Planning Commissioner Tom Flynn will soon become Redmond City Council’s newest member and David Carson will keep a hold of his seat as both of their opponents have conceded.
Flynn, 48, received 56.48 percent of votes after Thursday’s returns, is well ahead of Microsoft accountant Joel Wright, who owns 43.02 of the votes.
Flynn is vying for Pos. 5, currently held by longtime Richard Cole, who plans to retire at the end of the year.
Wright said Thursday he called Flynn Wednesday night to concede victory and congratulate him on the win.
“I had a good experience,” Wright said of his campaigning. “It was a good clean race and I glad there wasn’t any mud-slinging or anything like that.”
Flynn played in an indoor soccer game at Arena Sports Tuesday night — and lost — but later celebrated the early election results with family and friends at J.J. Mahoney’s Irish Pub.
“The results are great to see,” he said Wednesday morning. “We were pretty busy out there knocking on doors. I think that was pretty successful.”
Flynn, a compliance consultant with Puget Sound Energy, said he and his supporters rang doorbells at more than 2,000 Redmond households during the campaign.
He said it “was a pleasure running against Joel (Wright)” and that he was pleased that both candidates ran a “positive campaign and focused on the issues at hand.”
In the race for Pos. 7, Carson, 45, held a comfortable lead with a 56.29-43.16 advantage after Thursday’s returns over challenger Sue Stewart, a Metro Transit safety officer and longtime community activist.
On Friday, Stewart said she called Carson to congratulate him and offer him well wishes. Like Wright, Stewart said she and Carson were glad all of the city races remained clean and professional.
“Carson hoped that I would continue contributing to the community and I assured him that I remain committed to serving Redmond,” Stewart said. “I look forward to continuing those efforts that will make Redmond even better, such as advancing more green building techniques, more mobility choices and a community that is the best at reaching out and listening to those who work and live here so that our leadership is doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons.”
Carson, a software engineer for Sogeti and has served on the city council since 2008, celebrated the early returns at a Redmond watering hole with longtime friends and supporters at Black Raven Brewery.
The other local contested race was at the county level as incumbent Jane Hague holds a 53.97-45.73 lead over Richard Mitchell after Thursday’s returns. Mitchell is challenging for Hague’s King County Council District No. 6 position, which includes parts of Redmond.
The city’s three other races for mayor and council Pos. 1 and 3 were uncontested. Redmond Mayor John Marchione (97.08 percent of votes) will serve another four years as the city’s top official.
City Council members Hank Myers (Pos. 1) and Hank Margeson (Pos. 3) also ran uncontested and each will serve the city for another four years. Myers garnered 98.41 percent of the votes and Margeson tallied 98.64 percent.
The three Lake Washington School District board of trustees races were also unchallenged, but one of the seats will be filled by newcomer Siri Bliesner, a Redmond resident.
Bliesner will take the District No. 5 seat, replacing Ravi Shahani, who did not file for re-election. Jackie Pendergrass, the current board president, will continue holding the District No. 1 spot, earning 56.21 percent of the votes after Cynthia Hudson withdrew from the race in the summer. However, Hudson still got a notable 43.42 percent of the votes because she was still on the county voters’ pamphlet.
Christopher Carlson will serve another term as the District No. 2 director.
Approximately 35 percent of Redmond’s registered voters turned in their ballots according to Thursday’s returns. The results will be updated daily at 4:30 on the county website, except for Nov. 24 and 25 until the final votes are certified on Nov. 30.
Click here for full elections results.
