UPDATE: Council Opponents Asher and Hart Lob Charges After Primary

UPDATE: Vote totals released Wednesday afternoon by King County Elections show no significant change in those released Tuesday night, although newcomer Jason Gardiner slightly widened his lead over city council incumbent Bob Sternoff. With 21.73 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary counted, Gardiner captured 47.87 percent of the Position 2 vote to Sternoff's 45.87. In the city council Position 6 race, incumbent Dave Asher strengthened his lead, taking 52.08 percent of the vote compared to 25.89 percent for James Hart and 21.48 percent for Martin Morgan. Patch will continue to update the results as more totals are released. 

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Early returns in Tuesday’s primary election were barely in before two likely opponents in November’s general election for Kirkland City Council were taking shots at each other.

Position 6 incumbent Dave Asher grabbed 51.3 percent of the primary’s early count (17.8 percent of the votes tallied) compared to challenger James Hart’s 26.8 percent.

But Wednesday morning Asher announced in a press release that he was “annoyed that (his) opponent had not done his homework,” referring to Hart.

“He mistakenly proclaims that I support the ‘Head Tax,’ and he raises the issue that the city needs help to ‘live within its means.’ In lobbing out unsubstantiated accusations, Mr. Hart demonstrates he has not done his homework; nor does he do justice to the very hard work and thoughtful approach that the City Council has taken over many years of budget reductions and fiscal stress.” Asher said. “First, I've voted and spoken out against the "Head Tax;" and, second, Kirkland just got its AAA rating reaffirmed within a week of the federal government’s downgrade."

Hart did not hesitate to enter the fray, saying he was pleased with the early returns and adding in a press release: “The voters of Kirkland deserve a spirited contest and I look forward to contrasting my record of business ownership and fiscal discipline with my opponent's tax and spend history.”

The third candidate on the ballot for the council’s Position 6 seat, Martin Morgan, took 21.1 percent of the early return total and cannot yet be counted out. More vote totals are scheduled to be announced Wednesday afternoon by King County Elections. The top two vote-getters in the primary move on to the Nov. 8 general election.

Asher acknowledge that while he was pleased to take a majority in the early count, it was too close to the 50-percent threshold for him to feel comfortable.

"I need to spend significantly more time with Kirkland voters to ensure I have a good understanding of their current concerns and aspirations, firsthand,” he said.

Hart said that if all those who voted against Asher in the primary coalesced behind his campaign, the race could be very close.

“While the ballots have not been fully counted, I am heartened to be moving to the general election, and thank all citizens who participated in this important election," he said.

Meantime, the biggest surprise in the early totals of the primary was city council Postion 2 challenger Jason Gardner’s lead over incumbent Bob Sternoff, 47.2 percent to 46.2 percent.

The two were all but certain to face each other in the general election anyway, since the third candidate on the primary ballot, Chuck Hinson, had long since dropped out of the race. 

But for a newcomer with no previous campaign experience to jump ahead of a sitting council member might well mean Sternoff has some work to do -- barring a significant change in the count when more results are announced.

Sternoff said Wednesday he thought low voter turnout due to the summer timing of the primary might have affected the outcome so far.

"I think a lot of people were waiting for general election," he said. "We're going to discuss the issues that are important to all of Kirkland. We're just moving on with the campaign and looking forward to it."

Gardiner said he was pleased with his showing and ready to get to work on his campaign for the general election.

"I am excited to have had such a good showing so far in the primary and from the support of the people in Kirkland," he said. "I know the hard part starts now for the general campaign."

One other city council race will be on the general election ballot, the Position 4 seat held by Jessica Greenway. She is being challenged by former state legislator Toby Nixon in what could be a a hard-fought race. Since they are the only two candidates for Positon 4, the race was not on the primary ballot.

Patch will update the returns when more are posted by King County Elections.

Here are the responses by the city council candidates to Patch’s candidate questionnaire. Hinson had dropped out of the race and was not asked for a response. Martin Morgan did not respond to Patch’s request.

Position 2

Jason Gardiner

Bob Sternoff

Positon 4

Jessica Greenway

Toby Nixon

Position 6

Dave Asher

James Hart