Olympia progressives celebrate strong election returns Tuesday night

In all but one of the four Olympia City Council races, Tuesday’s early election returns were pretty clear.

Early results show that Clark Gilman, Lisa Parshley, and Jim Cooper were decisively leading their respective races for Olympia City Council seats. Meanwhile, incumbent Jeanine Roe was leading her challenger Renata Rollins with just 50.9 percent of the vote.

In Position 4, Gilman has 4,402 votes, or 59 percent. His opponent Max Brown has 3,019 votes, or 41 percent.

Gilman is a paraeducator. According to his website, Gilman hopes to increase Olympia residents’ access to their local government — particularly the budgeting process.

Brown works for Results Washington and is a former Olympia Planning Commission member. On his campaign website, he listed sustainable growth and revitalizing downtown as two of his priorities.

Gilman was buoyed by Tuesday night’s numbers. “One year ago, it was kind of a dismal evening,” he told a crowd at a Thurston County Young Democrats party at the Hotel RL-Olympia, referencing Donald Trump’s presidential win last year. “And then there was a call, a call to stand up and pay attention to local races.”

In Position 5, Parshley has 4,366 votes, or 58 percent. Her opponent Allen Miller has 3,112 votes, or 42 percent.

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.

Parshley, a first-time candidate, said she’s overwhelmed by the results, and thankful to her campaign team.

“I didn’t believe the numbers. I made them show them to me twice,” she said.

In Position 6, Roe has 3,808 votes, while Rollins has 3,669 votes.

Rollins said she’s optimistic.

“We are in a nailbiter in this race,” she said Tuesday night.

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.

In Position 7, Cooper has 5,608 votes, or 77 percent. Danny Marsh has 1,609 votes, or 23 percent.

Cooper, 42, is CEO of United Ways of the Pacific Northwest. Cooper’s 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.

This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Olympia progressives celebrate strong election returns Tuesday night."