Ballot close up

With two seats up for grabs on the Jackson County Library Services District May 16, one incumbent lost his seat while a long-timer kept a firm grasp on her own.

Turnout for the special election across Jackson County was reported Wednesday at 22.19%, according to the Oregon Secretary of State Office.

Based on unofficial special election results updated at 6 a.m. Wednesday, JCLS board President Eric Dziura was unseated by St. Mary’s history teacher Kevin Keating. Keating commanded 60% of the votes cast compared to Dziura’s 40% for Position 5.

In the race for Position 3, incumbent Susan Kiefer, an original board member since the library district formed in 2014, commanded nearly two-thirds of ballots cast. Kiefer received 62% ballots cast, while her challenger, Cassidy Burns, garnered 37%.

For Position 4, incumbent Marissa Barrientos Shepherd ran unopposed.

— Buffy Pollock

Rogue Valley Sewer Services board

Two incumbents won re-election to four-year terms on the board of the Rogue Valley Sewer Services District Tuesday, but a third incumbent, Jim Snyder of Phoenix, appeared to fall short by a mere 11 votes according to results updated at 6 a.m. Wednesday

Vote totals showed incumbent Michael Parsons of Central Point with 6,376; incumbent Kay Harrison of Central Point with 6,329; challenger John H. Quinn of Medford with 5,555 votes, and Snyder with 5,544.

A second newcomer, John Edwards of Shady Cove, ran unopposed for a two-year term and was elected with 7,953 votes.

The district, which is governed by a five-member board, serves the cities of Talent, Central Point, Eagle Point, Jacksonville, Phoenix, Shady Cove and a portion of Medford. It also operates Gold Hill’s aging sewage treatment plant, although voters in that city are scheduled to decide in an Aug. 22 election whether they want to annex into the district and build an 8-mile pipeline to connect with the district’s system.

— Shaun Hall

Fire District No. 5 board

Incumbent Cary Halligan and challenger Derek Volkart were elected to the Jackson County Fire District 5 Board of Directors, the Jackson County Clerk’s Office reported in unofficial special election results released at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Volkart defeated incumbent Kevin George 67% to 32% for Position 1.

Halligan topped two other candidates in the race for Position 2.

He received 49%, compared to 38% for Robert Stone, and 13% for Jim Snyder.

The winners will serve four-year terms.

— Tony Boom

Rogue Valley Transportation District board

In the race for Position No. 1 on the Rogue Valley Transportation District Board, Denise Krause of Ashland had a sizable lead Wednesday morning with 58% of votes cast, according to unofficial results released at 6 a.m. by the Jackson County Clerk’s Office.

Her opponents — John Quinn of Medford and Jim Snyder of Phoenix — were trailing with 29% and 13%, respectively, in the nonpartisan race.

In her campaign, Krause, a managing director and consultant at Health Data Analytics, said she would work to promote public transit, expand services and determine whether a commuter rail or express bus line between Ashland and Grants Pass was feasible.

Quinn, the chief deputy district attorney in Siskiyou County, California, made boosting rider safety on buses and at stations the focus of his campaign. Snyder, vice president of the Phoenix City Council, said the district should continue improving senior and disabled citizens’ ability to ride the bus, and consider adding routes through working-class areas in the region.

— Erick Bengel

Rogue Community College Board of Education

Jonathan Bilden was leading the race for Rogue Community College Board of Education, Zone 4, with 59% of the vote, compared to 41% for incumbent Patricia Ashley, according to unofficial results updated at 6 a.m. Wednesday by the Jackson County Clerk’s Office.

Bilden, a business officer at Crater Lake Academy, was sanctioned by the Teachers Standards and Practice Commission after accusations he sent more than 300 inappropriate text messages to a female student in the 2012-13 school year.

Ashley has served on the board since 2005.

The seven-member

RCC board has oversight over the institution’s

policies, finances and president.

RCC has campuses in Grants Pass, Medford and White City.

— Kevin Opsahl