Come Nov. 3, incumbent Elizabeth Albertson will likely face off against challenger Geoff Koepp for a seat on the Kent City Council.
As of Aug. 24, in the race for Council Position No. 6, Albertson had 41.73 percent of the vote, Koepp 33.34 percent and Barbara Phillips 24.61 percent, of the ballots counted by the King County Elections Office.
“I’m happy so many people in the city of Kent put faith in me again,” Albertson said Wednesday.
Voters elected Albertson in 2005 to a four-year term on the Council. That term expires the end of this year.
Koepp, 38, a financial planner in Bellevue for Ameriprise Financial, appears to have enough votes to advance to the general election in his first run for public office. Only the top two candidates advance to the November general election.
“It looks like so far I’m in second and that’s good because that’s where I need to be,” Koepp said in a phone interview Wednesday. “This is my first time through this and it’s pretty exciting.”
Koepp said he plans to focus his campaign over the next couple of months to bring more jobs to Kent.
“I’m trying to make the city more job friendly,” said Koepp, who wants improvements to speed up the city’s permit process.
Albertson, 47, who does not work outside of the part-time Council position, plans to emphasize her experience when she campaigns door-to-door.
“My experience on the Council is what is needed in Kent,” Albertson said. “We have economic challenges and my experience working on the budget is the key.”
Albertson currently serves on the Council’s Parks and Human Services Committee.
Council President Debbie Raplee removed Albertson earlier this month as a member and chairman of the Planning and Economic Development Committee.
“She has personal issues she needs to work with and she doesn’t have the time commitment to do it all,” Raplee said of her decision to remove Albertson from the Planning and Economic Development Committee, in a phone interview Wednesday.
Albertson said she has a close aunt with cancer and that has taken up a lot of her time. Albertson’s husband also has cancer. She lost her mother to cancer last November.
Both Koepp and Albertson want to pick up the voters who put in their bid for Phillips.
“I hope I can get that support,” Koepp said. “I think it depends on whether she and Elizabeth work together.”
Koepp said he does not really know Phillips. But Phillips knows Albertson because Phillips has served for two years on the city’s Land Use and Planning Board.
“I think a lot of folks who supported Barbara have a good chance of supporting me,” Albertson said.
Phillips did not return phone messages Wednesday for comments on the primary results.
King County Election officials plan to post updated results at 4:30 p.m. each weekday through Sept. 1 with the final tallies to be released Sept. 2.
Other Kent races on the Nov. 3 ballot include challenger Jim Berrios running against incumbent Suzette Cooke for mayor; and Dennis Higgins against Dana Ralph for Council Position No. 4 to replace Tim Clark. Clark opted to run for the Kent School Board rather than seek another Council term. Councilwoman Jamie Danielson is running unopposed.
Primary results as of Aug. 24
Kent City Council:
Elizabeth Albertson 3584 votes, 41.73 percent
Geoff Koepp 2864 votes, 33.34 percent
Barbara Phillips 2114 votes, 24.61 percent
For more election results, go to www.kingcounty.gov/elections
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