Mirror staff

Federal Way had a new City Council member and a too-close-to-call School Board race after voters stated their preferences in the general election Tuesday.

Jim Ferrell polled 52 percent of the balloting in his contest with Councilwoman Mary Gates, ending her 13-year council career that began when Federal Way incorporated as a city.

Ferrell, a King County deputy prosecutor whose first foray into elected politics ended in defeat in a campaign last year for the Legislature, based his run for the council partly on changing priorities for city spending. He opposed the cost and other aspects of major public projects that Gates supports, including the city’s proposed community center and a transit center that Sound Transit wants to build downtown.

Federal Way School Board member Charles Hoff was locked in a tight race with Suzanne Smith. He led by 238 votes, or barely 1 percent, in unofficial tabulations.

In another School Board contest, Bob Millen defeated Don Putman by more than 1,500 votes. Both are incumbents. They ran for Putman’s Position 5 because of redistricting that placed Millen outside of his Position 3 constituency area.

Evelyn Castellar, running unopposed, claimed Millen’s old seat.

In countywide voting, King County Assessor Scott Noble and Seattle Port Commissioner Bob Edwards were re-elected, while Port Commissioner Clare Nordquist led Alec Fisken by less than 400 votes in their race.

Voters approved a change in the county charter to allow the County Council and county executive to begin enacting two-year county budgets, beginning with 2004.

Additional information on the election results is available from the King County elections department link with www.fedwaymirror.com

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