Spots split among seat holders, challengers

By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer

Kennewick councilmen Steve Young and Bob Parks appear to have held onto their positions while voters were ousting three other incumbents Tuesday in favor of Don Britain, Sharon Brown and John Hubbard.

Preliminary election returns Tuesday night showed Young held 54 percent with 4,462 votes for Position 7, while challenger Christopher Smart had 46 percent with 3,865 votes.

Parks had 58 percent with 5,097 votes for a comfortable lead for Position 4 over Candace Bluechel, who had 42 percent with 3,731 votes.

Britain made the strongest showing among the challengers, gaining 62 percent with 5,457 votes for Position 1, leaving 12-year-incumbent Margery Price with 38 percent and 3,334 votes.

Brown improved on her strong showing in the August primary for Position 2, adding 3 percentage points to claim 53 percent Tuesday with 4,682 votes. Incumbent James Hempstead's efforts to rebound from the primary fell short with 47 percent and 4,183 votes.

The tightest race in Kennewick -- with 195 votes separating the candidates -- was Hubbard's attempt to unseat Mayor Tom Moak for Position 3. In his first attempt at being elected to public office, Hubbard had 51 percent, or 4,560 votes, to lead Moak with 49 percent and 4,365 votes.

Britain, who noted that his 2,300-vote lead was more than enough even with an estimated 1,500 ballots still outstanding, said, "I'm pretty happy with it."

He added, "First, I want to thank Marge Price for her 12 years of service. But I think a lot of voters feel a little bit out of touch based on what I saw tonight. They want a change in direction, for the better."

Brown's 499-vote lead over Hempstead was good enough to give her confidence.

"I am pretty happy," said Brown, who was celebrating with family and close friends. "I believe people just want to have their voices heard."

But Brown also recognized that her 6-point lead could change as ballots postmarked Tuesday come in and are counted later this week.

Young said he felt good that his experience prevailed, but described his challenger as "a worthy opponent."

Young, who ran a low-budget campaign and even refunded a $250 campaign contribution, said he hoped voters would realize he was the newest member of the council and not responsible for things done before he took office in January.

"As I doorbelled, voters told me they recognized I had not been there through all of the issues and I had taken some of those things on head-on," he said.

Hubbard entered the race with no campaign experience but with plenty of enthusiasm and campaign signs.

"I figured it would be a close race, and I worked hard at it," said Hubbard, whose signs were not only plentiful, but also the largest.

Running as a "common sense" candidate, Hubbard went door-to-door. "One of the first questions I had to answer was whether I was an incumbent," he said.

He said people let him know they "were angry about the economy and with what's being done with it." That led to discussions about city council decisions involving money, including the carousel and the Columbia Park lawsuit.

Hubbard and a few friends went out Tuesday evening for some ice cream, learning later that he was just 2 points ahead of Moak in the vote count.

"I don't think this one is over yet," he said.

Parks said having represented himself as a conservative served him well.

"I was one of the few who took a stance against the carousel (spending)," he said. And he voted against the $73 million capital spending plan for the next five years.

But Parks said getting re-elected won't be easy. "It's going to be a rough four years," he said.

The five-seat race was the hottest since 2001, attracting more than $66,000 in campaign contributions and 14 candidates overall in the primary and general elections.

The challengers in Tuesday's showdown focused on a handful of issues they claimed showed the council had lost touch with residents. Hot topics included a $3 million judgment against the city in a lawsuit about development in Columbia Park, the city spending nearly $1 million for an antique carousel, council spending priorities for $73 million in capital projects over the next five years, and debate about closing Vista Field Airport.

Vista Field became a magnet for an unprecedented flow of campaign contributions. None of the airport cash went to incumbents, and most of it came from Kennewick businessman Carl Cadwell of Cadwell Laboratory for a total of $11,000.

And thousands more flowed to the challengers from the Washington Pilots Association, which represents private pilots.

tool name

Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009

Spots split among seat holders, challengers

By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer