Pasco council incumbents leading after early returns

Two of the three Pasco City Council members running for re-election held comfortable leads Tuesday night after the initial ballot count.

Mayor Matt Watkins and Al Yenney appear to have clinched another four-year term, while Rebecca Francik leads her challenger by 374 votes.

The Franklin County Auditor’s Office counted 5,035 ballots Tuesday, with an estimated 1,600 ballots remaining. The next ballot count is 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4.

Watkins has 2,391 votes, or 67 percent, while challenger Bertha Aranda Glatt received 1,193 votes, or 33 percent.

Watkins has held at-large Position 6 on the council for 12 years. Glatt was running because she feels her city needs to be more representative of the people it serves

Yenney secured his third term with 2,612 votes, or 73 percent so far. Challenger Bertha Alicia Coria got 966 votes for 27 percent.

Yenney considers himself the “common sense council member” because he makes his decisions based on lengthy research instead of what makes him feel “warm and fuzzy.” Coria, a 2014 graduate of Pasco High School, wanted to see equal representation on the council considering District 1 has a Hispanic majority.

Francik has been on the council for 19 years representing District 5. Early results gave her 1,990 votes, or 55 percent. Challenger David Milne received 1,616 votes, or 45 percent.

Francik has said she’s excited for Pasco’s future after watching several city projects move through the planning stages to being “shovel ready.”

Milne, who owns Milne Nail Power Tool & Repair on West Lewis Street, feels the city needs to cut back on new home construction and focus more on attracting businesses, including to the downtown core.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 9:39 PM with the headline "Pasco council incumbents leading after early returns."