Jones was leading Strub 54 percent to 44 percent with about 9,000 votes counted.
Jones wasn’t ready to declare victory but was cautiously optimistic.
“I’m feeling good, but I will feel better when I see more returns,” said Jones, an asset manager for the state Department of Enterprise Services. “I am looking forward to the opportunity” of “working with a great set of council members starting in January.”
Strub, on the other hand, was looking backward, not forward.
“I’m very proud of my four years of service to the City of Olympia, and the accomplishments of the brick-and-mortar council will be a legacy that will last until the end of my life,” said Strub, a consultant.
The race between Strub and Jones was a contest of experience versus change. Strub, who was elected in 2007, touts many accomplishments, including a new City Hall, fire station and soon-to-be Hands On Children’s Museum. She also lists her work advocating for Camp Quixote, a Boulevard Road roundabout and a new dog park at Sunrise Park as accomplishments.
But her experience also meant controversy. She voted to raise building-height limits on the isthmus to as much as 90 feet in 2008, which Jones seized upon as an issue. Though she later voted to drop the height limits to 35 feet, Jones cited her initial vote as going against the will of the people.
Jones promised to bring change, citing his background in regional planning, from being a planner in the Lincoln, Neb., planning department to transit agencies in San Antonio and Pierce County, to managing buildings for the state General Administration department, now the Department of Enterprise Services.
Jones’ top goals are restoring the downtown police walking patrol, changing the public’s expectations for the City Council and having a better relationship with neighborhoods.
Strub’s top goal was getting under way with a live/work development for artists, working with Artspace, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit.
Matt Batcheldor: 360-704-6869
mbatcheldor@theolympian.com
