Grimmer, Kingsbury lead in their PenMet Park Commission races

Kurt Grimmer and Laurel Kingsbury were early leaders in the primary election for the Peninsula Metropolitan Park Commission.

Grimmer, the incumbent in Position 1, had 3,873 votes, or 55.3% of the total, as of Tuesday.

Kingsbury, running for Position 4, led her race with 3,923 votes, or 54.7%

With all 531 precincts reporting, it appeared that Beth Glein will challenge Grimmer in the November general election. Glein had a razor-thin leader over Steven Nielsen, 1,620 to 1,522.

The outcome was more clear in the Position 4 race. William C. Sehmel, with 2,594 votes, or 36%, seems likely to face Kingsbury in November. Dawn Townsend ran a distant third, with 635 votes.

Both leading candidates expressed satisfaction at the outcome.

“I am thrilled and gratified to the voters for the strong response they gave,” said Grimmer. “I intend to continue campaigning and engaging with the public, attending various events to introduce myself while connecting with people I have known for a long time.”

“I am pretty excited,” said Kingsbury. “ I have really enjoyed this primary election and am looking forward in getting more involved in the community.” Sehmel said he was looking forward to the general election, and planned to emphasize his “36 years growing up in this community.”

The candidates are running for two seats on a five-member board of directors.

The PenMet Park District, formed in 2004, manages about 595 acres of parks, trails and other recreational facilities in the unincorporated Gig Harbor Peninsula. Its territory is generally east of the Purdy Bridge and west of the Tacoma Narrows bridges, excluding the city of Gig Harbor.

Grimmer, the only incumbent, has served six years on the board and is running for re-election. A financial advisor in Gig Harbor, he has spent 30 years in youth recreation, starting as a coach and working his way up to supervisor in the Peninsula Athletic Association.

Glein, his closest rival, is also in financial services, for a firm in Seattle. Nielson is an engineer who has served as a park commissioner in Orting.

Kingsbury, the leading Position 4 candidate, is a teacher at Discover Elementary who has experience working as a legislative aide and with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Her nearest rival, Sehmel, is an IBM software engineer, a Fox Island resident and the scion of an old Gig Harbor family whose name adorns one of the district’s parks.

This story was originally published August 6, 2019 at 9:21 PM.