KINGSTON — Walt Elliott and Jerry Kirschner won the primary election for Kingston port commissioner Aug. 16, advancing to the Nov. 8 general election and ousting longtime Commissioner Tom Coultas.

In an updated vote count posted Aug. 23 by the Kitsap County Auditor, Elliott led with 321 votes, followed by Kirschner with 230 votes and Coultas with 160 votes.

The election was to be certified Aug. 31.

“I’m really humbled and grateful people voted for me,” Elliott said. “The community really does owe Tom a big thanks … I hope I can do as good a job as he did if I’m elected.”

Kirschner said, “I’ve really enjoyed getting out and talking to the people and explaining to them why I’m doing this. I’ve come back really energized.”

Coultas was elected to the commission in 1989 and stepped down in 1992. He ran again in 1999, topping three other candidates for the District 3 position.

He said he ran on his record of financial

management.  He  and other commissioners guided the port out of financial turmoil in the 1980s. The district now enjoys a healthy reserve fund.

“It’s a pretty strong track record, as far as I’m concerned,” Coultas said Election Day before polls closed. “Even if they turn me out, I’ll leave with a good feeling in my heart.”

The three-way contest for the District 3 position was the first contested Port of Kingston race since 2003. Commissioners serve six-year terms and are paid $2,400 a year.

Elliott served a long and varied Navy career, including time as deputy of submarine operations at U.S. Naval Base Kitsap – Bangor, project manager in Washington D.C., and commander of an engineering lab in Keyport, R.I.

Elliott and wife Bobbie Moore have owned a home in Kingston for 20 years and keep a boat in the marina. He has served on the Kingston Citizens Advisory Council, chairman of Kingston’s Ferry Advisory Committee, and co-chairman of the Executive Committee of Ferry Advisory Committees, which represents riders from all state ferry routes.

Elliott said walking the district and meeting voters has been his favorite part of the campaigning process.

“I think a commissioner’s job isn’t to bring an agenda to the job but to understand the community,” he said. “That’s the best part of the whole thing, getting out and meeting people.”

Kirschner, who serves on the port district’s advisory committee for SoundRunner, is running for elected office for the first time. He wants to see the port do more to support small-business growth in Kingston.

The port has a broad mandate to promote economic growth.

“If nothing else, I’ve been able to give a different perspective of what the port can do,” he said.

Kirschner has a Ph.D in chemistry from Purdue University. He said he gained business acumen, leadership and team-building skills during 26 years with Eli Lilly and Co, a global Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company; he spent 20 years in managment positions. He also served on the bosrd of directors of the Lilly Credit Union and the Terra Haute Symphony, and was president of his church  parish council for two terms.

Kirschner earned a U.S. Coast Guard 100-ton master’s license and has sailed more than 35,000 miles, including two ocean crossings with his wife, Nancy.

Kirschner said he’s grateful to his supporters for advancing him to the general election.

“A lot of people have stepped up, not for me, but to get the message out to the Kingston community,” he said.