CANYON CITY — The voters have given two-term Grant County Commissioner Jim Hamsher a promotion.

Hamsher was winning the race for Grant County judge by a comfortable margin on election night. In early unofficial returns Nov. 5, Hamsher was defeating rival Mark Webb by 2,370 votes to 1,787, or 56.5% to 42.6%.

Hamsher thanked his supporters and pledged to work with everyone for the benefit of Grant County during a challenging period.

“I’m hoping to still provide all our county services and not put it on local taxpayers’ backs,” he said. “I want to make sure we can have a bright future for our economy in these tough economic times.”

With County Judge Scott Myers stepping down at the end of this year, a four-way race developed for the county’s top administrative position. Hamsher and Webb outpolled two other contenders for the post — Justice of the Peace Kathy Stinnett and Watermaster Eric Julsrud — in the May primary to qualify for the Nov. 5 runoff.

Hamsher is wrapping up his second four-year term as a Grant County commissioner. He did not seek a third term in the post and will step down at the end of the year. (His Position 2 seat on the court will be filled by Mitch Wilson, who won the job outright in the May election.)

Hamsher previously served for more than a decade as a councilor, mayor and city administrator in Prairie City, and ran unsuccessfully for county judge in 2018.

Webb was running for a second six-year term as county judge, having previously held the post from 2007-2013.

Webb is the executive director of the Blue Mountains Forest Partners forestry collaborative. He also sits on the state’s Environmental Quality Commission, the rulemaking and policy board for Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality, and has served on the Oregon Sustainability Board.

Grant County judge is the top administrative position in county government. The judge presides over meetings of the county court, voting on legislative matters with the two county commissioners. The judge also has some limited judicial responsibilities involving conservatorship, estate administration, guardianship and marriage.

The base salary for county judge is $92,784 a year.