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Ruston leans towards keeping strong mayor

By John Larson

Tacoma Weekly
jlarson@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: August 21, 2008

Ruston voters weighed in on whether to keep the current strong mayor form of government or switch to a council/manager format during the primary election Aug. 19.

At press time on the afternoon of Aug. 20, votes for keeping a strong mayor were leading 82 to 63.

Election results have not been validated, and updates will be provided by the Pierce County’s Auditor each afternoon at approximately 5 p.m.

Most races where Tacoma voters had a say had little in the way of drama or suspense.

In the 6th Congressional District, to no one’s surprise, Representative Norm Dicks (D-Belfair) is advancing to the general election. As of press time at 3 p.m. Aug. 20, he was in first place. (Editor’s note: Congressional races show Pierce County votes only.)

Dicks had 21,639, or 62.15 percent of the vote. He will face Republican challenger Doug Cloud, who took second with 9,507 votes. Democrat Paul Richmond was a distant third with 2,674.

In the 9th District, incumbent Adam Smith (D-Tacoma) had 15,728, or 62 percent. Republican James Postma, who had 9,542 votes, was his only challenger and will face him in November.

In the 27th Legislative District race, incumbent Democratic Senator Debbie Regala had 7,969 votes, or 69 percent. Her only challenger, Republican Larry Faulk, was second with 3,550.

In one of the few local races where the primary had much meaning, Dennis Flannigan, the Democratic incumbent for the house seat in the 27th, came in first with 5,154, or 45.7 percent. Second place went to another Democrat, Jessica Smeall with 3,108. Republicans Dale Woodard and Brent Wiley came in third and fourth, respectively.

In the other House seat in the 27th, incumbent Democrat Jeannie Darneille had more than 75 percent of the vote. Her only challenger is William Edward Chovil, a Republican who has ran for office several times.

Only a small section of the 28th District falls within Tacoma’s boundaries, but its race for the Senate is among the closest in the region. Incumbent Mike Carrell, a Republican from Lakewood, had a lead of 26 votes over his Democratic challenger, Debi Srail, suggesting their race in November could also be close.

In the two house seats for the 29th District, incumbent Steve Conway, a Democrat, had 68.7 percent of the vote. His Republican challenger, Steven Cook, will advance to November. The other Democratic incumbent, Steve Kirby, had 71.3 percent of the vote. His Republican challenger, Terry Harder, will advance to November.

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