Winner in Edgewood’s strong mayor race hinges on mandatory recount

Edgewood voters will have to wait a little longer to find out who will be the city’s first strong mayor.

Tuesday’s final election results showed Daryl Eidinger ahead of Wendal Kuecker by just nine votes – 1,103 to 1,094.

The margin is low enough to trigger a machine recount, as dictated by state law.

Mandatory recounts are required for non-statewide races when the difference between two candidates is fewer than 2,000 votes and also less than one-half of 1 percent of the total number of votes cast for both candidates.

Pierce County Elections Manager Mike Rooney said in an email that the recount will begin Monday at 8:30 a.m. Final recount results will be available in the afternoon of next Tuesday, he said.

Eidinger formerly served as the council-appointed mayor before the city transitioned from a council-manager form of government to a strong-mayor system.

Voters now elect a mayor who runs day-to-day operations in the city, duties that formerly fell to the city manager. The new position carries a four-year term.

Kuecker is a Federal Way business owner. He has trailed Eidinger since primary election results first dropped Aug. 4.

This story was originally published August 19, 2015 at 6:38 AM with the headline "Winner in Edgewood’s strong mayor race hinges on mandatory recount."