Pierce County finishes election recounts, original results confirmed

Pierce County has finished recounting ballots in two close races from the Nov. 3 general election — a hand recount in Orting and a machine recount in University Place. Both confirmed last month’s original results.

According to results released Thursday by the Auditor’s Office:

▪ Challenger Nicola McDonald defeated longtime incumbent Sam Colorossi for Orting City Council Position 5 by three votes — 665 to 662.

▪ In a race between incumbents for a University Place School Board seat, Annie Fitzsimmons defeated Rick Maloney by 32 votes — 3,267 to 3,235.

Elections Manager Mike Rooney said a rough estimate for the total cost of the recount is $21,000.

“The jurisdictions are responsible for the cost of the election,” he said in an email Friday. “We still need to allocate the costs to each jurisdiction.”

Rooney added that he expects Orting will be responsible for roughly 40 percent of the cost while University Place School District will be responsible for the remaining 60 percent.

McDonald, a business consultant, said she was pleased that the close race against Colorossi was mostly free of drama, in contrast to some other, more contentious Orting races.

She said she was never stressed about the closeness of the results.

Now, McDonald said it’s time to learn more about the big issues and prepare to make the best decisions for the voters who elected her.

“I’m just looking forward to serving Orting again as new issues arise and we continue to grow,” McDonald said.

McDonald served on the council from 2008-2011. Colorossi will depart after more than 50 years in Orting public office, including two stints as mayor (1967-1974 and 1990-2001).

Fitzsimmons, a lawyer, holds Position 3 on the UP school board but switched to run in Postition 5 against Maloney, a 20-year incumbent.

She said the newly configured school board will provide “a fresh look at the way we govern our district.”

“I’m eager to restore a voice to the students, to the staff, and to our community members at large,” Fitzsimmons said. “That’s really why I ran in Position 5.”

Previous leadership lacked transparency on important issues, she added, and she’s ready to change that.

“I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work,” Fitzsimmons said.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Pierce County finishes election recounts, original results confirmed."