Initial results have come in for Kitsap County races in the Aug. 5 primary election, and there were few surprises.

The top two vote-getters in each race advance to the general election Nov. 4

Kitsap Regional Library’s proposition one levy lid lift was easily passing at nearly 60%, incumbent Greg Wheeler and Jeff Couglin will both advance to November’s general election for Bremerton mayor, as will Mike Nelson and Sarah Blossom for Bainbridge Island City Council’s South Ward seat.

For Bremerton City Council’s District 3 race, Christy Cammarata and Michael Simonds will move on to the general election. There were also two primary races in the Bremerton School Board, with Shannon Turner and Jenny Farley advancing for position 4 and Ben Anderson and Linda Osborn Simpson advancing for position 5.

There was one school board race in the primary for North Kitsap School District, which resulted in Debra Strawhun and Leighton Thomas advancing to the general election.

Voter turnout so far is nearly 29%, with about 11,719 ballots left to count as of Aug. 6. The primary election will be certified Aug. 19.

KRL levy

The proposition will authorize KRL to reset its regular property tax levy from $0.27 to $0.39 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2026.

“This rate is below the state-authorized maximum of $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, and below the $0.43 per $1,000 of assessed value approved by voters in 2017. The estimated annual increase for a home valued at $500,000 is $60,” the voters pamphlet states.

The new levy amount will be used to calculate all applicable tax limitations thereafter. Revenue from the levy will allow KRL to continue current operations of nine locations and mobile services. It will support open hours, access to collections—including books, eBooks, and audiobooks—and programs including early literacy, after-school learning, and technology access. It will support the maintenance of library facilities but will not fund the construction of any libraries, per the voters pamphlet.

Mayor, City Council races

In the race for Bremerton mayor, Wheeler earned nearly 52% of votes, while Bremerton City Councilmember Coughlin received nearly 34%. Marwan Cameron earned about 15% of votes.

The race for Bremerton City Council District 3 is being led by Cammarata at about 46%, followed by Simonds at 39% and Ash Black at 15%. Incumbent Coughlin is running for mayor.

For the BI City Council’s South Ward seat, Nelson was leading with about 40% of votes, followed by current BI planning commissioner Blossom at 34%, and current Bainbridge Island Metro Parks & Recreation District Commissioner Dawn Janow at about 26%. Incumbent Jon Quitslund is not seeking re-election.

School Board races

In the Bremerton School District, Turner was leading the director position 4 race with about 40% of votes, followed by Farley at nearly 35% and Chris Warthen at 25%. Incumbent Alyson Rotter did not seek re-election.

In the BSD director position 5 race, Anderson, who was appointed to the board in February, was leading the way with nearly 43% of votes, followed by Simpson at about 31% and Mary C. Devery at nearly 26%.

For the NKSD District 1 race, Strawhun received 40% of votes, followed by Thomas with nearly 35%. Seth Hartmann, who took himself out of the race after the deadline to withdraw his name, still earned about 25% of votes.