Fournier leads Tenino mayor primary; Copeland ahead for open Tenino council seat

Tenino City Councilmember Wayne Fournier holds a narrow lead over incumbent Bret Brodersen in the race for mayor, 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.

Fournier was ahead late Tuesday with 40.66 percent compared to Brodersen’s 38.46 percent in the race to serve as Tenino’s chief executive. The third candidate, Tenino City Councilmember John O’Callahan, had about 20.8 percent of the vote.

Fournier credited his deep community roots and commitment to service for vaulting him to the front of the pack. Fournier entered the race to challenge Brodersen, who was vulnerable heading into the primary because of his controversial decision to fire the city’s popular police chief earlier this year.

“There is no doubt in anybody’s mind that I really love Tenino,” Fournier said.

Brodersen is running to retain his seat. The one-time council member was appointed to mayor in June 2013 following the resignation of Eric Strawn. Brodersen said he has been able to communicate to voters that his decisions as mayor have been made in the best interest of the community.

“I’m excited and humbled to have the votes I received so far,” he said. “I look forward to promoting my ideas going forward.”

In the race for Tenino City Council Position 5, first-time candidate Susan Copeland was leading with about 53.4 percent of the vote. Finishing second was former Tenino Mayor and Councilman Ken Jones with about 31.5 percent of the vote. The third candidate, Leslie Lamb, finished with about 14.6 percent of the vote.

The council position is currently held by Fournier, who is forgoing re-election in order to run for mayor.

Other races in the Thurston County primary election:

In the race for Yelm City Council Position 6, Joe DePinto led all candidates with about 55.6 percent of the vote. In second place was Terry Kaminski with 33.8 percent, followed by Preston Collins with 9 percent of the vote. The position is currently held by Ken Garmann, who is not seeking re-election.

In the race for Centralia School District school board director Position 2, Ron Averill was leading with 50 percent of the vote. In second place was Kim Ashmore with 25 percent, while John Elmore had 23 percent.

This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 9:20 PM with the headline "Fournier leads Tenino mayor primary; Copeland ahead for open Tenino council seat."