The first of three new commissioners for the Bainbridge Island Fire Department will take the oath of office at the board of commissioners’ meeting Dec. 4.

A swearing-in ceremony for Fire Commissioner-elect Theresa “Teri” Dettmer will be held shortly after the start of the meeting at 6 p.m.

Dettmer’s addition to the board will mark the beginning of a major makeover of the five-member body.

Four positions on the board were up for election in November, and Dettmer edged Holly vanSchaick for the Position 5 seat on the board.

Last week, the Kitsap County Elections Division certified the November vote as official.

Dettmer finished with 52 percent of the vote to vanSchaick’s 47.6 percent, and Dettmer pulled in 330 more votes than vanSchaick in this year’s closest Bainbridge Island race on the General Election ballot.

Dettmer said this week she was looking forward to her new position on the board.

“I know it sounds trite, but I am very excited to have this opportunity to serve our community. I look forward to helping the department continue it’s excellent service while exploring opportunities for increased services, transparency and efficiency,” she said.

“I realize this was a very close election, which means that my opponent’s message also resonated with the voters,” Dettmer added. “I hope to learn more about her ideas for the department and see which ones might be implemented.”

Only one incumbent fire commissioner ran for election this November. Commissioner Dan Morrow was unopposed for Position 3, and the other two races saw newcomers hoping to win their first elected position.

According to official election results, YongSuk Cho pulled in 66 percent of the vote, while David H. Lynch received 33.8 percent.

Cho tallied a total of 5,496 votes, while Lynch had 2,815.

In the race for Bainbridge Island Fire Department Commissioner Position 4, Eileen A. McSherry finished with 69.5 percent (or 5,361 votes), and challenger William “Bill” Ruddick finished with 30.3 percent (2,341 votes).

Other races

Three positions on the Bainbridge Island School Board were on the ballot, but only one race was contested.

Incumbent Mike Spence, the current president of the school board, won re-election to Position 2 with 57.5 percent of the vote, while challenger Dale Perry had 42.1 percent.

Spence received 4,858 votes, and Perry, 3,557.

Mev Hoberg retained her Position 3 seat on the board, and Sheila Jakubik will join the board in Position 5.

The election was certified as official on Nov. 26.

In Bainbridge city council races, three newcomers will join the seven-member council after three incumbents decided not to seek re-election.

Roger Townsend won election to the South Ward, Position 3 seat over Dee McComb by collecting 69.8 percent of the vote to McComb’s 30 percent.

The final vote tally was 6,757-2,902.

In the Central Ward race, Wayne Roth amassed 62.8 percent of all ballots cast, while challenger Arlene Buetow received 37.1 percent.

The final vote tally in that race was 6,112-3,613.

In the North Ward race, Val Tollefson won with 67.4 percent of the vote against Richard “Dick” Haugan, who finished with 32.4 percent.

The final vote count was 6,759-3,253.

Three incumbent parks commissioners ran unopposed and retained their seats for the board of the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park and Recreation District.

Lee Cross will return to serve in Position 1; John T. “Tom” Swolgaard    in Position 3; and Jay Kinney in Position 4.

Final election results also show that while Initiative 522 fell to defeat in Washington state, with 51 percent of voters rejecting the proposal to require labeling of genetically-engineered food, the measure passed with a slim lead in Kitsap County.

I-522 received a 50.4 percent “yes” vote in Kitsap, with 49.6 percent against the initiative.

The measure passed in Kitsap County by 597 votes.

A total of 75,574 ballots were cast on I-522 in Kitsap, and the final, official vote was 38,072 votes to approve, and 37,475 votes to reject the measure.