Shelton elects new city council members

The City of Shelton will welcome four new city council members next month after the ballots are officially certified by the state auditor.

Following a second round of ballot counting on Wednesday, April 25, business owner Eric Onisko retained his election night lead ahead of local lineman Jason Coots, with 66.94 percent of the total votes for Shelton City Council Seat No. 4.

Onisko owns the Texaco Bayshore and Hillcrest Shell gas stations in Shelton and has previously run for the Shelton City Commission twice.

“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s time to get to work. I think the people voted for common sense voting behind the counter there, and they want us to find a way to lower sewer rates, they want us to grow and set fair permit fees that cover costs.”

In the race for Shelton City Council Seat No. 5, Deidre Peterson, who works for the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce, maintained a slight lead over local volunteer and former mayoral candidate Marilyn Vogler, with 52.46 percent of the vote.

“It’s a bit surreal,” Peterson said after the first round of ballots were counted. “I feel humbled by the entire experience. I applaud everyone getting involved, whether they ran for office or turned in their ballots. I’m so fortunate to be a part of this historic process.”

With 59.6 percent of the vote, Joe Schmit — a U.S. Air Force veteran, volunteer firefighter and employee for the Washington State Department of Transportation — came out ahead of his opponent Bailee Syrek, a recent graduate of Washington State University for seat No. 7.

Schmit and Syrek competed in the most crowded field of candidates in the primary election this past February, with five Shelton residents squaring off for the seat.

“I’m grateful to all the other candidates who ran and those that won as well,” Schmit said. “Everyone stepped up to the plate and there were some excellent candidates. The races were close across the board. Let’s keep the momentum moving forward.”

In the final race, retired forester Bob Rogers prevailed over former city commissioner Tracy Moore with 54.35 percent of the vote.

Rogers, who campaigned on the promise of civility in city council meetings, said he looked forward to working with his fellow council members.

“You do have contentious issues, and people discuss the issues passionately, but at some point you take a vote and the group moves ahead,” he said. “I’ve always been an issues person, not a personality person. We need to focus on issues.”

The candidates will take the oath of office and begin serving at their first meeting on May 15.