Sullivan, Agabi leading in Tumwater elections after Tuesday count
Debbie Sullivan and Peter Agabi were obvious front runners in the City of Tumwater’s general election after Tuesday’s initial vote tallies.
However, the results are preliminary and subject to change as ballots postmarked by Nov. 2 will continue to come in for the next week.
Mayor of Tumwater
In a truly historical race, Debbie Sullivan has been elected Mayor of Tumwater, earning 82.7% of the vote over her opponent Pamela Hanson, according to preliminary results from the Thurston County auditor.
If her lead holds, Sullivan will be the first woman to be mayor of Tumwater since its incorporation in 1869.
“I’m excited. This is even better than I had anticipated,” she said while celebrating at the La Quinta on Capitol Boulevard.
Sullivan said she’s excited to be the city’s first female mayor and that she feels she’ll do a good job because of her time and experience in public office.
Sullivan has been a small business owner and is finishing her second term as a Tumwater City Council member in position No. 6. She has lived in Tumwater for 24 years and is also the chair of the Tumwater LEOFF 1 Disability Board, as well as a member of the city’s Budget and Finance Committee, the Community Action Council, the Intercity Transit Authority board, city Planning Commission and more.
Sullivan’s campaign platform touched on several topics, including climate change, justice and equity, business and infrastructure. She had been endorsed by current Mayor Pete Kmet as well as Olympia Mayor Cheryl Selby. She said one of her goals in the first 100 days of being in office will be to meet every city employee.
During her campaign, Sullivan raised $7,140 as of Nov. 2. Her opponent Pamela Hanson had no contributions listed with the Public Disclosure Commission as of the same date.
Hanson posted on her campaign website saying her first five immediate actions as Mayor of Tumwater would be to open the city-owned bank building downtown as an assistance information center that would also serve as her public office. She said she also wanted to start a Twitter account for the city to disclose documents to the public, as well as impose assessments of the homelessness issues the city faces.
City Council, Position No. 6
Peter Agabi was winning Position No. 6 over Alex Rossiter with 67% of the vote as of 8 p.m. Tuesday. Theirs was the only contested Tumwater City Council race.
Agabi currently works in health enforcement management systems and has lived in Tumwater for 15 years. His campaign platform focused on addressing the affordable housing crisis, reducing houselessness, addressing climate change and making the city more safe and inclusive.
Agabi celebrated the preliminary results with other council members and Mayor Pete Kmet at the La Quinta in Tumwater. He said he was grateful to the citizens of Tumwater for putting their trust in him.
Agabi had raised $8,232 for his campaign as of Nov. 2, according to public campaign finance data. Rossiter had raised $1,100 as of the same date.
Rossiter, a small business owner, campaigned on several issues, such as the need for a skatepark in Tumwater, affordable housing, historic preservation and small business vitalization.
If his lead holds, Agabi will be joining council members Eileen Swarthout, Angela Jefferson and Michael Althauser, who ran as unopposed incumbents.
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