Stayton City Councilor Steve Sims has narrowly secured an election victory over challenger Luke Bauer following the certification of results from the Nov. 5 election.
On Dec. 2, the Marion County Clerk’s Office published official results placing Sims in second place with 26.70% of the vote and Bauer in third place with 26.47% of the vote.
First place went to Ken Carey with 27.50% percent of the vote, meaning Sims and Carey will be sworn into the two open seats on the council in January.
In fourth place was challenger Gary Frank 18.35% of the vote.
This year’s council race was tight from the beginning, without clear winners during the first week after election night. As Carey emerged as a front-runner, the race for second remained too close to call between Sims and Bauer even by late November.
According to the official results, both candidates were separated by just 12 votes, with 1,375 for Sims and 1,363 for Bauer.
Bauer potentially stood to gain a seat on the council even in third place as the council was planning to appoint Sims mayor following the unexpected resignation in September of former Mayor Brian Quigley. The council determined Nov. 18 Sims, who has been acting mayor, should be appointed to the remainder of Quigley’s term, and Bauer appointed to fill Sims’ then-vacant seat on the council as Bauer received broad support during the election.
On Dec. 2, Quigley informed the council he has recovered from a related health scare faster than expected and the council now expects to appoint him back to the office of mayor during their Dec. 16 meeting, meaning Sims will remain on the council.
