Three challengers knew the odds were against them unseating the incumbents on the Snohomish County Council.
Sure enough, early election results on Tuesday night showed all incumbents with healthy leads. Still, nobody was conceding.
Initial results from Tuesday night showed Democrat Dave Gossett enjoyed the biggest success with nearly 58 percent of the vote to Republican Bob Meador’s 41.7 percent.
“I feel very comfortable with this,” Gossett said from the Everett Labor Temple, where he gathered with more than 100 Democratic supporters. “It’s almost identical to what I got in the primary. I feel very comfortable that it’s going to hold.”
Gossett, who has touted his work on public transportation and neighborhood design standards, said he looked forward to the next four years in office.
In the other council races, Republican John Koster was leading Democrat Ellen Hiatt Watson in District 1 by 55 percent to 44 percent. Democrat Dave Somers led Republican rival Steve Dana by 54 percent to 45 percent.
The election results available Tuesday evening were only preliminary. New tallies were expected in Snohomish County for several days to come.
County elections officials counted nearly 91,000 ballots on Tuesday, about a quarter of those sent out, Auditor Carolyn Weikel said. Since elections officials predicted 53 percent turnout, final results could change.
The mood at Koster’s election-night party at the Medallion Hotel in Smokey Point was festive.
“Things are just dandy,” he said. “I think the numbers will get better as more results come in.”
Koster said he was looking for a short rest before getting back to work on the county budget.
Watson wasn’t giving up.
“It’s obviously a really strong lead, but not to say that it can’t be overcome,” she said Tuesday night.
If she doesn’t make up the ground, Watson hoped to run for the same seat in four years or for another position.
“I think that I’ve learned a lot in this campaign,” she said. “I believe that I have a place in politics.”
The two were competing for District 1, which covers northern parts of the county, including Marysville, Arlington, Stanwood, Darrington and Granite Falls.
Koster had gone into the race with a huge advantage in name recognition. That came from three terms in the Legislature, an unsuccessful bid against Rick Larsen for Congress in 2000 and two terms on the County Council. A former dairy farmer and business consultant, the 58-year-old from Arlington said his fiscal discipline would serve the county well during difficult economic times.
Watson, 44, a marketing consultant and former newspaper reporter and editor who lives in the Lake Howard area, became involved in county government by organizing opposition to big developments in rural parts of the county.
The race had an ideological dimension that other County Council contests lacked. Koster spent thousands on consulting and payroll fees to Larry Stickney, one of the leaders of the fight to vote down Referendum 71, the state law increasing benefits for same-sex partners. Watson received an $800 campaign donation from Planned Parenthood Vote! Washington, a political action committee that supports pro-choice and pro-family planning candidates.
A Koster victory would preserve a Republican presence on the council, where he has been the only Republican for the past two years.
In District 5, Somers was confident his lead would hold.
“I think we’re in good shape,” he said, also from the Labor Temple. “I’m really excited about doing another term on the council.”
Specifically, Somers wanted to work on improving highways in the district and modernizing the Evergreen State Fairgrounds.
His opponent, restaurant owner Steve Dana, wasn’t ready to call it quits. He hadn’t lost hope that a late surge of conservative voters would help him make up nearly 9 percentage points.
“We agree that the trends are not in our favor,” Dana said. “If I’m not closing the gap by the printout tomorrow, I don’t think there’s likelihood that I’ll prevail.”
In District 5, no incumbent has won a consecutive term since the county switched from a commissioners to a County Council in 1980. The district includes Snohomish, Lake Stevens, Monroe, Gold Bar, Sultan, Index and unincorporated Maltby.
Somers won the seat in 1997, but lost it to Republican Jeff Sax in 2001. He won the rematch in 2005.
Somers, 56, lives near Monroe. A fisheries biologist, he has been at odds with some developers in the past. During this election cycle, it surprised some to see business groups and home builders supporting him, in addition to organized labor and environmental interests.
Dana, 59, served two terms on Snohomish City Council. During his time there, the city council elected him mayor three times.
Meador, Gossett’s opponent, could not be reached Tuesday night. Last week, Meador said he planned to spend the evening at a meeting for Snohomish County Fire District 1, where he serves as an elected commissioner.
Gossett and Meador were competing for District 4, the mostly suburban swath of south-central Snohomish County that includes Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace and Brier, as well as parts of Bothell and south Everett. They swore to run a clean campaign and kept their word.
A retired Lynnwood fire chief, Meador, 66, serves on the Stevens Hospital Board. He said he entered the race during the last day of the filing period in June after noticing that Gossett had no opponent. He said he wanted to “light a fire” under his Democratic opponent.
He vowed to spend no more than $5,000 on his campaign from his own pocket.
Gossett, 58, spent 11 years as a county legislative analyst and served 12 years on Mountlake Terrace City Council, six of them as mayor.
The council seats pay $102,779. Winners are sworn into office in late December.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
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