Early Olympia primary results: Selby tops mayor race, Bateman ahead for council

Olympia City Councilwoman Cheryl Selby is leading the race for mayor, while Jessica Bateman is leading the pack for Olympia City Council Position 2, according to early results for the Thurston County primary election.

The top two vote-getters in each race will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

Selby is leading mayoral candidates with about 71 percent of the vote. In second place is first-time candidate Marco Rossi with about 26 percent, while Prophet Atlantis has garnered just 2.7 percent of the vote.

Selby is aiming to become the city’s first directly elected female mayor since Olympia voters began electing their mayor in 1991. Previous mayors were appointed by the council. Selby, who owns a downtown clothing business called Vivala, noted that a business owner hasn’t served as mayor in nearly 40 years.

She credited her primary election victory to the hard work of her campaign team, which includes 14 high school students.

“The people have seen I’m committed to this community,” Selby told The Olympian. “I’m really excited about the potential to take our community up and forward.”

Selby likely will face Rossi in the general election. Rossi is running on a progressive platform called Olympia For All, which is focusing on issues including a $15 minimum wage, urban planning, police accountability and public involvement.

Leading the race for Olympia City Council Position 2 is Bateman with about 50.7 percent of the vote. Finishing second is Judy Bardin, who received about 32.6 percent, while candidate Ray Guerra has received about 15.8 percent.

Bateman, a current Olympia Planning commissioner, attributed the strong finish to her all-volunteer campaign team’s effort to make direct contact with voters. The campaign has knocked on more than 4,500 doors in the past three months, she said.

“Tonight is an affirmation that the citizens of Olympia are ready for a new voice on the city council,” Bateman told The Olympian.

Bateman and Bardin will likely face each other in the general election. Bardin is a former member of the Olympia Planning Commission. Guerra was running on the Olympia For All platform.

This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 9:06 PM with the headline "Early Olympia primary results: Selby tops mayor race, Bateman ahead for council."