By Kris Hill and Katherine Smith
The first returns from Black Diamond shows a sweep of candidates running on the platform of controlling the growth and working for new solutions.
In Covington one incumbent, Dave Lucavish, was losing to challenger Joseph Cimaomo, Jr., while other sitting council members were running either unopposed or tallied early leads.
BLACK DIAMOND MAYORAL RACE
Dave Gordon was beating incumbent Mayor Rebecca Olness with nearly 71 percent of the vote in the first round of ballots counted Tuesday.
The two YarrowBay master planned developments that would add 6,000 homes to the community of about 5,000 people have been contentious issues in the city and has galvanized a political movement that appears to have placed Gordon in the mayor’s seat along with a trio of City Council candidates.
Incumbent Mayor Rebecca Olness has lived on Lake Sawyer for nearly 40 years, has a masters degree in education from the University of Washington, and worked for the Kent School District for more than 30 years. She was first elected to the Black Diamond City Council in 2005 and was elected to her first term as mayor in 2009.
Challenger and political newcomer Dave Gordon moved to Black Diamond about seven years ago. Gordon designs and builds computers that monitor flight testing for Boeing.
BLACK DIAMOND CITY COUNCIL
In Black Diamond City Council races Bill Roth and Erika Morgan competed for position No. 2 which is currently held by Craig Goodwin who didn’t run for re-election.
Morgan took a considerable lead with 66.99 percent, or 552 votes, over Roth in the first round of ballots counted.
Roth moved to Washington in late 1991 from California and lived on the Eastside before moving to Black Diamond and is a career businessman and has worked in sales, sales management, distribution management as well as marketing and budgeting.
Morgan has lived in Black Diamond for 35 and has a masters degree in medical laboratory science and a bachelor of science in ecology. Morgan was vice president of MORPAC and also worked as a medical scientist.
Shawn Oglesbee challenged incumbent Carol Benson for position No. 4, to which Benson was appointed in 2012 after the seat was vacated.
Benson tallied a 70.30 percent lead with 580 votes Tuesday night.
Oglesbee moved to Black Diamond with his family in 2007 and works as a project manager in construction and is an Army veteran.
Benson has lived in Black Diamond for 34 years and during her career worked as a chief financial officer with experience in finance and development.
Patrick Nelson ran against incumbent Janie Edelman for position No. 3. Edelman was appointed to the council in March to fill a vacated seat.
Edelman had a commanding lead of 76.11 percent over Nelson after the first round of votes were tallied.
Nelson was raised in Kent and lived there until 10 years ago when he and his wife decided to move to Black Diamond. Nelson works in sales for Smith Brothers Dairy.
Edelman grew up in Bellevue and spent 19 years at Boeing, working her way up from a secretarial position to serving as a manger. After retiring Edelman and her husband traveled and decided to moved to Lake Sawyer 24 years ago.
MAPLE VALLEY
In Maple Valley’s lone contested race, incumbent Victoria Laise Jonas led with 53.36 percent over challenger Leslie Burberry.
Originally from Lexington, Ky., Burberry grew up on a horse and tobacco farm and attended Cincinnati Christian University. He and his wife, Patricia, have six children ranging in age from 9 to 25, three of whom currently attend Tahoma schools. Burberry is a regional sales manager for AAA, a position he has been in for the past five and a half years.
Jonas has been on the Maple Valley City Council since 1999, and has lived in South King County her entire life. She graduated from Renton High School and studied at a local community college. She worked for the human resources department of the Seattle Police Department before retiring in 2007.
Bill Allison ran unopposed for position No. 2 and Erin Weaver ran unopposed for position No. 4.
COVINGTON
Joseph Cimaomo, Jr., was out to an early lead over incumbent Dave Lucavish in a Covington City Council race, tallying 56.49 percent, or 853 votes for Position No. 4.
Lucavish has served on the City Council since 2008. Lucavish moved to Covington in 1997. Cimaomo, who is originally from California, moved with his family to Kent in 1992 then into the Covington area in 1999.
Both work in retail. Lucavish owns a computer shop which he started in 1997. In March he moved the business into Covington from Kent. Cimaomo is a manager at Big Lots!
Jim Scott had a commanding early advantage over challenger Zbigniew George Tomalik, with 83.34 percent, or 1,271 votes for Position No. 6.
Scott, who has been on the council since 2006, for Position No. 6. Scott, who is seeking his second full term, has worked in the investment arena for 28 years.
Tomalik grew up in Poland then came to the region when he was 17 and bought his first home in Covington in 1983. He is the vice president of a small division — a 10-person outfit in Kent — of a French company.
Mark Lanza, who works for the Kent School District, is running opposed for Position No. 2. He has served three terms on the Covington City Council.
Covington’s transportation benefit district sales tax, which needs a simple majority, garnered 48.36 percent approval with 825 votes while 881 voters, or 51.64 percent, voted against the proposed special taxing district which would have allowed the city to increase the sales tax from 8.6 percent to 8.8 percent.
OTHER RESULTS
In the race for King County Council District 5, which includes Covington, Maple Valley and Black Diamond, incumbent Reagan Dunn was out to a lead over Shari Song, garnering 16,763 votes or 57.97 percent while Song tallied 41.78 percent.
Meanwhile, Mountain View Fire’s tax levy garnered 58.35 percent of the vote in early returns, but needs a supermajority or 60 percent for approval. Mountain View Fire currently collects $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. If the levy is approved, the additional maximum tax is estimated to be no more than $31 more a year or $2.58 a month for $100,000 assessed valuation.
Editor Dennis Box contributed to this report.
