Frei leads Young in PUD race

Frei had 12,869 votes, or 58.1%, to Young's 9,256, or 41.8%, a margin of 3,613 votes, according to unofficial results posted by Chelan County Elections at 8:31 p.m. Nov. 3.

Countywide, 25,571 ballots had been counted, a turnout of 46.3% of the county's 55,184 registered voters.

Chelan County Elections will keep counting ballots in the coming days, including mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day, and results can change. The county is scheduled to certify the election Nov. 24.

The winner will serve a six-year term.

The nonpartisan seat is open; Commissioner Garry Arseneault did not seek reelection.

Frei is managing partner of JDSA Law, where she focuses on agriculture, water law and business strategy, and has worked with the PUD on fisheries and broadband fiber. She has cited federal relicensing of Rock Island Dam and demand from new technologies as key challenges.

Young is a Malaga tree-fruit grower and general contractor who spent 18 years as a volunteer firefighter and serves on the county Boundary Review Board. He has said data centers must pay their own way so residential and farm customers don't subsidize growth, and notes he is the only candidate living south of Wenatchee.