Vancouver Mayor-elect Anne McEnerny-Ogle, center, and City Council candidate Linda Glover review election results on Tuesday, November 7, 2017.
Molly Solomon / OPB
It may have be an off-year race, but Tuesday's election was a big night for politics in Clark County.
Initial returns show Anne McEnerny-Ogle will be Vancouver’s next mayor, winning nearly 75 percent of the vote.
Her win is also a historic one: McEnerny-Ogle will become the first female mayor in the city’s 160-year history.
“We didn’t talk about the fact that I would be the first woman,” McEnerny-Ogle said while celebrating at a victory party at Warehouse 23. “It was about, 'Am I the most qualified?' And I think with nearly 75 percent of the vote, residents know I have the qualifications to do this job.”
McEnerny-Ogle led a five-person primary race in August with 63 percent of the vote.
Her opponent, Steven Cox, bowed out of the general election unexpectedly in September. In recent weeks, write-in candidate Jonathon Sauerwein announced he would jump in the mayoral race to make it competitive again, but he received less than 1 percent of the vote.
Joining McEnerny-Ogle on the City Council are Alishia Topper, who won re-election for her Position 2 seat, and Linda Glover, who defeated Michelle Beardshear with 66 percent of the vote in the race for Position 3.
Glover said she hopes to be a voice for downtown Vancouver businesses at the council. She is the executive director of Divine Consign, a discount furniture store downtown.
“There hasn’t been a strong voice for small businesses,” Glover said Tuesday. “I’m excited to represent that.”
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Glover mentioned safety, affordability, jobs and homelessness as other priorities she hopes to take on at the City Council.
The late Scott Campbell, who recently passed away during the campaign due to cancer, won 61 percent of the vote for Vancouver City Council Position 1.
Cambell’s lead in initial voting will mean that the new City Council will need to appoint someone to serve the first year of his term and stand election in November 2018.
McEnerny-Ogle said once the new council is formed next year, they’ll review applications for the position.
“We are looking for an individual who wants to join the team and help Vancouver move forward,” she said.
By Tuesday evening, 61,008 votes had been counted, bringing the voter turnout up to 22.36 percent.
The set of returns will be released Wednesday and will include all ballots returned before Tuesday’s 8 p.m. deadline.
