The Federal Way City Council will likely remain unchanged, according to preliminary results from King County Elections tonight. In the four races, incumbents are ahead by an average of 22.5% of the ballot count.
Federal Way City Council Position 1 incumbent Lydia Assefa-Dawson has earned 63% of the votes to opponent Mark Greene’s 36% of the votes.
In the Position 3 race, incumbent Susan Honda is ahead with 60% of the votes. Opponent Roger Flygare garnered 39% of the votes, as of the Nov. 7 ballot count update.
For Position 5, incumbent Jack Walsh has received 57% of votes so far. Challenger Katherine Festa is trailing with 43% of the votes.
In Position 7, incumbent and Council President Linda Kochmar has effectively run unopposed since charges against opponent Denise Yun caused Yun to refrain from participation in election activities in the last months of the race. Yun still appeared on the ballot as she did not formerly withdraw. Kochmar is leading with 64% of votes, while Yun did still receive 36%.
The Federal Way School Board has several positions open, two of which look like they will be filled by incumbents, according to early election results.
For School Board Council Position 2, incumbent Jennifer Jones has received 71% of the vote, and challenger Daniel Kukhar is behind with 28%.
Position 3 has Luckisha Phillips in a wide lead with 74% of the votes. She was first elected to the school board four years ago. Her opponent, Christopher Dowllar, did not submit a candidate statement, biography or photo, and did not attend the candidate forum hosted by The Mirror. He is coming in with 25% of the votes.
The Position 5 race has two potential newcomers vying for the opening left by Hiroshi Eto. Joan Marie Murphy has received 55% of the votes and Gavin Downing is coming in behind at 44%.
So far, 7,667 ballots have been counted in Federal Way as of Nov. 7, according to King County Elections ballot return data.
In the Special Purpose District elections for South King Fire, 13,393 votes have been counted so far.
For Commissioner Position 4, Gregory Baruso is leading with 54% of votes. Mark L. Thompson has received 46% of the vote.
Commissioner Position 5 shows single candidate for the position Craig Burrus at 99% of the vote.
Election results will be certified on Nov. 28.
Live results can be seen at: https://kingcounty.gov/en/legacy/depts/elections/results/2023/202311.aspx