A hand recount of ballots didn’t change the results of a tight Island County commissioner race.

Democrat and political newcomer Angie Homola has unseated longtime Republican Commissioner Mac McDowell in the District 3 race, which represents the Oak Harbor area.

Deputy Auditor Michele Reagan said the recount completed Thursday resulted in a net loss of only one vote from Homola’s 60-vote advantage. There are eight additional ballots the county canvassing board will consider during a meeting Monday afternoon.

When the election count finished last month, Homala won with 19,222 votes to McDowell’s 19,162. That narrow 60-vote margin of victory prompted a mandatory hand recount after the auditor certified the results.

Reagan said five teams of two people started sorting ballots into various precincts Monday morning and they finished counting ballots Thursday before noon.

She said that representatives from both candidates, both political parties and from the League of Women Voters monitored the counting process.

As expected from primary results, McDowell received a lot of support from North Whidbey, particularly Oak Harbor precincts. He also did well among Camano Island voters.

But voters in Central Whidbey, and especially South Whidbey, made the difference for Homola.More than three-quarters of the voters in one Langley precinct, for example, cast ballots for Homola.

After she’s sworn in, Homola will be the third Democrat on the three-member board of commissioners.

Contact Whidbey News Times Staff reporter Nathan Whalen at nwhalen@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360-675-6611 ext. 5058.

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