Incumbents poised to keep seats on Olympia City Council
Sitting Olympia City Council members look to be on their way to re-election.
Clark Gilman and Lisa Parshley both were leading their races by thousands of votes on Tuesday night after the initial vote tallies.
Turnout was 30% in Olympia as of Tuesday evening, according to the Thurston County Auditor’s Office.
Dontae Payne, who is running for Renata Rollins’ empty seat, should cruise to election as he leads Corey Gauny by 2,826 votes. Payne, who works as a Deputy District Director for Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, has been endorsed by the incumbents as well as Rollins.
Payne will become the first Black man to serve on Olympia City Council. Cora Pinson, the first Black woman to hold a council seat in Washington state, served on Olympia City Council from 1987-1991.
“It’s an honor and I feel a tremendous amount of gratitude and responsibility to really do the work and work hard for the people who live in the city of Olympia,” Payne said. “This isn’t really just about me, this about what this represents and what it even means.”
Yến Huỳnh, who was appointed in January to finish state Rep. Jessica Bateman’s vacated term, led attorney Robbi Kesler by 976 votes after Tuesday night’s count. Huỳnh, who works as an equity consultant for the Department of Corrections and previously served on the city of Olympia’s Planning Commission, was not immediately available for comment.
The closest race has incumbent Jim Cooper ahead of challenger Spence Weigand by 396 votes.
“We like what we see so far and hopefully our lead will grow in the next few days and I’ll keep doing the good work for the people of Olympia,” said Cooper, who works as the CEO of the United Ways of the Pacific Northwest and chairs the city’s Finance Committee, as well as the Regional Housing Council.
Weigand, a realtor with Virgil Adams, raised $82,595 in donations with help from the business and real estate community. His campaign total was more than twice as much as Cooper and the second-highest fundraiser, Parshley, who pulled in $39,707.
Cooper’s top donors were largely labor unions and Democratic organizations.
Weigand’s campaign tapped into frustration over the city’s inability to address visible homelessness and he has criticized what he says is groupthink among the current council. He was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.
Parshley holds a comfortable 2,120-vote lead over challenger Talauna Reed. Parshley, who runs a veterinary practice and chairs the Ad-hoc Public Safety Committee, credited her volunteers.
“No campaign is successful without a good group of volunteers, and too often these people are not given enough credit for their work,” she said.
Clark Gilman, who led Candace Mercer by more than 3,000 votes on Tuesday, said he was pleased with the results across the ballot and that he’s happy to see people supporting those who are already making progress in the city.
“In this time of managing multiple crises, stability is good,” he said.
Gilman was appointed to Olympia City Council position No. 4 in 2016 and was reelected in 2017 for a four-year term. He has served as the chair of the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and he now serves as Mayor Pro Tem.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 9:52 PM.
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