Payne leading in Olympia mayor’s race, but upset in play in Lacey council race
Dontae Payne had a commanding lead in the race for Mayor of Olympia against David Ross, with Payne garnering two-thirds of the vote, according to early election results.
Payne had 67%, or 5,425 votes, while Ross had 32.4% or 2,626 votes. There will be more votes tallied in the coming days.
Payne, 36, lives in west Olympia and, along with being a council member, he’s a Senior Policy Advisor for Civil Rights & Racial Justice for the Office of the Governor. He’s a graduate of The Evergreen State College and an Army veteran.
Payne said he felt amazing and overwhelmed Tuesday night and that the results were a clear testament that the community feels the Olympia City Council is moving in the right direction.
He said he’s excited about the vision of some of the newly elected candidates in the community, and that representation continues to become more diverse.
“I’m very proud that after 164 years of the City of Olympia, we now have elected the first Black mayor,” he said. “And I’m very honored to serve at this particular moment.”
Ross, 53, also lives on the west side, and is a graduate of South Puget Sound Community College and Evergreen. He has a number of years of experience working in homeless outreach and case management.
Ross said he knew the race for mayor was an uphill battle. He ran once before in 2019. He said he wishes Payne all the best in doing what’s best for the city and representing it well.
Ross said he felt it was important in this campaign to speak out about issues he felt people in the Olympia community had on their minds but weren’t saying out loud. He said he’s going to continue his efforts to stay involved in local issues, but he’s not sure how. It could involve helping educate Olympians on issues he has expertise on, he said, or taking a more hands-on approach.
According to data from the Public Disclosure Commission, Payne raised $22,353, with major contributions coming from Olympia firefighters IAFF Local 468, the Thurston County Democratic Central Committee, and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund Federal PAC.
Ross raised $7,592, with major contributions from the Washington Realtors PAC and the Thurston County Republican Party.
There were two uncontested races in the Olympia City Council, for positions 2 and 3. Yến Huỳnh and Dani Madrone will continue to hold those seats, respectively.
Lacey City Council
Early returns showed incumbent Lenny Greenstein with a large lead over challenger Spencer Zeman for the Position 2 seat, capturing 59.6% of the vote to Zeman’s 42.6%.
Greenstein, who has served on the council for a dozen years, chalked up his lead to his tenure on the council and the hard work he put into the campaign.
“It comes down to the work effort and the effort that went into campaigning,” he said, adding that he doorbelled several thousand homes.
He also believes he brings a voice to the council that is not necessarily heard elsewhere on the council. Greenstein said the city develops better policy when it has multiple voices coming from different directions.
In the Position 3 race, it appears that challenger Nic Dunning may have unseated incumbent Ed Kunkel, leading him with 64.25% of the vote to Kunkel’s 35.2%.
Dunning said the results reflected the work he put into the campaign and that he refused to play politics. Instead, he wanted to be inclusive.
“I ran a campaign that tried to represent everybody,” he said.
It has been a tough campaign for Kunkel, who over the summer, along with Greenstein, was caught on video camera removing a campaign sign for Thurston County Commission Candidate Emily Clouse.
Tumwater City Council
In Tumwater, Joan Cathey is set to keep her No. 3 position on the City Council after tallying 83% of the vote Tuesday night. Her opponent, Doris Atkinson, had 16% of the vote.
It may be too close to call for position No. 7, as Andrea McGhee and Kelly Von Holtz were separated by fewer than 100 votes Tuesday night. McGhee had 48.3%, while Von Holtz had 51.3%.
McGhee served as a Tumwater School Board member starting in 2019 and is a graduate of Northwest University. Von Holtz is a member of Tumwater’s planning commission and previously served on the city’s Parks and Recreation board.
Von Holtz said she was celebrating with Olympia and Thurston County Democratic candidates on Tuesday night. She said she was celebrating with the knowledge that the numbers could change tomorrow, but that she’s happy with how things are looking considering how low voter turnout was.
Von Holtz said she’s been grateful for the number of connections she’s made throughout her campaign, and that meeting people in the community has been a highlight of the year.
“No matter the outcome, I’m a winner,” she said.
Council members Leatta Dalhoff and Angela Jefferson ran unopposed for their positions.
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