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Election 2021 Unofficial Results: Hogan Leads Camas Mayoral Race

Vancouver, WA — The Clark County Auditor’s Office has released the first results of the 2021 election. Daily updates will continue for several days, and the race will be certified on November 23. Clark County election observers in Camas said there was a massive surge of ballots being dropped off late Tuesday all day long though the 8 pm deadline.

Camas City Council member Steve Hogan is leading Camas Washougal Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jennifer Senescu by a wide margin.

CITY OF CAMAS RACES

In the Camas Mayoral race between Camas Washougal Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jennifer Senescu and City Council member Steve Hogan, here are the first results.

Jennifer Senescu: 1,779 43.23%

Steve Hogan: 2,336 56.77%

COUNCIL – WARD 1, POSITION NO. 2 

Marilyn Boerke: 1,999 50.80%

Gary Perman: 1,936 49.20%

COUNCIL – WARD 2, POSITION NO. 2 

Tim Hein: 2,271 60.75%

Martin Elzingre: 1,467 39.25%

COUNCIL – WARD 3, POSITION NO. 2 

Leslie Lewallen: 2,075 52.76%

Jennifer McDaniel: 1,858 47.24%

CAMAS SCHOOL BOARD

DISTRICT 1

Ernie Geigenmiller: 1,967 40.76%

Corey McEnry: 2,859 59.24%

DISTRICT 2

Erika Cox: 2,993 62.07%

Jeremiah Stephen: 1,829 37.93%

WASHOUGAL CITY RACES

MAYOR

Rochelle Ramos: 1,736 86.63%

COUNCIL – POSITION NO. 3 

David Stuebe: 1,561 100.00%

COUNCIL – POSITION NO. 5 

Molly Coston: 1,238 58.92%

Chris de la Rocha: 863 41.08%

COUNCIL – POSITION NO. 6 

Julie Russell: 1,526 100.00%

WASHOUGAL SCHOOL BOARD

SCHOOL DIRECTOR, DISTRICT NO. 3 

Donna L. Sinclair: 1,317 50.13%

Sadie McKenzie: 1,310 49.87%

SCHOOL DIRECTOR, DISTRICT NO. 5 

Chuck Carpenter: 1,417 54.08%

Janice D’Aloia: 1,203 45.92%

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6 Teens Arrested In Marion County Allegedly Linked To Camas Burglaries

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office believes they have the suspects who burglarized four downtown Camas businesses, and they released this report: 

At just after 4 pm on Monday, November 1, a Traffic Safety Team Deputy from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office attempted to stop a Jeep Wrangler for an equipment violation. The driver continued south on Lancaster Drive, running multiple stop lights and driving recklessly while attempting to get away. The Traffic Safety Team Deputy did not pursue the vehicle and radioed ahead to other deputies in the area.

As deputies monitored the direction the vehicle was traveling, they were able to successfully use spike strips on State Street near Cordon Road to deflate tires on the Jeep. The driver finally stopped the vehicle approximately 2 ½ miles away near Indiana Ave NE and Logan Ct NE.  The driver and several passengers ran from the Jeep, fleeing into the surrounding neighborhood.

Deputies were able to locate and detain all six people who fled from the vehicle, recovering two stolen handguns.  Deputies learned the Jeep had been reported as stolen out of Tualatin several days earlier. In the stolen vehicle deputies found an AR-15 style rifle, meth, and cash.  Additionally, evidence believed to be related to a series of burglaries in Camas, Washington was recovered from the vehicle.  The investigation into the burglaries is being handled by detectives from the Camas Police Department.

All six people from the stolen Jeep were arrested, four juveniles and two adults:

  • Driver – 14 year-old male from Portland, charged with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Attempt to Elude Felony & Misdemeanor, Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangering x 7, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Criminal Trespass II, Delivery of Methamphetamine, and Theft I
  • Passenger – 11 year-old male from Happy Valley, charged with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Theft I, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and Criminal Trespass II as well as an outstanding warrant for Robbery II, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle x 2, and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm x 2
  • Passenger – 13 year-old male from Portland, charged with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Theft I, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and Criminal Trespass II
  • Passenger – 16 year-old male from Portland, charged with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Theft I, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and Criminal Trespass II
  • Passenger – Retonong, Zachary a 19 year-old male from Salem, charged with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Theft I, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Criminal Trespass II, and a Parole Violation.
  • Passenger – Johnmark, Arnes a 23 year-old male from Happy Valley, charged with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Theft I, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, False Information to a Police Officer, and Criminal Trespass II as well as outstanding warrants for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle x 2, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Identity Theft, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, Attempt to Elude, Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangering x 2, and Assault IV

The juveniles were taken to the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center, the adults were lodged at the Marion County Jail.

“I’m proud our deputies were able to help hold these young people accountable while getting the vehicle back to its rightful owner and taking three guns off the streets in Marion County,” said Commander Jeff Stutrud. “By holding these youth accountable, our goal is to change their behavior and connect them with people who can teach them the skills needed to stop engaging in criminal activity. This incident was a great example of the work our deputies do on a daily basis to address crime in our community while also minimizing the risk to the community.”

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Salem Police Department and Marion County Fire District #1 during this incident.

Grant
https://www.lesschwab.com/stores/wa/camas/2375-se-8th-ave?utm_campaign=gmb-homepage&utm_source=google-gmb
Burglar
Stolen handguns.

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Camas-Washougal Community Chest Solicits 2022 Grant Applications

Camas, WA — Continuing their 75 years of support to the community, the Camas-Washougal Community Chest is soliciting 2022 grant applications from non-profit 501 (c) (3) organizations serving the Camas and Washougal area. Grant applications must be received or postmarked no later than December 15, 2021. Grant awards will be announced in March 2022. Initial payments will be made at the time of the award. Larger grants will be funded in 2 to 4 installments, with payments made in November 2022. 

On October 1, 2021, the CWCC launched its 2021/2022 fundraising campaign and hopes to raise at least $125,000 to fund grants during 2022. The Camas Washougal Rotary Foundation, in partnership with CWCC, will fund an additional $12,000 in grants. The Camas-Washougal Community Chest has supported local non-profit organizations since 1946. The Community Chest relies on contributions from individuals and businesses and makes productive use of those funds by being a 100 percent volunteer organization. 

This means that more than 97 percent of the donated funds goes directly back to our community. CWCC urges Camas and Washougal residents and businesses to donate now to help fund 2022 grants. Donation information is available at: http://www.CamasWashougalCommunityChest.org 

In addition to being a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, grant applicants must demonstrate that their project or program benefits residents of Camas and Washougal and meets one or more of the following needs: 

  • Education
  • Youth activities
  • Aid to people with special needs
  • Natural resource conservation Health and welfare programs
  • Crisis and emergency services
  • Diversity, equity and inclusivity
  • Other similar charitable or civic objectives

Beginning with 2021 grants, CWCC has defined civic objectives to more specifically include 501 (c) (3) organizations that offer programs and services that address diversity, equity, and inclusivity issues in the local community.

Grant applications and detailed instructions for applying are available on-line at the website listed above. For further information please call Camas-Washougal Community Chest Board Past-President Joelle Scheldorf at 360-901-6607 or President-Elect Deanna Rusch at 360-980-1261 or send an email request to info@CamasWashougalCommunityChest.org

During 2021 CWCC and the Camas Washougal Rotary Foundation awarded 28 grants totaling $127,671 and delivering an estimated 19,500 individual services to local people. The 2021 grantees included such diverse non-profit organizations as the Inter-Faith Treasure House, Children’s Home Society (East County Family Resource Center in Washougal), Meals on Wheels People, Family Promise of Clark County, and Janus Youth Programs. Projects and programs included such diverse activities as emergency rent and utility assistance, purchase of food and service supplies for local emergency food programs, helping homeless families find permanent shelter and help to support at risk 9- to 17-year-old runaway children.

Grant
https://www.lesschwab.com/stores/wa/camas/2375-se-8th-ave?utm_campaign=gmb-homepage&utm_source=google-gmb


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2021 Ballot Returns Lower Than Predicted At This Point, Says Clark County Auditor

Vancouver, WA — Ballot returns countywide are at 16.74 percent, which is lower than expected at this stage in this off-off year election, says the Clark County Auditor’s Office. There are 324,401 eligible voters in Clark County.

Candidates countywide, which includes several mayoral and city council candidates, as well as school board, are urging voters to turn in ballots as soon as possible. The Clark County Auditor’s Office had planned for a 19 percent return nearly a week ago. The county has yet to hit that point.

By comparison, the 2019 election had a 36 percent voter turnout, with a massive surge coming in the day before, the day of the election, and the day after the November 5, 2019 election.

Voters have until 8 pm Tuesday to turn ballots in, and candidates highly recommend getting them in today. Camas and Washougal candidates can access ballots at two convenient locations:

  • Downtown Camas Post Office: 440 NE 5th Avenue, Camas (on street) 
  • Camas Washougal Municipal Courthouse: 89 C Street, Washougal 

Here are other locations countywide:

Vancouver Locations:

Other Locations: 

If you wish to return your voted ballot in person on or before Election Day take it to:

Clark County Elections Office (1408 Franklin Street, Vancouver), available from 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday and 7 am to 8 pm on Election Day.

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Four Downtown Camas Businesses Burglarized Sunday Morning

Camas, WA — According to local merchants and Camas Police Officer McNall, four downtown Camas businesses were broken into between 4-4:50 am today.Papermaker Pride, Birch Street Uptown Lounge, Caps N Taps, and Camas Slices all had rocks thrown through their glass front doors, and most had their cash tills broken into and money stolen.

Crews cleaned up glass and debris most of the morning.

Business owners are reviewing surveillance video and sharing information with Camas police.A vintage cash till at Birch Street was taken and then left outside on the sidewalk.

“They stole about $100 from our till,” said Karen Gibson, co-owner of Papermaker Pride. “They broke the front door, as well.”

Officer McNall said the burglars were driving a gray or silver Jeep SUV. He also said a Washougal business was broken into.The police asks anyone who may be able to help in this investigation to contact 311 and ask for Officer McNall.

Business owners are seeking help boarding up front doors.

Perman
This is a paid political advertisement.
Camas
Kris Cavin helps clean up Birch Street Lounge after a rock was thrown into their front door.
Camas
Officer McNall investigates the damage done at Camas Slices.
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City of Camas Asking For More Input On Transportation System Plan

Camas, WA — Officials with the City of Camas are looking for more input from residents regarding the Transportation System Plan (TSP).

Camasonians now have the opportunity to provide their input in the form of a survey ranking issues of importance they see when traveling around the City.

The Survey can be found at https://engagecamas.com/transportation-system-plan

The results of the survey, along with other information provided on Engage Camas, will help the City develop the TSP, which is an important part of the City’s long-term Comprehensive Planning framework.

The TSP provides the basis for prioritizing projects and calculating Traffic Impact Fees. Additionally, the TSP helps to secure State and Federal Funding for those projects.

Perman
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Clark County Elections Office Admits 2,120 Camas Ballots Have Major Errors

Vancouver, WA — Clark County Elections Auditor Greg Kimsey admitted today that 2,120 Camas ballots were sent out over the weekend that had major errors. 

The issue was bought up by Camas voter Heather Deringer, who lives on Livingston Mountain. Others in that area also have noted erroneous ballots.

“When I went to open my ballot, I was surprised to see my Camas School Board candidates were not on the ballot, and instead I had Evergreen School candidates on the ballot,” said Deringer. “I emailed them last night about the issue and they called me back this morning.”

Upon hearing of this error, Lacamas Magazine contacted Kimsey who began an internal investigation. He confirmed that Deringer and several others are indeed Camas School District voters who received ballots with Evergreen School Board candidates on them.

After his initial probe, Kimsey reported today that 2,120 ballots were mailed in error, most of which were mailed to Camas School District voters.

“Correct ballots will be mailed out this week,” said Kimsey. “Two thousand new ballots have to be reprinted, inserted into envelopes, and mailed out. This will happen tomorrow morning, and these voters will also receive a letter explaining the situation.”

The incorrect ballots mostly affect Camas School Board candidate races.

So what happened?

Kimsey said it was human error. 

“Proofreading that should have happened didn’t happen,” Kimsey said. “We had to adjust precinct boundaries to align with the correct jurisdictions and portions. This allows us to get the correct ballot to the correct voter.”

Kimsey said 13 incorrect ballots have already been returned. He said those incorrect ballots will be held apart from the general ballots, so they won’t be recorded.

“Correct ballots are essential to our democracy,” said Kimsey. “We are fixing this error, and voters will have their new ballots by Thursday.”

Perman
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Jennifer McDaniel: Former Washougal City Council Member Seeks Camas Seat

Camas, WA — Jennifer McDaniel, who is running for Camas City Council, Ward 3, Position 2, recently answered several Lacamas Magazine questions about her candidacy.

McDaniel served on the Washougal City Council for nine years until 2017 when she and her family moved to Camas. She has served on various boards and committees for several years, and is a strong advocate of public service.

“These are your neighbors and friends who are doing the best they can in these public positions,” said McDaniel. “They’re doing this to better their community. Families have really struggled to educate their children and maintain their incomes. There’s a lot of anger around that. We’re all concerned.”

What are the Top 3 reasons McDaniel is running:

Reason 1: “A lot been happening in Camas over the past few years, and I’m concerned about it, and as a former Washougal City Council person I’d like to see our community heal. There will be a lot of change with three new city council members, a new mayor and a new city administrator. What does Camas need to heal from? We need to heal from mistrust from the pool bond, the write-in candidate who didn’t finish his term. People need confidence in their city leaders again. That’s restored through communication. Involve everyone in the communication process. Everything had to shut down and people got information but it was virtual. It’s not the same as talking in person to someone in charge, which is always the best way to communicate. Be honest and collaborative. Engage Camas is the online website that talks about all the projects for people to volunteer for committees. We need to support all of our events downtown because that brings people together. People crave seeing each other.”

Reason 2: “Parks, trails, open spaces. It’s a high priority for me. It’s good for our health, it’s good for our soul. We need to keep improving them and develop the more recent ones we’ve acquired, especially north of the lake. I want to make sure we have enough to maintain those facilities. We need to keep things clean. We need permanent restrooms, and I know there’s a park plan to develop that.

Reason 3: “Downtown Camas is our gem. I know there are many infrastructure issues that need to be addressed. They need to be a higher priority. DCA has issues with lack of electrical outlets to get power to vendors for major events. We need proper ADA access to sidewalks. I’d also like to see parking problems solved. There’s always a parking issue. A solution is to work with the milll’s parking area and see if we can purchase the parking lot across the street from Grains of Wrath. This is something in the future but we need to have those discussions. Parking is getting worse.”

Leadership 

“I served on Washougal City Council for nine years. It was wonderful. I got elected before their downtown revitalization. I was involved in getting that off the ground. I made sure we had sidewalk improvements. Our relationship for economic development was an important partnership. We worked with the Port of Camas-Washougal and the City of Camas to attract businesses to our community. Any businesses brought in through the port have helped our economic development.” 

What is Public Service?

“It’s basically doing what you can for your community, getting involved in non-profits and wards and communities. It’s about putting your community first, always. It should always be Camas first in everything we’re doing and always will be. Serving the public is a civic duty to me. I started when my children were small. I decided to get involved in Meals On Wheels. I was the liaison to the school district from the city. I served as the Washougal Schools Foundation president.”

Misconceptions About City Council

“They don’t see all the work that’s involved in working on council. We serve on multiple boards. They don’t see all the research that goes into studying these issues. A lot of times we meet with staff on off hours. We work hard to get the information we need to be able to make informed decisions. The effort put into the knowledge of the issues is huge.” 

McDaniel said she would reach out to other small cities to see how they manage things. 

“We learn from each other. It’s important to maintain those relationships with community leaders all over Clark County.”

To learn more about her candidacy, visit https://mcdanielforcamas.com

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Local Businessman Gary Perman Is Running For Camas City Council

Camas, WA —  Gary Perman, a local businessman and Camas native, is campaigning for the Camas City Council Ward 1 seat currently held by retiring council member Melissa Smith.

As with every candidate, #lacmag asks each individual why they’re running for their specific office.  Perman, who was born and raised in Camas, has deep Camas roots. His father worked at the paper mill (specifically at the bag factory).

Question: What are the top reasons you’re running for Camas City Council?

Answer: Reason one is business, or rather lack of business. Lack of tax-based businesses and we have a lot of high tech firms that are leaving and nobody is recruiting right now. We need to help focus on our area. The Port of Camas-Washougal just wants to put people in the port and that doesn’t directly help the city of Camas tax base. 

Cities have to get their tax dollars from somewhere. As the Camas mill slows down, our revenues will dwindle. We need to recruit companies that have higher paying jobs. You do that by going into companies, and talking to them. We’ve lost Karcher, Sharp, and Underwriter’s Laboratories. You see these companies moving out and we need new companies to replace them.

Reason two is the lack of leadership at City Hall. They don’t communicate as well as they need to. They do a lot of backdoor business. You never know what’s going on. They need to communicate better with their constituents. If you go to the workshops at city council they’ve worked out what to do before the main meetings. 

They want residents to go to www.engagecamas.com and have us fill out a form to even engage to find out what’s going on in Camas. It used to be you’d get newsletters in the mail, and a lot of older people are used to that. They’re not communicating properly what’s going on.

The pool bond was bad. Their survey just included 300 people. I think they’re making some poor decisions like the bank building. They threatened to imminent domain the Bank of America building to make the purchase happen. I don’t like the idea of them threatening imminent domain.

Reason three is the Lacamas Lake fiasco, and now they have this lawsuit. If it’s true the source of the problem is coming from the mismanaged Lacamas Shores biofilter, then we need to fine the HOA until the bio filter is fixed. I think the Department of Ecology is there to deal with the pollution. We need to take more advice from EPA and DEQ. 

Question: Where is Camas headed?

We have the opportunity for stable leadership and to attract higher paying jobs. I don’t like seeing the urban growth where they are taking people’s acreage away.  A lot of people in Fern Prairie are being targeted to subdivide property. These new developments are too tightly close together. We need to zone better. I want to see some light industrial firms added into the mix, which will provide a good tax base. There are good advantages to those service types of business. 

Question: Who do you support for Camas Mayor?

I’m not sure at this time. I think both Jennifer Senescu and Steve Hogan both have good qualities about them.

Question: Why should Camas citizens vote for you?

I bring to the table business experience. I’m a head hunter in technology, and own Permantech. I work with alternative fuel vehicles, so we focus mostly on trucks and last mile deliveries. I recruit director level and above. I’ve done this for 25 years. I also bring a deep history of Camas. 

I bring transparency, integrity, and I don’t blow smoke. People pay me to be open and honest with them. I get things done.

Volunteer Experience

Perman has served as chair of International Electronic & Electrical Engineers (IEEE) for four years. He’s also served on the board for the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA), and serves as a member of the following organizations: Rotary International, Lions, IMPACT (a faith-based homeless organization, and Share House.

You can learn more about his campaign at www.votegaryperman.com

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Camas Boutique Hotel Hires New Resident Manager Stephanie Curtis

Camas, WA — As the Camas Boutique Hotel continues to make changes under its new ownership team, they’ve hired Stephanie Curtis as the historic venue’s new Resident Manager.

Curtis comes from Best Western Tigard, where she started at the front desk, worked as a sales champion, was promoted to front desk manager, then performed duties as assistant general manager.

As the Camas Boutique Hotel’s Resident Manager she lives at the hotel full time. 

“This means I cover the front desk the majority of the time,” said Curtis. “It means if anything happens overnight I will be there to help them. I secure the property and make sure the guests over night are taken care of.”

She’s taking her 5.5 years of experience in the hospitality industry to help promote the hotel, and the area, as well.

“I want people to know it is a unique property,” said Curtis. “I would consider it a landmark because it’s historic. Every room is different, each has a different decor. If you like something quaint or simple, this is the place for you. I also like that it has access to many activities. You don’t even have to leave the city of Camas to do stuff — we have great restaurants, bars, shopping, the movie theatre.” 

Hotel Improvements

“We are doing full inspections of the rooms,” Curtis said. “We took a full inventory of what’s down there in the basement so we know what we have or need. We’ve replaced lighting fixtures and shower curtains. We continue to replace mattresses. We may do some type of theme room. They’ve purchased all new linens. In the public areas we are doing upgrades but keeping the historic style. We’re making it a more modernized boutique hotel.”

The hotel’s new breakfast partnership with Natalia’s Cafe is also going well.

“We hear nothing but good things from our guests about Natalia’s,” Curtis said. 

Bouncing Back From The Pandemic

On the weekends, the hotel is sold out. Mid-week, they are typically at 70 percent capacity or better. 

“People are getting out of their shell a little bit more, to enjoy the property, enjoy the town,” she added.

“In hospitality you get to meet so many different people. No day is the same. You’re essentially doing something different every day. We’re here to greet guests who sometimes aren’t familiar with this area, or maybe they’re in town for a funeral. We want them to have a positive experience. I love this little place.”

To book a room, visit www.camasboutiquehotel.com

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