Update: Kennewick council, school election results: Just 67 votes separate 2 candidates
Kennewick voters favored incumbents in the Aug. 5 primary.
The two candidates who receive the most votes will face-off in the Nov. 4 general election.
Not all races appeared on the primary ballot, just those with three or more candidates. Races that attracted fewer candidates will appear on the general election ballot.
Four of seven seats on the Kennewick council are up for reelection this year. The legislative body is due to make some big decisions on capital projects in the coming months as it looks to replace its city hall and aging pool, and expand services into burgeoning Southridge neighborhoods.
And two of five seats on the school board are up for reelection. These elected officials will play a critical role next year as the school district goes back out to the voters to renew its essential operations levy.
The Benton County Elections Division counted more than 18,200 ballots by Friday morning. There are still about 5,000 left to tally across the county, and a new tabulation of results was expected late Friday afternoon.
Council Ward 1
In the race for Ward 1, Jason McShane and Austin Miller will move on to the general election.
Ward 1 is most of west Kennewick, including Vista Field and the Columbia Center mall area. It stretches from the Southridge neighborhood to Santiago Sunset Estates. The ward is represented by Mayor Gretl Crawford, who is not seeking another term.
McShane led with 1,182 votes, or 36%. Austin Miller trailed with 1,117 votes, or 34%.
McShane was appointed to the city council in December 2023 to an at-large seat. He works as an assistant manager at Kennewick Irrigation District.
Miller is an IRS economist and an adjunct instructor at American Public University.
That means Tina Gregory, the candidate endorsed by the Benton County Republican Party, is unlikely to advance to the general election.
The city planning commissioner is behind Miller with 977 votes, or 30%.
Council Ward 3
Incumbent Councilman John Trumbo is set to advance to the general election, but neither of his challengers have a solid lock on the No. 2 spot.
Ward 3 encompasses most of downtown and East Kennewick, stretching from the Columbia River at the blue bridge to the foothills east of South Olympia Street.
Trumbo is seeking his fourth term to city council. He’s a former journalist who retired from the Herald in 2012.
He received 770 votes, or 43%.
Machinist and artist Warren Hughs had 551 votes, or 30%. But business owner Douglas Perez was just 67 votes behind him
Perez, who also serves on the city planning commission, had 484 votes, or 27%.
At-Large Council Pos. 4
Brad Klippert and Gloria Tyler Baker are moving on in the race to replace McShane, who ran for a different seat.
Klippert had a commanding lead in the at-large race for Kennewick City Council Pos. 4 with 5,014 votes, or 68%.
Gloria Tyler Baker trailed him with 1,919 votes, or 26% support.
Danielle Schuster will not advance. She had just 396 votes, or 5%.
Klippert served 14 years in the Washington state House of Representatives, representing the 8th Legislative District. He’s worked the last 25 years for the Benton County Sheriff’s Office as a school resource officer in Kiona-Benton City schools.
Baker is a longtime resident and businesswoman. She currently works as a title agent at The Auto Lot, and previously a car dealership owner.
Kennewick School District
School board VP and incumbent Micah Valentine and history professor Robert Franklin will move on in the race for the school board director No. 1 seat.
Valentine led with 5,233 votes, or 55%. Franklin was second with 3,613 votes, or 38%.
That means Luzzo, who had just 572 votes, or 6%, is out.
Valentine is seeking his second full term after running in 2021 on a platform to open public schools and give students mask choice in the wake of the COVID pandemic.
The marketing consultant and business owner says he and the board have made “real, measurable progress.”
Franklin, an assistant professor of history at Washington State University Tri-Cities, says he wants to keep “divisive culture wars” out of the classroom and refocus the discussion around educating students. He’s been endorsed by the Washington Education Association.
Both men have children who attend Kennewick schools.
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 9:31 PM.
