Incumbent candidates had mixed results in the local non-city of Spokane races on Tuesday’s primary election ballot.
In Spokane Valley, all three incumbent council members are apparently headed to the next election in November. Councilman Ben Wick, who is also serving as mayor, was a clear winner. He’s up 30 points on the second-place finisher, Brandon Fenton. Councilwoman Pam Haley also had a strong showing, winning her race by 23 points over another Fenton, Wayne Fenton. A third incumbent, Linda Thompson, didn’t fare quite so well. She ran second in her race, four points behind challenger Laura Padden.
In Deer Park, the incumbent mayor, Tim Verzal, won by a three-to-one margin over the candidate he’ll face in November, Hazel McGillivray. In one council race, the incumbent, Richard Schut, is literally tied with his challenger, Heather Newsom, after the first count of ballots. A third incumbent, Mary Babb, is in danger of not advancing to the general election, running third, behind Jason Upchurch and Billy Costello.
In Cheney’s one council race, there is no incumbent. Jacquelyn Belock and Mark Posthuma are the top two in the race for an open council seat.