BEND, OR -- The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners will have one new member in January. Tuesday night, Patti Adair eked out a win for Position Three, currently held by Tammy Baney.

At 10 o'clock on election night, Democrat James Cook was up by three votes, and Adair says she was concerned, "I was like, 'Oh my Gosh, I'm down!'" She tells KBND News, "I'm kind of a - what's the word? I'm a worry person. I know that there was a huge number of voters that declined to state - the Independents - and they were voting; and I really didn't know how they were going to react to me." But, she says she realized residents would remember how much she's listened and collaborated with them. And by late in the count, she was confident, "All the people I've been working on since Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, in Sisters had just turned in their ballots, and everybody was like, "Oh, yeah, Patti, we just got our ballot in!' So, I knew those were going to hit big time."

Adair says she didn't expect the campaign to be quite so arduous, but she's honored to have met so many residents and learned about what issues they want her to pursue in her new job, "It was a total uphill climb; the entire race has been like a marathon. And, I think I've just reached a lot of people because I do talk to everyone, and they know that I genuinely care about them. I think that's the kind of person I am."

She will be sworn in in January, joining Commissioner Tony DeBone, who won his re-election bid Tuesday night, and Phil Henderson.