Shoreline, LFP races tighten with 19 percent of votes left to count

Monday evening returns, November 14, 2011

By Evan Smith

One city council race in Shoreline and one in Lake Forest Park tightened in the Monday vote, with more than 19 percent of the expected final King County votes left to count.

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Meanwhile, there was little change in the hotly contested Ronald Wastewater District election,

Neither the tight contest between Shoreline Council candidates Robin McClelland and Jesse Salomon nor the tighter race between incumbent LFP Councilman Ed Sterner and challenger Tom French was within the range for a mandatory recount.

State law requires a recount when two candidates are within 0.5 percent of their combined total and a hand recount if they are within 0.25 percent of the two-candidate total.

The Monday count showed LFP challenger French with 2,280 votes to 2,216 for incumbent Sterner. French’s lead of 64 votes was down from his 120-vote lead in the count the day after the election. With their Monday combined total of 4,496 votes, a 22-vote margin would have them within recount range.

In Shoreline, former Planning Commissioner Robin McClelland had 6,129 votes Monday to 6,022 for attorney Salomon. McClelland’s 107-vote lead was down from her 469-vote lead the day after the election. With their combined total of 12,151 votes, a 60-vote margin would put them within recount range. The two are running for the position that Councilman Terry Scott now holds.

In the Ronald Wastewater District election, former Shoreline Mayor Bob Ransom kept a clear lead over two-term incumbent Commissioner Arnie Lind. Ransom had 5,728 votes in King County and one more in the tiny Snohomish County part of the District to 5,399 votes for Lind. Ransom’s lead of 320 votes expanded from his 302-vote lead of last week, but Ransom's portion of the vote slipped slightly from 51.8 percent to 51.3 percent, At least 3,351 voters who cast ballots in the District left this position blank while voting on other candidates and measures.

Nearly 19 percent of expected King County votes remain to be counted. Elections officials had counted 454,770 County votes through Monday, That’s 41.99 percent of registered voters. Elections officials project a 52 percent countywide turnout. – more than 563,000 votes around the County. Snohomish County officials had counted votes from nearly 50 percent of that County’s registered voters Monday. They expect a final turnout of about 54 percent. The statewide turnout passed 48 percent Monday, already higher than the secretary of state’s projections,

Local voter turnout is higher than the countywide average – 46 percent in the Shoreline School District, 54 percent in Lake Forest Park, 44 percent in the City of Shoreline ­-- but Shoreline and Lake Forest Park usually have a higher turnout rate than the County and state averages.