Coal-export plan survives election cliffhangers

It started out as a "mixed bag" election in Whatcom County on Nov. 8 and, after a week of nail-biting changes in two closely watched races, wound up in the same place for both sides of the controversy over a major export terminal that would be the nation's largest coal port.

Project opponents had put their hopes in five races; in the final counting they won two, lost one, and had ties of sorts in the other two. It would be impossible to determine any sort of mandate from an election that brought nearly 59 percent of county voters to the polls.