Tuesday night's count showed Lloyd Hara, a Port of Seattle commissioner and former King County auditor, in the lead for county assessor, but neither of his rivals was giving up. County elections officials have counted less than half the ballots they estimate were cast in today's special election for assessor.

"We are enjoying this evening's returns with friends and supporters," Hara said in statement. "We are pleased with the current trend and look forward to the final results."

His two rivals for Assessor weren't calling it quits."I'm feeling good I was able to reach so many voters running against an entrenched politician," said Robert Rosenberger, who was a close second and celebrating at Southlake Grill in Seattle's South Lake Union district. "There's still a lot of votes out there that need to be counted, and I'm optimistic the later votes may break in a more favorable direction."

Graham Albertini, who was trailing in third, was watching television with supporters at Angelo's Restaurant in Bellevue. Rosenberger and Hara outspent Albertini by a long shot.

"I guess that shows money is what makes a difference in these elections," Albertini said. Still, with so many ballots not counted, things could change when the rest of the votes are counted, he said.

Last week The Seattle Times reported Hara had kept an attached rental in his Queen Anne home without a permit and hadn't disclosed the rental income in 2005 to a state agency when he ran for Port of Seattle commissioner. Hara acknowledged these lapses and apologized to his supporters.

Albertini said he was betting that the ballots cast this week would shrink Hara's lead. "A lot of people I met said they were going to vote differently" because of the lapses, Albertini said.