Political Desk

By JILLIAN BEAUDRY

Of the News-Register

Candidates of local election races were staked out around the area celebrating with friends and family and constantly refreshing the results Web pages as the votes were counted throughout the evening.

Candidate for Yamhill County Commissioner Kris Bledsoe was enjoying wine and a plate of cheese and olives in the lounge of Nick’s Italian Café on Third Street in McMinnville. She and her husband were waiting patiently in the darkness, but her happy face was illuminated by the glow of the laptop sitting prominently on her table she shared with her husband Steve.

“I spent the day not knowing what my future was,” she said. “I still want to hold out [for a win] tonight. I really think it’s possible.”

Bledsoe said tomorrow she plans to regroup and reorganize her campaign committee, but she won’t be making any big changes.

She cites her success to amazing grassroots support and word of mouth.

“I represent what people want,” she said. “We’ve run a good campaign and we’ve done what we can do with a small amount of money.”

Her father suggested she enter politics years ago because she said he believed she was a natural, but she never saw herself running until now.

“Did I know that she would run for this position when I was 12?” she said. “No.”

Bledsoe’s daughter and organic farmer, Katie Kulla, said she was very surprised when her mother called her and asked whether she thought she should run. She was seated at a table behind her mother’s enjoying wine with friends and explained that her mother was always a leader and been interested in ethics and justice, and participated in the community.

Katie said she told her mother she would call her back and thought it through. She decided her mother was exactly what the county needed.

She said she has been excited to watch her mom step out of her circle of friends and listen to the needs of others to best respond to their issues for the position. And if she doesn’t win this race, she said her mom will run for county commissioner in two years and wants to be involved in county politics to make sure things are well run.

At Cornerstone Coffee Roasters down the street, candidate for Yamhill County Clerk Rebekah M. Stern Doll was looking to a long night ahead of her. She said she is in charge of tracking the commissioner races in the state and will be up all night e-mailing the information to her bosses and representatives from the governor’s office who will need the information quickly.

The scene was bright with patriotic, shimmering balloons and a small group of children were taking full advantage of the fact that it was past their bedtimes, completely unable to sit still for one moment.

Doll, in a patriotic red and blue shirt with stars, occupied one small table dominated by her laptop, the power cord stretching as far as it could out of the wall. At the time, she was also looking to be a serious contender for the general election, and was calmly checking the results and instant messaging cousins out of state.

She said she was pleased with the outcome so far, but had thought the race was going to be closer.

“It was a gut feeling,” she said. “I’m happy that it’s not.”

She said she plans on putting more hours and intensity into her campaigning and going door-to-door to meet people and talk with them.

Doll has been working elections as long as she can remember because her father was clerk for 32 years.

“I worked every election in town since I could walk,” she said. “When I was my daughter’s age I was packing the polling bags.”

It turns out the patriotic shirt she donned for the evening was her father’s shirt he wore during elections before he passed away. She wore it for good luck, she said.

Despite closed signs at Lago de Chapala in Yamhill, inside “Dancing With the Stars” was on the flat screen TV and friends gathered over beer and tequila cocktails.

The owner of the restaurant, Jim Weidner, was also a Republican Candidate for House 24. Whether relaxing in a booth with supporters or working the brightly-colored room, Weidner seemed satisfied with the results so far.

He said he was glad he stuck to a policy of old-fashioned politics, but didn’t want to say too much until he could really think about his words the next day.

Along with Weidner’s wife and kids, his members of his campaign Jameson Gideon and Neal Lockhart joined in the celebration, willing to hang around until 10 p.m. to see how everything turned out.

“(Tonight) we just have to wait and see, and get back to work tomorrow,” Lockhart said. “We’re very excited.”

At the front of a restaurant, three friends sent their wives home with the kids and shared their second round of drinks to enjoy the occasion.

Buzz Ready said Weidner is true to his word and does what he talks about, and has been a mentor to him.

“Faith made (Weidner) run for office,” Ready said. “He wants to make a difference.”

For more information about the election results, see Thursday’s edition of the News-Register.