“I’m honored to, once again, have earned the trust of the community and I will work hard for the next four years to keep their trust,” Durón said. “My decisions will always be for the betterment of the community.”
Duron said she was grateful for the support of her mother and her three children, Natali, 26, Anthony, 24 and Miguel, 19.
“I would not be doing this without them,” she said.
Hayward said he had a feeling the election might go his way after talking with citizens during the campaign.
“I went door-to-door talking to people,” he said. “They told me I was the first person running for city council who had ever knocked on their door, so I put myself out there. I want to hear from everyone so I can bring their issues to the city council.” Hayward, too, said he was grateful for the support of his mother and two children, Joy, 11, and Bella, 7.
Hermiston will also have a new mayor as Councilor Doug Primmer ran unopposed in the general election and received 3,952 votes. Primmer will succeed outgoing Mayor Dave Drotzmann who opted not to run for another term.
In the May primary, Primmer defeated three other mayoral candidates – fellow Councilors Jackie Linton and Peterson as well as high school student Manuel Salazar.
Kelso is technology director for the Hermiston School District. He has also served on the Hermiston Parks and Recreation Committee since 2018.
Roberts is a patrol lieutenant for the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office. He’s a current member of the Hermiston Budget Committee and previously served on the city of Umatilla Planning Commission.
Hayward is a data technician for Amazon Web Services.
