Lake Stevens, Marysville retain mayors, Arlington chooses new one

Published 10:05 pm Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Arlington elected a new mayor, people in Lynnwood still want a mayor, the Lake Stevens and Marysville mayors returned to office.

And, for now, it’s a dead heat in Darrington between the incumbent mayor and her challenger.

In Arlington, voters are backing Arlington Fly-In executive director Barbara Tolbert as the city’s new mayor.

Her opponent, City Councilman Steve Baker collected 1,050 votes or 44.4 percent of the vote to Tolbert’s 1,290 or 54.5 percent.

When Mayor Margaret Larson announced in the spring that she would retire from office, six people filed for mayor on the primary election ballot. The race attracted a lot of attention, with a greater percentage of voters casting ballots in Arlington than in most other Snohomish County cities.

In early general election returns released Tuesday evening, Tolbert has surfaced as the probable winner.

A longtime council member, Baker, 59, had endorsements from state Sen. Val Stevens and County Councilman John Koster. Baker, who is a contractor, is the mayor pro-tem, stepping in for the mayor when she is absent. His current council term expires in January 2014.

Tolbert, 53, a city airport commissioner, served this year as chairwoman of the successful emergency medical services levy campaign.

“I am honored that the community selected me to follow in Mayor Margaret’s footsteps,” Tolbert said from a campaign party Tuesday night. “I am overwhelmed and thankful for the support. Now I am eager to roll up my sleeves and get to work to make sure Arlington has a great future.”

Baker was not available for comment.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring appeared to have a strong lead in his race to retain his position against challenger Kelly Wright.

Nehring, who was appointed to the mayoral seat in June 2010 and is seeking his first full term, was leading with 4,787 votes or 62.3 percent. Wright, who works for a national security consulting firm, had 2,877 votes on Tuesday night for 37.5 percent of the total.

Nehring was at his home with family and friends as the early results were released.

“I feel great,” he said. “I’m very humbled and grateful for the result on these early returns.”

Wright on Tuesday night said he didn’t have a comment.

Early returns in Lake Stevens also appeared to strongly favor Mayor Vern Little, who is seeking his second full term.

Little received 2,767 voters — for 72 percent of the total — while his challenger, Arnie Clark, had 1,059 votes — or 27.5 percent. Little said from his home Tuesday night that he knows some people cast their ballots later than others and the race could tighten up.

“I saw the returns and they look pretty good,” Little said. “I think both campaigns did what they needed to do. Right now, we have a strong lead and I hope it continues.”

Clark, a former city council member and former city employee, said he would be happy with however the final vote adds up.

“I threw my two cents in and I think I did pretty well considering,” he said. “We’re happy for the community, they make their choices.”

In Lynnwood, voters are rejecting a measure to give the city a new form of government and demote the mayor, Don Gough, in the process. Proposition 1 is losing 54.2 percent to 45.8 percent following the first round of ballot counting.

The measure, if passed, would end Lynnwood’s practice of electing a mayor to serve as the city’s chief administrator. Instead, the City Council would hire a professional manager to oversee the city’s day-to-day operations. In the changeover, Gough would become an eighth council member for the two remaining years of his term.

And in Darrington, incumbent Mayor Joyce Jones and challenger Dan Rankin, a town councilman, each received 118 votes or 49.3 percent of the vote.

“I am OK with the early returns,” Jones said. “We will just wait and see now.”

Jones and Rankin are friends and allies on the council. Rankin ran for mayor because he wants a bigger role with the town, he said.

“I did not want to run against Joyce,” Rankin said. “She has been good for Darrington.”