Lisa Brown’s lead over incumbent Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward increased Friday, as ballot counting continued in the hard-fought mayoral race.
Brown, a former head of the Washington Department of Commerce, led Woodward by 2,764 votes. Her lead has increased each day since initial totals were released Tuesday evening.
Thousands of votes remain to be counted, but Brown claimed victory after Friday’s count was released.
“I’m very grateful to have been chosen by the voters to be the next Mayor of Spokane,” Brown said in a statement. “I’m ready and excited to get to work for the city that we love.”
Speaking to supporters after the initial results were released Tuesday night, Woodward said she thought she could overtake Brown as the ballot count continued.
Woodward released a statement Saturday that acknowledged the results “are not trending in a direction that’s favorable for me.” But she did not concede, pledging instead to “see this through to the final ballot.”
Woodward said a full statement would come after all ballots had been counted.
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This story was updated Saturday evening to include comments from Nadine Woodward.
