FILE - A ballot drop box located at the Clackamas County Elections office, May 18, 2022.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
In a rematch for a seat on the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, former commissioner Sonya Fischer leads incumbent Ben West, who ousted her four years ago, according to initial election night results.
Fischer held 52% of the vote to West’s 48% in early returns.
In the county’s two other commission races, incumbents Paul Savas and Diana Helm hold significant leads, but are falling short of the simple majority necessary to avoid a November run-off.
In the race for Position 2, Savas held 43% of the vote, over former commissioners Jim Bernard and Mark Shull, who had 23.7% and 24.5% of the vote, respectively. Trailing further behind in the Position 2 race were David Bush, with 7% and Jacob Hinthorne who had less than 2%.
Helm held 43% of the vote as of 8 p.m. in the race for position 4. She is trailed by R.W. Smith with 15% of the vote, Bill Osburn with 13.7% and Brian O’Niell who had 10%. Robert Kukish, Pete Wease and Jeannette Warren all had less than 10% of the vote.
To avoid a November run-off, candidates must receive more than 50% of the vote in their respective races.
Position 5
Sonya Fischer, left, and Ben West, candidates for a seat on the board of commissioners in the May 2026 primary election.
Courtesy of the candidates
When Republican West and Democrat Fischer faced off four years ago for Position 5, West edged out then-incumbent Fischer by less than 1% of the vote. This time around, Fischer was on the outside, hoping to unseat West.
Position 4
Seven candidates vied to serve the two years remaining in the current term for Position 4. Melissa Fireside resigned from the seat in 2025, two months into the job, after she was charged with defrauding her mother’s elderly friend. The commission then appointed former Damascus Mayor Diana Helm to serve in the seat through 2026.
In an undated provided photo, Clackamas County Commissioner Diana Helm, who was appointed to the commission last year and is now seeking election.
Courtesy of Diana Helm
Challengers O’Neill, Smith, Wease, Kukish, Warren and Osburn all sought to take the seat from Helm, who aimed to keep it for another two years.
Position 4 was the only race guaranteed to wind up in the November election. Even if a candidate in the race earned more than 50% of the vote in May, their name would be the only one to appear on the November ballot.
Position 2
In the race for Position 2, four challengers, including two former commissioners, looked to unseat longtime incumbent Savas, who is seeking a fifth term.
(Left to right) Candidates vying for a seat on the Clackamas County board of commissioners, Jim Bernard, Paul Savas and Mark Shull, in the upcoming May 2026 primary election.
Courtesy of the candidates
The former commissioners include Bernard — a moderate Democrat who served 12 years on the commission but lost his re-election bid for commission chair in 2016, and Shull, a conservative Republican who served four years before losing to Fireside in 2024. Both looked to topple Savas, a moderate Republican and their former colleague on the commission.
Newcomers Bush and Hinthorne also appeared on the ballot but did not mount viable campaigns.
