Results of the Tuesday primary election suggest a hotly contested campaign season lies ahead for Oak Harbor.

Business owner Ronnie Wright and Councilmember Shane Hoffmire dominated the four-man race to be the next Oak Harbor mayor, with Wright ahead by 88 votes as of the Thursday evening ballot count.

Wright received 1,500 ballots cast in his favor, which is nearly 46%, while Hoffmire received 1,412, which is 43%. They will both move on to the Nov. 7 general election.

Mayor candidates Nick Green and Craig Nurvic were eliminated from the race. Green receive 210 votes, or just over 6%, and Nurvic got 152 votes, which is less than 5%.

Both Wright and Hoffmire are optimistic about their chances in the general election. In an interview, Wright said his campaign hit its primary vote goal and has a lot left in its “tool chest” to get the message out ahead of the general election.

Hoffmire said he expects to do better in the general election when more of the “average people” tend to vote. He expects he might pick up votes from those who supported Green and Nurvic, suggesting that they aren’t the type of people who would vote for a “former IRS guy.”

During candidate forums, a major point of debate between Wright and Hoffmire was management experience versus experience as an elected official.

Wright argued that his experience as a local business owner and manager of thousands of people in the IRS qualifies him to be the city’s top administrator. He pointed to Hoffmire’s lack of higher education and administrative experience.

“I think there needs to be a certain level of experience and education that you are bringing to this position,” he said.

Hoffmire, on the other hand, stresses that only he has experience as an elected official. He was elected to the city council with 73% of the vote in 2021 and served for five years as the elected member of the board for the North Whidbey Parks and Recreation District.

“I think the average voter has seen the way I represent them and appreciates how much I care about this city,” he said.

In the race for Position 2 on the Oak Harbor City Council, Chris Wiegenstein and Andy Plumlee will move on while Pat Harbor was eliminated. Wiegenstein received 1,172 votes, or 37%; Plumlee received 1,100 votes, or nearly 35%; and Harman got 893, or 28% of the vote.

In the council Position 4 race, Barbara Armes and John Chaszar will be on the general election ballot. Wismine D’Avilar announced a couple of weeks ago that she no longer was seeking the office.

Armes received 1,248 votes, or 39%; Chaszar received 1,067 votes, or nearly 34%; and D’Avilar got 851, or 27%.

In the race for Position 5 on the Oak Harbor School Board, Sharon Jensen and Will Smith will move to the general election. Jensen, who was appointed to the position, received 2,544 votes, or nearly 42%; Smith garnered 1,889 votes, or 31%; and Aisha Mayfield received 1,683 votes, or nearly 28%.

Wright