Who will be Tacoma’s next mayor?

A day after Election Day, that question remains unanswered.

In a tight battle for ballots with likely half of them still to be counted, Tacoma City Councilwoman Marilyn Strickland was clinging to a razor-thin lead late Tuesday over architect Jim Merritt.

“I feel really good,” Strickland said. “We ran a really good campaign and finished very strong in the last few weeks. I’m feeling very confident.”

Merritt felt just as positive heading into the small hours of today.

“I’m an optimist,” he said. “I think things just need to play out.”

“We came out of nowhere in this campaign,” he added, “and we’re right there.”

The end result may not be known until thousands of mail ballots that met Tuesday’s postmark deadline trickle in to county elections in the coming days.

The still murky mayoral picture topped otherwise clear preferences by Tacoma voters on an Election Night of transition. At least three new faces appeared headed for the City Council: Victoria Woodards, Marty Campbell and Joe Lonergan.

With City Councilwoman Julie Anderson leading in her race for Pierce County auditor, her council seat likely soon will become open, too.

The tight results in the mayor’s race mirrored a seemingly neck-and-neck campaign in which no front-runner emerged.

Strickland, 47, cast herself as the experienced candidate and campaigned on a progressive platform. She vowed to use the city’s powers to enhance and improve public education, and said she will seek to establish Tacoma as a science and technology hub.

“Tacoma really is a college town,” Strickland said on the campaign trail. “We should embrace what we are and capitalize on those assets.”

Merritt, 62, cast himself as a grassroots outsider during the off-year election. In stump speeches and forums, he hammered a persistent message: That the city’s elected officials aren’t listening to Tacoma citizens.

He became the face of a grassroots campaign to force Sound Transit to change its preferred design for a commuter link through the Dome District, saying the localized fight was symptomatic of bigger city issues.

“As a city, Tacoma has accepted these things too many times,” he said. “We can do better.”

Heading into Election Day, each candidate had scored an impressive list of endorsements and were closely matched in fundraising.

Strickland won more support from the city’s traditional power structure, including endorsements of six sitting council members and three Tacoma mayors.

Merritt garnered big support from local businesses, including builders and Realtors.

Campaign war chests for both candidates have neared the $150,000 mark, in one of the most expensive mayoral campaigns in city history.

The eventual winner will succeed two-term Mayor Bill Baarsma, who faces term limits. The four-year term will bring with it an $81,816-per-year salary.

AT-LARGE POSITION 6

Victoria Woodards held a big lead over Keven Rojecki in an at-large bid for Tacoma City Council Position 6.

“I’m extremely excited to be representing this city that I love so much,” Woodards said.

Woodards, an assistant to Pierce County Councilman Tim Farrell and Metro Parks board chair, garnered big support from prominent city politicians and campaigned as the local candidate.

Rojecki, a SeaTac firefighter, state gambling commission chairman and firefighters lobbyist, raised nearly $90,000 – mostly from out of the city – heading into Election Day.

But it wasn’t enough to overcome Woodards’ grassroots campaign.

“It’s obvious to me that if you do work hard in your community, people will respect that,” she said.

Both candidates professed similar political platforms, vowing to improve public safety, city streets and Tacoma’s business climate.

Woodards said she’ll seek to draw more businesses to Tacoma by making it a more livable city through improvements in education and quality of life issues.

Woodards will fill the Position 6 at-large seat being vacated by two-term Councilman Mike Lonergan, who faces term limits.

COUNCIL DISTRICT 4

Businessman Marty Campbell was coasting to victory over masters student Roxanne Murphy in the race for Council District 4.

“I’m very humbled right now by the show of support,” Campbell said. “I’m really thankful to my other opponents for the good campaigns they ran. We really elevated the conversation of the importance of the 4th District.”

Campbell, 38, garnered nearly 57 percent of the vote among three candidates in the primary. His wide margin of victory carried over Tuesday.

“I think it shows that the district is unified in who they want as their leader,” Campbell said.

In his second run for council, Campbell, the owner of Buzzards and Stadium Video, campaigned on bringing an entrepreneur’s ideas to City Hall. His primary issues were promoting economic recovery, reducing crime and improving safety.

Campbell will replace two-term Councilman Rick Talbert, who faces term-limits, in representing East Side and South End neighborhoods.

Murphy, a former city community relations specialist and Nooksack tribal member, has said she considered her first run for office successful, becoming what is believed to be the youngest woman and first Native American to make it through a city council primary.

COUNCIL DISTRICT 5

Joe Lonergan was beating Beckie Summers Kirby in the contest to represent District 5 on the council.

“I’m a little bit surprised at how wide the margin was, but I think that the message that someone is listening really resonated with my district,” Lonergan said.

Lonergan, 32, a News Tribune ad salesman, waged a shoe-leather campaign on little money with help from his father, two-time councilman Mike Lonergan.

His top issue included improving public safety for his district, including parts of South Tacoma and the South End, during a campaign in which he handed out surveys seeking to find out his district’s top concerns.

“We definitely have some things to do,” he said. “I have my marching orders.”

Lonergan will fill the seat of two-term Councilwoman Connie Ladenburg, who faces term limits.

Lewis Kamb: 253-597-8542

lewis.kamb@thenewstribune.com