A Puyallup City Councilwoman eyeing a move to the at-large council seat in the city’s most heated race was trailing her businessman opponent Tuesday.
Other Puyallup council races also were close after the initial tally Tuesday night, while there were clearer favorites in two of three University Place council races and in the showdown for the Milton mayor post.
Roughly 20 other suburban towns and cities also had council positions on Tuesday’s ballot, but in several of those communities, such as Lakewood, all seats were uncontested.
PUYALLUP
Puyallup Councilwoman Nicole Martineau was trailing Steve Vermillion for the council’s at-large position. It’s the only one of the council’s seven seats subject to a citywide vote, and the race to fill it has divided citizens and council members.
Martineau, a paraeducator who was appointed to a District 1 council seat in January 2010, was endorsed by fellow council member Kent Boyle, as well as groups such as the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington.
Martineau said she’s proud of her positive campaign and “we’re still in the game” after early returns.
Vermillion, a management consultant, was endorsed by Councilman John Knutsen and groups including the Puyallup Police Association. He said he’s grateful to voters and encouraged by the early results.
“There is a big challenge to everybody who is going to move forward and sit on the council. We have to live up to what we campaigned on – bringing change, change in the (city’s) ethical climate,” Vermillion said.
Mayor Kathy Turner now holds the at-large seat, but she is term-limited and will leave office at year’s end.
In the race for Martineau’s District 1 seat, semi-retired property manager John Hopkins had a solid lead over Tom Smillie, a retired railroad worker. The district covers the older, northern end of the city.
In District 2, which covers the city’s central area, John Palmer, a senior policy advisor for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was leading Charley Stokes, a retired Boeing production supervisor, for the Position 1 seat. Councilwoman Tami Brouillet, who currently holds this post, didn’t seeking re-election.
The District 3, Position 1 race was closest, with Tom Swanson narrowly leading Robin Ordonez after the first round of results. Swanson is assistant to Pierce County Councilwoman Joyce McDonald; Ordonez is a retired civil engineer.
The district covers the city’s south end; incumbent Don Malloy is term-limited.
UNIVERSITY PLACE
Voters were electing newcomers Chris Nye and Kent Keel to the University Place City Council, and Councilwoman Caroline Belleci was slightly ahead of her opponent in her bid to win a full term Tuesday night.
Nye had a sizable lead over his opponent, Ken Campbell; Keel was leading challenger Steve Smith by a smaller margin; and Belleci was ahead of her opponent, Howard Lee, by an even smaller percentage.
Keel would become the first black elected to the City Council. Smith also is black.
The council appointed Belleci in February 2010 to complete the unexpired term of former Councilwoman Jean Brooks, who died two months earlier.
When the new members take their seats in January, Councilman Ken Grassi will be the only remaining member of the original council that took office prior to University Place’s incorporation in September 1995.
MILTON
In Milton, incumbent Mayor Debra Perry had a strong lead over challenger Leonard Sanderson, a longtime City Council member and former mayor.
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