In the tight race for Tacoma mayor, City Coucilwoman Marilyn Strickland‘s lead over architect Jim Merritt grew by 252 votes in the latest ballot counts reported Thursday evening.

Strickland’s advantage now stands at 369 votes — more than 1.5 percent of total ballots cast — with more than 23,500 votes counted.  Thursday’s ballot drop included more than 3,400 new votes added to the total.

There are still likely thousands of votes remaining to be counted, based on recent city elections. In the last mayor’s race in 2005, more than 39,000 votes were counted.

The Pierce County Auditor’s Office expects to …

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The oh-so-tight race for Tacoma mayor has just gotten tighter.

Jim Merritt gained 54 votes in the latest round of about 3,600 ballots counted and posted by the Pierce County Auditor’s Office.

Overall, Marilyn Strickland still holds a 117-vote advantage, with more than 20,100 votes counted.

If the past mayoral contest is an indicator, there still remains thousands of ballots to be counted. In 2005, more than 39,000 ballots were counted in the mayor’s race.

The auditor’s next ballot update is expected tomorrow at 5 p.m. Here’s where the results stand as of Wednesday evening.

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On one side, the campaign manager of Tacoma mayoral candidate Jim Merritt claims an Election Night spat turned physical and had her fearing for her safety until a Pierce County Council member stepped in to defend her.

On the other side, the chairman of the Tacoma Housing Authority Commission who supported Merritt’s opponent, Marilyn Strickland, dismissed the dispute as little more than verbal “sparring.”

Regardless, something went down between Merritt campaign manager Ronnie Bush and Strickland supporter Ken Miller at the Pierce County Election Center late Tuesday.

Both well-known area political figures were among a crowd gathered to find out the latest elections results for the mayor’s race, which remains too close to call.

Neither Bush nor Miller wanted to talk about the encounter Wednesday, but when pressed by a reporter, each gave conflicting versions of events.
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UPDATE: The midnight ballot drop is in (finally — only a half-hour late), and the mayor’s race remains tight.

With another roughly 1,200 ballots counted, the latest results have Strickland still clinging to the lead.

In all, she’s ahead of Merritt by 178 votes (out of more than 15,300 counted).  Strickland picked up an additional 45 votes in the latest tally.

We’ll be back posting bright and early in the daylight hours.  Good night Tacoma!

ORIGINAL POST:

I just spoke by phone with the Tacoma mayoral candidates, both of whom remain optimistic after the latest ballot drop. …

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With the second batch of ballots counted and posted, the race for Tacoma mayor is still too close to call.

Marilyn Strickland holds a wafer thin lead — just 133 votes — over Jim Merritt.  If past election trends hold true, there are still more than half of the ballots remaining to be counted.

Stick a fork in the other muncipal races.

Victoria Woodards easily extinguished firefighter Keven Rojecki.

Marty Campbell coasted to victory over Roxanne Murphy.

And in the battle of (last) name recognition, Joe Lonergan beat Beckie Summers Kirby.

(Oh yeah: unopposed Councilman Jake Fey won, too).

Here are the latest results posted by the Pierce County Auditor:
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If you needed any further proof that a law cited in an illegal mailer distributed late last week in the Tacoma mayor’s race doesn’t apply to candidate Jim Merritt (as the mailer claims it does), two lawyers — including the attorney representing the development at the heart of the issue — told me separately today that it does not.

“Of course, it doesn’t apply to someone who hasn’t been elected,” said Aaron Laing, who represents Northshore Investors, LLC.

“It doesn’t mean anything until you’re elected,” added David Bricklin, a noted Seattle land use attorney, who is not involved in the matter.

But Laing added that doesn’t mean Merritt isn’t putting the city at risk of a lawsuit if he — or any other would-be or current city council member — doesn’t properly follow other relevant laws when ultimately voting on the land-use issue.

“We reserve the right to challenge any council member or would-be council-member who would ignore due process rights or property rights when making a decision,”  Laing said.
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(*At least according to readily available campaign finance records.)

The latest campaign contribution filings by Tacoma mayoral candidates Marilyn Strickland and Jim Merritt show that collectively, the candidates have broken the $290,000 mark heading into Election Day.

Specifically, Strickland has garnered $146,237.38 ($118k in cash, $99k spent) to Merritt’s $144,250.96 ($118k cash, $126k spent).

The figures could mean that this is the most expensive Tacoma mayoral race in city history.

I say “could” because campaign finance records on the Public Disclosure Commission‘s Web site only go back to 2001.  Detailed campaign contribution reports of any race prior to that consist of paper records that are archived by the Olympia-based commission.
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Jim Merritt’s campaign is fuming over an apparently illegal direct-mail political advertisement that showed up in the mailboxes of Northeast Tacoma homes today.

“This is one of the rottenest hit pieces I’ve ever seen,” said Merritt campaign manager Ronnie Bush.

I just got off the phone with Marilyn Strickland, who said she knew nothing about the ad and that it didn’t come from her campaign.

The mailer claims that because Merritt has already publicly stated his position against a controversial housing development planned for the North Shore golf course, he won’t be able to cast a vote on the issue if he’s elected.

“If Jim Merritt is Mayor, the developer will challenge his `objectivity’ and Mr. Merritt will be removed from the hearing,” the mailer states. “He’ll lose his voice, and his vote.

“Why? Because Mr. Merritt keeps stating his opinion, and so he’ll be considered `prejudiced’ when the Council hears the case.”

The ad cites the “appearance of fairness doctrine” as the governing law on the issue. The law precludes members of decision-making bodies from publicly staking a position on land use decisions before such issues are officially considered.

The development, which has been challenged by a citizens’ group representing hundreds or Northeast Tacoma residents, is now before a city hearing examiner. Ultimately, the hearing examiner’s decision will go before the city council.

Bush claims that she’s checked with an attorney, who has told her that the mailer’s claims are false — Merritt could vote on the issue. A relevant part of state law appears to back up her claim (as does Strickland herself).
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