The races for three Clark County positions concluded without any surprises Tuesday night, with incumbents forecast to remain in the clerk’s and assessor’s offices and a handpicked successor leading the race for county treasurer.
Incumbent Scott Weber will likely continue to serve as Clark County’s clerk for another term. Republican Peter Van Nortwick was retained by voters as county assessor with 58.9 percent of early ballots cast in his favor. Democrat Alishia Topper, a current Vancouver city councilor, earned the treasurer’s seat with 68.9 percent of early votes.
Weber, a Republican, led Democratic challenger Barbara Melton 52.6 percent to 47.4, according to preliminary county results. Though an estimated 45,000 to 65,000 ballots remain to be counted, he was confident Tuesday evening.
“I’ve done this a few times. That’s a strong lead,” Weber said, watching the results from NYC Pizzeria in east Vancouver.
The clerk’s office, which supports Superior Court by processing court documents and maintaining files, had been one of the more competitive races for executive offices in Clark County government.
Weber touted accomplishments in digitizing documents and making them more readily accessible. He also highlighted his work implementing a new computer system for records and his endorsements from individuals in the legal community.
“I had a lot of people help out and really made a difference in my campaign. Not necessarily one thing, but a whole bunch of little things that made the difference,” Weber said.
Melton, a first-time candidate who works as a county legal secretary and serves as union shop steward for office workers, had criticized Weber for what she said was low morale and high employee turnover. She also made an issue of his consideration to shutter the facilitator’s office, which helps people navigate the court system, in order to meet mandatory spending reductions.
Assessor’s race
Assessor Van Nortwick appeared headed to a third term, beating out a challenge from Ridgefield City Councilor Darren Wertz.
Van Nortwick and Wertz, both Republicans, advanced from August’s top-two primary. They both campaigned on protecting the interests of taxpayers in an office responsible for determining the assessed value of more than 170,000 parcels of property.
Of the two, Van Nortwick ran the more active campaign, earning the endorsements of labor unions and outgoing county Treasurer Doug Lasher.
“I was definitely pleased. It was kind of right around where I thought the numbers would be,” Van Nortwick said Tuesday evening while en route to a celebration of Clark County Republicans at WareHouse ’23.
Topper elected
Topper is poised to become the county’s next treasurer. According to the initial vote count, Topper won 86,034 votes compared with 38,140 votes for Robert Hinds, a market analysis and planning manager for HP Inc., who also serves on the county’s Historic Preservation Commission.
Topper, a Vancouver city councilor who currently works as tax services manager in the treasurer’s office, enjoyed broader name recognition than Hinds, who made his first bid for office in Clark County and raised so little money he wasn’t required to file reports.
Although the treasurer’s office is partisan, both Topper and Hinds chose not to affiliate with a party.
Topper was endorsed by Lasher, who has served as treasurer for eight terms.
“I was appreciative that Clark County voters had the confidence in me to lead the treasurer’s office,” said Topper, who watched the results roll in from the Clark County Public Service Center. “There’s a lot of work to do, so I’m ready to dig in.”
With her election, Topper will be required to resign from the city council. The council will begin an appointment process to replace her seat — she’ll submit a letter of resignation Monday, effective Jan. 1. That will allow the council to interview and appoint a candidate, ideally by early January.
