Incumbent Washington County commissioner Autumn Lehrke was tossed out of office late Tuesday when her opponent, Karla Bigham, attracted more than 60 percent of the vote.

In the other County Board race, incumbent Ted Bearth won by a wide margin over Jeremy Olson in District 2.

The Bigham-Lehrke race in District 4 had been the more contentious of the two.

Bigham portrayed Lehrke as an ineffective leader who was out of touch with city and township governments in her district, which includes Cottage Grove, Newport, St. Paul Park and Grey Cloud Island. Lehrke fired back that Bigham was a "career politician" and made light of her endorsements by city leaders, including the mayor of Cottage Grove, Myron Bailey, as a "clique."

In other notable races, Ted Kozlowski became Stillwater's new mayor, and Cottage Grove City Council incumbent Derrick Lehrke — husband of Autumn — lost his seat.

Stillwater might be the most pivotal in city elections because of a transformation that will occur when the new St. Croix River bridge opens in late 2016, shifting commuter traffic.

Jennifer Wagenius, who oversees the county elections division, said at 10:40 p.m. that workers were just finishing their count of the large number of absentee ballots — more than 10,000.

On the ever-growing issue of transit, Lehrke said it was because of her leadership that planning for the Red Rock transit corridor moved forward. Bigham said it hasn't moved fast enough, particularly in building ridership.

The other County Board race, in District 2, had Olson challenging first-term board member Bearth principally over budget matters and county finance.

Olson, 41, who has a background in accounting and finance, said the county should be cautious in its investments for economic development. However, Bearth, 74, said that's already happening. Bearth is a former Oakdale mayor who has supported better city-county collaboration to benefit economic development.

The district includes Oakdale, three precincts in Woodbury and one in Mahtomedi.

Voters decide city leaders

Forest Lake, Oakdale and Stillwater will have new mayors. Jobs and business development were priorities for city candidates. Several City Councils will have new members as well.

Two elected county leaders, Sheriff Bill Hutton and County Attorney Pete Orput, ran unopposed.

Across the border in Ramsey County, in the only two contested races for the County Board, incumbents Rafael Ortega and Janice Rettman led by wide margins. Two other county commissioners, Toni Carter and Jim McDonough, faced no opposition. Neither did County Attorney John Choi nor Sheriff Matt Bostrom.

Kevin Giles