Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Counting 'em up: The results (so far) from Tuesday's primary
There was an election last night, which determined what candidates for city council and mayor would advance to the general election in November. County election workers are still finalizing vote counts, but November’s ballot is starting to shape up.
Fagan v. Ramos
As of this morning, it was unclear who would end up facing incumbent Councilman Mike Fagan in the general election. Ben Krauss, a city analyst, had quit campaigning for the seat as of last month.
The initial count had Krauss beating Randy Ramos, a recruiter with the Spokane Tribal College, by one vote. But a more recent count had Ramos at 1,463 votes, edging out Krauss’ 1,447 votes. Fagan had 2,881 votes, or 49 percent of the vote.
Condon v. Lichty
Mayor David Condon had a good night, getting nearly 66 percent of the vote. Condon will go on to face the more left-leaning Shar Lichty, an organizer with the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane who received 24 percent of the vote, in the general election.
Michael Noder, a right-leaning libertarian perennial candidate who raised no money, received 9 percent of the vote.
Condon has raised nearly $300,000 for his reelection bid, dwarfing the $12,000 raised by Lichty. Although the mayor could be poised to break the one-term curse that has plagued Spokane mayors since the 1973, Condon only recieved 34 percent of the primary vote four years ago when challenging incumbent Mary Verner.
Stratton v. Verduin
Incumbent City Councilwoman Karen Stratton finished first in the primary with 42 percent of the vote, beating out Evan Verduin, an architect who serves as vice president of the Spokane Plan Commission, who finished with 32 percent.
Last year, Stratton was appointed to the seat to replace Steve Salvatori. Since then, Stratton has joined with the council's dominant liberal bloc to give it a veto-proof majority. Condon has given his blessing to Verduin, who has raised money at a considerable clip.
Kelly Cruz, a West Central neighborhood activist, finished with 13 percent. David White, who has been outspoken in the liberal orientation of the council, finished with 12 percent.
Biel v. Kinnear
LaVerne Biel emerged with 37 percent of the vote in her district in her bid to replace outgoing Councilman Mike Allen. Biel has received endorsements from Condon and Allen for the seat.
Lori Kinnear, legislative assistant to Councilwoman Amber Waldref, came in second with 35 percent of the vote, followed by downtown business owner John Waite.
Tags: Lori Kinnear , LaVerne Biel , David Condon , Karen Stratton , Evan Verduin , Shar Lichty , Mike Fagan , Randy Ramos , Ben Krauss , News , election 2015 , Image
