TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2011
By Evan Smith
Incumbent Shoreline City Council members Chris Eggen and Doris McConnell held commanding leads in early election returns Tuesday night, and former Shoreline Planning Commissioner Robin McClelland held a smaller but still comfortable lead for an open Council seat.
With about half of the expected votes counted, Eggen held more than 69 percent of the vote to 30.5 percent for political newcomer William Hubbell, McConnell held 62 percent to 37 percent for former Councilwoman Janet Way, and McClelland had 53 percent to 47 percent for attorney Jesse Salomon.
Eggen and McConnell each were seeking a second four-year term on the Council. McClelland and Salomon were running for the seat now held by Councilman Terry Scott, who is not running for a second term.
Way was a member of the Council from her election in 2005 until 2009, when she finished third in the August primary.
The results posted Tuesday night came with almost 26 percent of countywide ballots counted. The secretary of state’s office had predicted a King County turnout of 52 percent. City of Shoreline also had a turnout of about 26 percent.
If Eggen and McConnell hold their leads, Shoreline will have re-elected two Council members for the first time since 2003, when the City re-elected then-Councilmen Rich Gustafson and Bob Ransom.
City voters re-elected only Councilman Ron Hansen in 2005, no Council members in 2007 and only Councilman Keith McGlashan in 2009.
Right or wrong, Janet Way's candidacy is tainted by her perceived involvement with Maggie Fimia, Cindy Ryu, John Chang and Bob Ransom in the "secret meeting" lawsuit that cost Shoreline citizens a huge amount of money. Many voters in the city do not want anyone involved in that debacle, including Janet Way, anywhere near the City Council again.
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