Recounts set for races in 3 King County cities

Three races in King County are headed for a mandatory recount, while candidates in other close races claimed victory by thin margins after the results of the Nov. 8 general election were certified Tuesday.

Races for the Shoreline and Issaquah city councils are slated for a machine recount Friday, with certification expected by 4 p.m.

The only hand recount is in Federal Way, where Ed Barney held a 28-vote lead over Grace Rawsthorne out of more than 22,000 votes cast. Those votes will be recounted Monday and certified at 4 p.m.

Machine recounts are required by state law if one candidate leads by fewer than 2,000 votes and by less than one-half of 1 percent of votes cast. Manual recounts are done when the spread is fewer than 150 votes and one-quarter of 1 percent of votes cast.

In Issaquah, former Councilwoman Maureen McCarry led Councilman Bill Conley by 21 votes of 5,158 cast, less than one-half of 1 percent.

"With that lead, I'm pretty comfortable," said McCarry, who led by just three votes at one point after the election. "But the county hasn't said I'm the winner. They're the ones I have to rely on."

The recount Friday also will determine whether Paul Grace or Janet Way is elected to the Shoreline City Council. Way led by 59 votes when the results were certified by the King County Canvassing Board.

In Snoqualmie, Bryan Holloway prevailed over Gil Tumey in the race for a council seat. Another close race in Issaquah that pitted local retired businesswoman Eileen Barber against community activist Connie Marsh ended with Barber as the winner by 116 votes.

In Kenmore, the results seem certain to mark the end of the city's only existing cardroom, which is housed in a bowling alley, and a ban against any other cardrooms opening. All of the winning candidates — Laurie Sperry, Randy Eastwood and Allan Van Ness — pledged to ban cardrooms.

In Woodinville, an organized challenge to longtime council members was largely successful, with one who had served since the city was incorporated 12 years ago losing, and a second challenger defeating a former councilman trying to get back to City Hall.

For Position 3, challenger Hank Stecker defeated former Councilman Randy Ransom, who was mayor at one time, by 73 votes.

The one survivor to the challenges was Mayor Don Brocha, who defeated a write-in candidate by 647 votes.

Seattle Times staff reporter Keith Ervin contributed to this report.

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com.

Correction: Information in this article, originally published November 30, 2005, was corrected November 30, 2005. Janet Way held a 59-vote lead over Paul Grace in election results certified Tuesday for Shoreline City Council Position 3. An article Wednesday incorrectly reported that Grace led by 41. Results will be recounted by machine Friday.