Incumbents, Miller leading in Olympia council races

Early results show that Allen Miller, Jeannine Roe and Jim Cooper are leading their respective races for Olympia City Council seats.

The Olympia ballot contains three City Council positions, each with three candidates. Position 5 has no incumbent, while Roe and Cooper are running as incumbents for positions 6 and 7. The two candidates who receive the most votes in each race will advance to the November general election.

In Position 5, Allen Miller has 3,143 votes, or 45 percent. Lisa Parshley has 2,311 votes, or 33 percent, and looks to be the other candidate to advance to the November ballot. Deborah Lee trails with 1,496 votes, or 21 percent. A total of 6,970 votes have been counted so far.

Miller, 62, is an attorney. In his submission to The Olympian’s voter guide, Miller identified climate change as the biggest challenge facing Olympia.

Parshley, 55, is a veterinary oncologist. She identified the environment as the biggest challenge facing Olympia in her voter guide submission.

Lee, 52, is the director of Head Start and Early Head Start for the Nisqually Indian Tribe. In her voter guide submission, Lee identified rapid growth as the largest challenge facing Olympia.

In Position 6, Roe has 3,334 votes, or 48 percent. Renata Rollins has 2,357 votes, or 33 percent, putting her second. Snodgrass has 1,261 votes, or 18 percent. In total, 6,971 votes have been counted.

Roe, 59, is a Realtor and broker with Greene Realty Group. In her voter guide submission, she identified homelessness as the biggest challenge facing the city.

Rollins, 34, is a self employed writer and test proctor. Rollins wrote in the voter guide that Olympia’s biggest challenge is that the city isn’t equipped to deal with emergencies such as climate change and homelessness.

Snodgrass, 54, works for Enterprise Rent a Car. He wrote in his voter guide submission that there is no one issue that can be identified as Olympia’s greatest challenge.

In Position 7, Cooper has 4,471 votes, or 66 percent. Danny Marsh has 1,392 votes, or 20 percent, which appears to place him on the November ballot. Heather Wood has 906 votes, or 13 percent.

Cooper, 42, is CEO of United Ways of the Pacific Northwest. Cooper did not send a submission to The Olympian’s voter guide, but on his campaign website he identifies three goals: equity in opportunity, leaving an environmental legacy for future generations, and improving public safety.

Marsh, 39, is an insurance producer. In his voter guide submission, he wrote that the biggest challenge facing Olympia is that many residents are afraid of going downtown at night.

Wood, 47, is an apiarist. In her submission to The Olympian’s voter guide, she identified homelessness as the biggest problem facing the city.

More ballots will be tallied in the coming days before the results are certified Aug. 15.

This story was originally published August 1, 2017 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Incumbents, Miller leading in Olympia council races."