BELLINGHAM - Mayor Dan Pike sounded a bit less optimistic after the latest ballot count in his reelection battle against Kelli Linville on Wednesday, Nov. 9
The numbers didn't move much. Former state legislator Linville increased her lead over Pike by 35 votes, for a total of 423, although Pike's percentage of the vote total did increase by about one-tenth of 1 percent.
Pike said he isn't ready to concede. He acknowledged that the latest vote count didn't do much to improve his prospects. He also expressed frustration at the pace of the tally.
"It obviously makes the hill a little harder to climb," Pike said. "I was hoping for some clarity tonight and I didn't get any."
Linville said she too wants to see more votes counted before she's ready to claim a place in history as Bellingham's first woman mayor.
Thousands of ballots remain to be counted, but it was not clear how many of those ballots are from the city.
"I wish I knew how many votes are left to count in the city," Linville said, adding, "I'm very happy gaining votes."
The 2011 mayor's race was a showdown that featured two compelling candidates. Pike rallied state and local environmental groups to his cause by outspoken opposition to the Gateway Pacific coal and cargo terminal project. Linville had wide name recognition as well as broad support owing to years of service as a Democratic state representative from the 42nd District. The two emerged from the August primary with Pike holding a 28-vote lead over Linville.
Pike and his environmental supporters repeatedly accused Linville of fence-sitting on the emotionally charged Gateway Pacific issue. That angered Linville and her supporters, who accused Pike of doing an about-face on the issue after he realized how upset many city residents were about the coal trains that would rumble through town on their way to the pier at Cherry Point.
Linville said her own position had never changed: She opposed the export of coal and the construction of a single-purpose coal port.
There were other issues that the coal train uproar often seemed to overshadow:
- Financial stewardship: Pike noted that the city's bond rating had improved on his watch. Linville complained that the city spent millions in cash reserves to cover revenue shortfalls.
- Waterfront redevelopment: Pike said he had pushed the Port of Bellingham to agree to a strategy that would be better for downtown Bellingham, while Linville said his actions had slowed the pace of progress. She also criticized the city's acquisition of a polluted piece of waterfront land that once was home to a wood treatment plant.
- Chuckanut Ridge: Pike said the city's purchase of the 82-acre wooded south side site ended decades of strife over its potential development, but Linville said his administration should not have completed the $8.2 million purchase without a fresh appraisal and review by the parks and Greenways commissions.
Pike also acknowledged that his move to adopt red light cameras probably cost him support. A citizen advisory vote on a measure opposing the cameras got 65 percent support, according to preliminary vote totals.
