The second count of returns for the 2015 Primary Election had little effect on the six Yakima City Council positions being contested when compared to the initial count on election night. Only the top two vote getters in each race move on to the November 8th General Election.
In Yakima City Council District 1, Dulce Gutiérrez built on her election night lead and now has 80.79% of the vote compared to the 79.41% she had after the first count. Russell Montiero has 10.65% (vs. 12.30% after the first count) and Llosimar Garcia has 5.32% (vs. 5.08% on election night).
Following the second count of ballots, Avina Gutiérrez now has 36.45% of the vote in District 2 compared to the 37.35% she had after the first count. Maud Scott now has 29.82% (vs. 29% after the first count). Pablo Gonzalez is next with 20.66% (vs. 21.58% on election night) followed by Edgar Moreno with 12.67% (vs. 11.83% after the first count).
District 3 had the most candidates in the primary race with five. In District 3, Kelly Rosenow continues to lead with 28.99% of the vote (vs. 29.62% on election night). Carmen Méndez gained some ground on Rosenow and now has 28.11% of the vote (vs. 28.62% after the first count), Patricia Byers has 23.38% (vs. 22.80% on election night), Justin Cawley has garnered 9.91% (vs. 10.48% after the first count), and Nicholas Kline has 8.96% (vs. 7.90% on election night).
The four primary candidates in District 4 are still led by incumbent Councilmember Bill Lover with 52.07% (vs. 52.55% after the first count). Lover is followed by Tony Sandoval with 24.26% of the vote (vs. 24.97% on election night), Tony Williams with 15.29% (vs. 14.42% after the first count), and Larry Breer with 7.20% (vs. 6.92% on election night).
The District 5 primary returns continue to be led by incumbent Councilmember and current Assistant Mayor Kathy Coffey who has 51.64% of the vote compared to the 52.22% she had on election night. Reed Pell has received 18.46% (vs. 17.99% after the first count). Phil Allard has the third most votes in District 5 with 16.53% of the total (vs. 16.36% after the first count). Gordon Heintzman has so far received 12.38% of the vote (vs. 12.45% on election night).
Incumbent Councilmember Maureen Adkison’s lead over her two District 6 challengers dropped slightly to 55.97% of the vote (vs. 57.02% after the first count). Gavin Keefe has 25.65% (vs. 24.93% on election night) and Adam Yoest has received 17.53% of the vote (vs. 17.38% after the first count).
The District 7 race features just two candidates, Holly Cousens and Gunnar Berg, so no primary was needed in that district. Both Cousens and Berg will advance to the November General Election.
So far, turnout in the City of Yakima for the 2015 Primary Election is just over 24%. Of the 31,890 ballots issued, 7,753 have been returned.
Additional ballot counts will be conducted over the next few days. Ballot counts will continue periodically until all of the ballots that were received before the midnight August 4th deadline have been tabulated. The 2015 Primary Election will be certified on August 18th.