Vote count widens lead in close West Richland race

Fred Brink widened his lead over Kate Moran to 100 votes for a seat on the West Richland City Council after the Wednesday vote count.

Brink had 1,354 votes, or 52 percent, to Kate Moran’s 1,254 votes, or 48 percent.

On election night Brink led buy just 32 votes.

By Tuesday night 29,453 ballots had been counted in Benton County with an estimated 7,500 were left to count.

Brink said he wanted to bring a law enforcement background to the council. He had a 24-year career with the FBI and is currently employed as a national security program manager at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Moran, a Navy veteran who is a training specialist at Hanford, wanted to increase transparency between city leaders and voters and improve public participation.

Kennewick City Council

Meanwhile in Kennewick, 250 votes divided Bill McKay and Christy Watts for an at-large position on the city council.

McKay had 5,004 votes, or 51 percent, to Watts’ 4,754 votes, or 49 percent.

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Vote count widens lead in close West Richland race."