Democratic candidates won two open seats on the Snohomish County Council, and Democratic County Executive Aaron Reardon was winning re-election in Tuesday night results.
Four of the five positions on the County Council will be held by Democrats, who picked up the seat that has been held by Republican Gary Nelson for 12 years and retained the seat left open by Democrat Kirke Sievers, who are both leaving office because of term limits.
Democrats have held a 3-2 majority since 2006.
Mike Cooper, a Democrat, defeated Renee Radcliff Sinclair, a Republican, in a high-profile and expensive contest to succeed Nelson in District 3, which includes Edmonds and Lynnwood.
On election night, Cooper had 9,839 votes to Radcliff Sinclair’s 6,329 votes.
More than $250,000 was spent in the campaign by the two candidates and a political action committee formed by the building industry to oppose Cooper and support Radcliff Sinclair.
The two candidates are former state representatives who faced off in 1994 and later served together as seat mates in the 21st Legislative District.
Cooper, 55, of Edmonds, campaigned as a tough-on-growth candidate with backing from labor and environmental groups. He had 61 percent of the vote election night.
“This demonstrates that ground work pays off against big money,” Cooper said. “We ran a hard grass-roots campaign, a little bit of mail and a whole lot of door knocking.
“I’m very, very excited about working with Aaron Reardon and Brian Sullivan on the challenges and opportunities facing us in the future.”
More ballots are left to count, but there’s a definite trend toward Cooper, Radcliff Sinclair said.
“We’re going to be watching it, but I don’t expect that we can close a gap that large,” she said.
Radcliff Sinclair, 48, of Lynnwood, cast herself as a moderate Republican with environmental leanings. She had support from the building industry, which spent $85,000 on television and mail ads opposing Cooper.
In District 2, Democrat Brian Sullivan, a state representative and former Mukilteo mayor, defeated first-time candidate Republican Bill Cooper, a Microsoft security manager. Sullivan had 68.7 percent of the vote.
“We’re just shy of 70 percent,” Sullivan said. “I’m pretty happy.”
Sullivan received 9,364 votes on election night, compared to Bill Cooper’s 4,255 votes.
Sullivan praised Bill Cooper, who had abandoned a campaign for county sheriff to run for County Council.
The two were campaigning to succeed Sievers, who has served nearly 12 years and cannot run for re-election to the County Council because of term limits.
Sullivan, 49, of Mukilteo, said he’s eager to get to work.
“There’s a lot to do,” Sullivan said. “I want to step into housing in a big way, and mental health. This brings me to a position where the rubber hits the road.”
Sullivan is expected to leave his position as state representative in the 21st Legislative District. He was elected in 2001.
Sullivan raised more than $126,000 in his campaign and spent $110,000. Bill Cooper, 56, of Mukilteo, spent about $8,000 of the $9,500 he raised.
“Give my congratulations to Brian,” Cooper said. “It was a very, very decent campaign. I’m very proud of what we accomplished.”
In the race for Snohomish County executive, Reardon was moving toward a second term in office, defeating first-time Republican candidate Jack Turk, a businessman who also performs as a magician under the name of Turk the Magic Genie.
Reardon had 52,776 votes — 65.5 percent — a substantial lead over Turk’s 27,576 votes.
Reardon, 36, of Everett, campaigned on a platform of fiscal responsibility and support for farmers. Turk said someone with more business experience was needed in county government.
Reardon spent $257,000 of his $306,000 raised in the campaign. Turk spent nothing.
Reardon’s re-election campaign focusing on fiscal management resonated with voters, Reardon said. He was pleased with the victory.
“It’s a great honor to represent the community in which you were raised,” Reardon said. “I look forward to the next four years and look forward to starting a new chapter with this County Council so we can meet our shared goals.”
Reardon ran a great campaign, said Turk, 50, of Snohomish.
The first-time candidate was pleased with his 34 percent.
“I think I did quite well,” Turk said. “If you evaluate it on a dollar-per-vote basis, I did incredible, and we still don’t have all the tallies yet.”
Turk said he will be watching returns throughout the week, but he doesn’t expect to overcome the gap. “It’s not looking too positive,” he said. “I’m thinking the odds are very slim at this point.”
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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