Edmonds City Councilmember Mike Nelson slightly increased his lead over fellow Councilmember Neil Tibbott in the race for Edmonds mayor, based on the second day of election results released Wednesday afternoon by the Snohomish County Elections Office.
The two current Edmonds city councilmembers are vying to replace two-term Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling, who is not seeking re-election.
Nelson was ahead by 386 votes Wednesday, an increase of 107 votes from initial returns released Tuesday. Nelson now has 52.19% of the votes counted so far — a total of 4,231 — compared to 47.47% (3,845 votes) for Tibbott.
In the four city council races before voters, Tuesday’s initial results were holding up, with Wednesday’s tallies showing position 4 incumbent Diane Buckshnis maintaining her lead over Jenna Nand (62% to 38%), position 5 candidate Vivian Olson leading Alicia Crank (59% to 41%), position 6 candidate Susan Paine holding a 54% to 45% lead over Diana White, and Laura Johnson leading Nathan Monroe, 52% to 47%.
Johnson, who chairs the Edmonds Historic Preservation Committee, thanked her family for their “unwavering support. “Campaigning has been challenging, exciting and humbling,” she said. “It has been an opportunity for personal growth and a deeper connection to my community.”
Crank, a member of the Edmonds Planning Board, said in a statement Wednesday that she was “most grateful for the friendships that were created or strengthened over the past several months. The election results will not change my level of service in and around Edmonds as exhibited over the past several years. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the leadership of our city.”
White, who ran for council after announcing she was leaving the Edmonds School Board, sent an email congratulating Paine on running a successful campaign. “I would like to thank my supporters, especially my campaign team, for their time and dedication on my behalf,” White said.
And Nand, a business attorney and first-time candidate, said she was “honored and humbled by the support I have received in my run for city council. Win or lose, I intend to still pursue my objective of keeping Edmonds beautiful, affordable, and a welcoming place for us all.”
In the three races for Edmonds School District Board of Directors, all three candidates who were in the lead Tuesday — incumbents Carin Chase and Gary Noble, and Nancy Katims who is running for an open seat — continued to maintain a significant edge over their opponents.
You can see the mayor and council race results for Wednesday below. For complete election results for all races and ballot measures, visit the Snohomish County Elections webpage. Results will be updated again Thursday afternoon, and the election will be certified on Nov. 26.
City of Edmonds Mayor
Mike Nelson 4231 52.19%
Neil Tibbott 3845 47.43%
Write-in 31 0.38%
——
City of Edmonds Council Position 4
Jenna Nand 2899 37.95%
Diane Buckshnis 4700. 61.53%
Write-in 40 0.52%
——
City of Edmonds Council Position 5
Alicia Crank 3182 41.06%
Vivian Olson 4546 58.67%
Write-in 21 0.27%
——
City of Edmonds Council Position 6
Susan Paine 4185 54.38%
Diana White 3486 45.30%
Write-in 25 0.32%
——
City of Edmonds Council Position 7
Nathan Monroe 3648 47.36%
Laura Johnson 4037 52.41%
Write-in 17. 0.22%
As a resident of this town I want to express my gratitude, and extend a warm “thank you” to every candidate that ran in this election. Some good people won, and some good people didn’t win, but our community benefits greatly from all the people who stepped up to offer their time, commitment and effort to help make this a better place for all (an election doesn’t mean much if talented and capable people don’t offer their candidacies, and we were blessed with the calibre of candidates that we had, across the board).
Running for election (at any level) is of course hard work. It takes long hours, dedication, unwavering commitment, and often a very thick skin to suffer the insults and barbs thrown by people who should know better than to do that sort of (puerile) thing. It may have seemed like a thankless task at times, but having watched you all for these past months, I most certainly say “thank you” to every one of you. I know that most of my friends and neighbours feel the very same way. Congratulations to those who won, and I do hope that we hear lots more from those who came close. There is lots to be done in this little town, and we need all of you to help make it happen.
With voter turnout so low, their may have been more comments on MEN that voters! Sad folks do not see it necessary to vote.
With the ballots returned today there are still more than 9,000 to be counted.