Bernheim bumps Marin off council

EDMONDS

One City Council race that seemed indecisive on election night now seems clear: Steve Bernheim has defeated two-time incumbent Richard Marin.

At press time, Bernheim had 52.2 percent of the vote to Marin’s 47.6 percent.

Elections officials had counted about 94 percent of the ballots submitted, Snohomish County auditor Carolyn Diepenbrock said Tuesday. The rest should be counted soon. The election will be certified Tuesday, Nov. 27, she said.

“I feel great,” Bernheim said this week. “Now, I am just trying to get prepared so that I can hit the ground running.”

Bernheim said he has already begun meeting with sitting council members in an attempt to build relationships with each of them. He has met with Dave Orvis, who now seems likely to retain his seat, and Michael Plunkett, Bernheim said.

He hopes to meet with the others soon, Bernheim said.

While he doesn’t have a specific agenda, Bernheim hopes to “work with everybody and have a good, collegial, working City Council that everybody can have a great deal of respect for,” he said.

Marin essentially conceded the election in a letter submitted to newspapers.

He blamed his loss on his campaign strategy of tying himself to the Roads and Transit package, and of pushing hard for transportation alternatives. Marin chairs the Community Transit board, and is also a board member for Sound Transit.

Each of his advertisements and all of his literature promoted transportation alternatives, he said.

“I could have distanced myself from transit issues, but I believe in transit,” he said Tuesday. “If that means losing my seat, then I guess that is it.”

In Edmonds, Bernheim and Marin have both helped broaden local transportation choices. Bernheim has been the city’s loudest advocate of installing an electric car charging station near City Hall, and Marin has chaired the committee pursuing the installation.

Building heights — a local issue on which Bernheim and Marin disagree — was not the issue, Marin said. A former developer, Marin said throughout his campaign that economic development was an important priority. Bernheim spoke instead about the importance of preserving Edmonds’ charm.

Despite this loss, which will force him from his Community Transit and Sound Transit positions, Marin said he isn’t planning to go away. He still wants to be active, he said.

He isn’t sure if he’ll pursue another elected office, or if he’ll serve instead on city commissions.

“You work for eight years building up experience and background and understanding on issues, so it would be a shame to let that all go by the wayside,” Marin said.