Kirkland annexation barely fails; council could pass it

A vote by three unincorporated neighborhoods to join the city of Kirkland failed by just 0.06 percent.

According to the final tally released by King County Elections today, 59.94 percent of residents of Finn Hill, Kingsgate and Juanita voted to annex into the city of Kirkland but were still short of the required 60 percent.

However, because more than 50 percent of the voters said yes to annexation, the Kirkland City Council still can vote to approve annexation, officials said.

The council likely will start discussing annexation at a budget meeting next week and consider whether a vote should take place this year or in January, when a new council is seated, said Mayor Jim Lauinger, who did not run for re-election.

The annexation vote included approval of a bond measure intended to spread the city's current debt on parks and fire services among the annexed residents, but according to state law redistributing the debt requires voters' approval, officials said.

The annexation would have added 33,000 residents from unincorporated King County into the city, increasing the current population to nearly 83,000. More than 10,000 residents cast votes on the proposed annexation, with 6,291 voting "yes" and 4,205 voting "no."

There is no automatic recount for ballot measures, said an election spokeswoman, but a recount can be requested within three days of certification by a group of five registered voters.

Scott Brady, who ran a Web site opposing annexation, said he was happy with the results and felt the facts about Kirkland's current budget problems appealed to voters.

But with the City Council considering voting on annexation, Brady and other organizers are discussing their next step, he said.

"We'll be there to remind the City Council that Kirkland is penniless and cutting vital services even without the cost of annexation, and that they cannot provide the service level they have advertised throughout the process," he said.

Toby Nixon, who had been helping lead the pro-annexation effort, along with other organizers, already has been talking to council members about voting to annex the neighborhoods. He said he felt there was a good chance the council will approve it.

"The annexation itself is an overwhelmingly positive vote," he said. "A 59.94 percent vote is a landslide if you're talking about a vote on the annexation itself."

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com