Spokane favors incumbents as conservatives fall short on bid to expand minority

(The Center Square) – Election results are coming in across Spokane County after ballot boxes closed at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, showing clear winners in some local races while others remain too close to call.

The spotlight was on the Spokane City Council leading up to Nov. 4, as conservatives on the dais sought to expand their two-member minority. That battle extended to the Spokane Municipal Court as well, with other notable races in the city of Spokane Valley, as several incumbents face competition.

While 127 offices are up for grabs, with 172 candidates having advanced to the 2025 general election across every jurisdiction in the county, this article will focus only on the initial results of those above.

Residents can review the preliminary results for other cities, towns, school districts and water and fire districts here. These are subject to change until Spokane County certifies the results on November 25.

Spokane City Council & Spokane Municipal Court

First up for the Spokane City Council is District 1, which includes much of downtown and the northeast neighborhoods. Incumbent Councilmember Jonthan Bingle, who represents the area and conservative minority with Councilmember Michael Cathcart, led the race Tuesday night with 50.98% of all votes.

Progressive challenger Sarah Dixit secured 48.32% of the votes counted on Tuesday. If she can close the gap with the remaining ballots by Nov. 27, her win would cut the conservative minority in half.

Meanwhile, two candidates went head-to-head to replace interim Councilmember Shelby Lambdin in District 2; the council appointed Lambdin after former Councilmember Lili Navarrete resigned in June.

Kate Telis, a former prosecutor who aligns with the council majority, was leading the race in District 2 as of Tuesday night over Alejandro Barrientos. She appears to have secured 60.66% of the vote so far, while Barrientos, who aligns more with the council minority, trailed significantly with only 38.32%.

The race in District 3 also gained a lot of attention leading up to Tuesday as incumbent Councilmember Zack Zappone faces conservative challenger Christoper Savage. Zappone led the primaries by a wide margin, but that gap narrowed to 54.52% of the vote on Tuesday, while Savage trailed at 45.05%.

If Savage and Barrientos close the gap between them, Telis and Zappone, it would expand the council minority if Bingle wins as well. When it comes to the Spokane Municipal Court, Assistant City Attorney Lyden Smithson is facing incumbent Judge Mary Logan for control over the city's Community Court.

Logan led the race on Tuesday with 60.69% of the vote, while Smithson trailed with 38.73%.

Judge Krisitin O’Sullivan ran unopposed this year, as incumbent Judge Gloria Ochoa-Bruck faced Sarah Freedman, a former prosecutor like Telis endorsed by the Spokane County Democrats. Ochoa-Bruck held the lead on Tuesday, with 73.56% of the vote, while Freedman had secured only 25.49% so far.

Spokane Valley City Council

Councilmember Rod Higgins’ seat is the first up for grabs in the city of Spokane Valley. Two Republican-aligned candidates, Kris Pockell and Mike Kelly, are facing off after both fell short in bids for the state senate last fall. Kelly led the race in the Valley as of Tuesday night, with 57.95% of the vote over Pockell.

Incumbent Councilmember Ben Wick led the race for his position against Daryl Williams on Tuesday night, with 67.18% of the vote. Williams is one of three candidates on the Common Sense Coalition, led by Councilmember Al Merkel, who voters elected in 2023 and is frequently at odds with his colleagues.

Mayor Pam Haley, another council member who her peers tagged to lead the dais, is also facing one of Merkel’s candidates. Catherine Nelson trailed Tuesday after Haley secured 55.58% of the vote, but the county still has more ballots to count, so Nelson may be able to close the margin between the two.

The last race in Spokane Valley is between incumbent Councilmember Laura Padden and Brad Hohn.

Hohn also represents the Common Sense Coalition, but Padden led Tuesday with 61.95% of the vote.

According to Spokane County Elections, there are still approximately 22,000 ballots left to count. The county will release another round of results sometime on Wednesday.