County commissioner race in Union County remains neck and neck

Union County residents still did not know who would control County Commissioner Position 2 after Tuesday night’s first returns, because only 3,160 ballots had been counted out of 19,644 eligible voters at 8 p.m., leaving much of the electorate outstanding. Early unofficial results showed a margin so tight it could change as more ballots were verified and accepted: Matt Scarfo had 2,020 votes, Donna Beverage had 2,010, Rosa Rice had 1,112 and 16 write-ins were recorded, with none of the county’s 19 precincts reported at 9:15 p.m.

That narrow count mattered far beyond the tally itself. The commissioner who wins Position 2 will help shape Union County’s budget, roads, public works, land use and the day-to-day services that affect households from La Grande to Union and beyond. The board says it aims to provide cost-effective, professional and courteous service within budgeted funds, and its public works system covers the airport, road department, equipment maintenance, traffic control, vegetation management and parks. In a county of 2,038 square miles with 650 miles of county road and 89 bridges, even one vote on the board can affect taxes, staffing and capital spending for years.

The race also carried added political weight because of its recent history. Beverage’s voter guide entry says she served as a Union County commissioner from 2017 to 2024. Scarfo was seeking his third campaign for Position 2 after a 2025 Union County Circuit Court ruling found a local term-limits measure violated the Oregon Constitution. That backdrop helped turn what might have been a routine primary contest into one of the county’s closest-watched races on the ballot.

Later unofficial county results kept the race close, though Scarfo widened his lead. Union County reported Scarfo with 3,347 votes, Beverage with 3,140, Rice with 1,970 and 32 write-ins. The county’s noxious weed levy also appeared to pass, with 5,199 yes votes to 3,424 no votes. Even so, the commissioner outcome still depended on the county’s remaining ballot processing and final canvass, the steps that often shift totals in Oregon’s mail-ballot elections after election night.