Pierce County Council’s majority party determined by voters. Looks like it might flip
The Pierce County Council has likely flipped to a Democrat-led body for the first time in 17 years.
Four of Pierce County Council’s seven seats were decided by voters: District 2, 3, 4, and 6. All were open seats. The current Pierce County Council holds three Democrats and four Republicans.
Three of the four races were close to breaking Pierce County Council contribution records.
An estimated 70 percent of ballots have been counted by Tuesday evening.
As of Nov. 2, Pierce County counted 565,977 registered voters, up from 2016’s 490,666. Auditor Julie Anderson said her office is preparing for 90 percent voter turnout.
As a Democratic body, the Pierce County Council likely would be led by council member Derek Young, who represents Gig Harbor, Ruston and West Tacoma, and likely would push initiatives to address affordable housing, broadband access and public transit.
District 6
This race was considered key to determining the majority party.
High school teacher Jani Hitchen, a Democrat, received nearly 53 percent of the vote against Lakewood’s Deputy Mayor Jason Whalen, or a 2,221 vote-difference.
As a first-time candidate, Hitchen felt like the underdog.
“I wasn’t sure I was ready to take this on, was a monumental shift in my life, but I wasn’t going to let that seat go unchallenged,” Hitchen said. “I am surprised by the amount of lead. I thought we would have a closer call by like few hundred votes.”
Whalen believes that the national and state races impacted the County Council race. He ran as a moderate Republican, but the larger races brought head-wind, he said.
“We expected it to be a tighter race,” Whalen said. “I don’t know if it will be sufficient enough to close the gap but only time will tell.”
District 6 includes Lakewood, DuPont, Steilacoom, Parkland, Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Anderson and Ketron islands. The seat recently has been held by figures similar to Whalen: moderate Republicans with military experience.
Whalen served in the Army in Germany as a field artillery officer, graduated law school and set up a private practice. He was first elected to Lakewood’s City Council in 2010.
Hitchen narrowly won the August primary, surprising Republicans.
Whalen brought in the second-highest contributions ever for Pierce County Council with $134,834, according to Public Disclosure Commission filings.
Hitchen raised $110,583 in contributions.
District 2
Republican state Sen. Hans Zeiger won the Puyallup, Sumner and Fife seat with 52 percent of the vote against Sarah Rumbaugh. About 2,540 votes separate the candidates, according to Tuesday night results.
“I’m looking forward to getting started on the council and operating at a level where Republicans and Democrats can solve problems and most of the issues can be nonpartisan,” Zeiger said.
Either way the council swings, Zeiger is ready to work with all.
“I’ve been in the minority in the Legislature, so I have experience with that and have done pretty well working across the aisle,” he said. “I represent a swing district, and I want to do a good job representing constituents regardless of political party.”
Zeiger broke campaign records for a Pierce County Council seat, according to PDC records since 2008, raising more than $138,000.
Rumbaugh, a Democrat who owns a consulting business in Tacoma, raised $125,490.
District 3
Amy Cruver appeared headed to victory with 67 percent of the vote.
“What that tells me is that my message and ideology resonates throughout the District 3, and I hope that continues,” Cruver told The News Tribune.
She is waiting until the final vote is counted to determine whether she will be on the offensive or defensive side of the council.
District 3, which includes unincorporated East Pierce County, Eatonville and Roy, had two Republicans, Cruver and Joe Zaichkin, in the general election. Cruver, who works as current Council member Jim McCune’s assistant, was the front-runner in the primary.
District 4
Former Tacoma City Council member Ryan Mello, a Democrat, appears to have won the Democratic stronghold of West Tacoma and University Place.
Mello won 65 percent of the vote against independent University Place City Council member Javier Figueroa.
“Voters can expect to get someone who will work tirelessly on issues that matter to them, and we make progress in Pierce County on issue what really matter,” he said.
He is looking forward to a Democratic council.
“We can unlock issues that have been stalemated for a long time under Republicans,” he said. “We will be able to move an agenda that really matters to folks.”
Mello collected the third-highest contributions for Pierce County Council. He raised more than $134,189, PDC filings show.
Council members Pam Roach, Republican of District 2; Jim McCune, Republican of District 3; Connie Ladenburg, Democrat of District 4; and Doug Richardson, Republican of District 6 are leaving the council at the end of 2020.
Those remaining on the council include Dave Morell, R-District 1; Marty Campbell, D-District 5; and Young, D-District 7.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 8:36 PM.
