Brett, Cappell advance in auditor race

CHELAN COUNTY — The race for Chelan County auditor was taking shape Tuesday evening following the release of the first primary election returns.

Acting Auditor Brandt Cappell received 5,183 votes (38.38%), while challenger Brian Brett received 8,181 votes (60.59%).

Cappell was appointed acting auditor following the retirement of longtime Auditor Skip Moore and is seeking election to continue leading the office. His campaign has emphasized election integrity, financial oversight and customer service.

Brett, a certified public accountant and retired fire chief, is challenging Cappell for the office.

“Neither Brett nor I did a lot of campaigning, so this is kind of a test to see what voters are thinking. There's still a lot of votes to count, so we'll see if it tightens up. Either way, I'm going to keep doing my job and we'll let the voters decide in November,” Cappell told Ward Media during a 9:25 p.m. phone call.

Brett’s campaign did not list a phone number and did not respond immediately via email.

Washington will continue counting ballots received by Election Day throughout the week before certifying the election.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media