Reporter Staff
The general election showdowns in November for Kent mayor and three City Council positions are set.
Current council members Jim Berrios and Dana Ralph will clash in the mayor’s race on the Nov. 7 ballot. The winner will replace Suzette Cooke, who decided not to seek reelection after 12 years on the job.
Berrios won the Aug. 1 primary with 39 percent (5,865 votes), according to King County Elections results through Tuesday. Ralph had 33 percent (4,971) followed by Elizabeth Albertson at 19.5 percent (2,935) and Andrew Swansen at 8 percent (1,209).
Satwinder Kaur and Paul Addis will face off for Council Position No. 2 to replace Berrios, whose term ends in December. Kaur won the primary with 44.6 percent (6,450 votes). Addis had 25.4 percent (3,667) followed by Jeff Piecewicz at 20.6 percent (2,980) and Elizabeth T. Peang at 9.1 percent (1,322).
Kaur, who worked as an executive assistant with the Kent City Council in 2012 and 2013, works as an information technology professional for a large IT firm. Addis is a U.S. Army veteran and a senior business analyst at Alaska Airlines.
Council Position No. 4 will be between Toni Troutner and Tye Whitfield. The winner will replace Dennis Higgins, who decided not to seek re-election. Troutner received 47.7 percent (6,752) votes in the primary. Whitfield had 29.4 percent (4,165). Ronald Johnson finished third at 22.6 percent (3,197).
Troutner, a market research analyst with a small Kent business, lost a close council race to Brenda Fincher in 2015. Whitfield is a small business owner, community advocate and nonprofit director.
The third council race on the general election ballot will be the incumbent Fincher against challenger Russ Hanscom for Position No. 6. They are the only two candidates in the race and did not appear on the primary ballot. The council appointed Fincher to a seat in 2014 to replace Ken Sharp, who resigned. Hanscom recently resigned from the Kent School Board. Hanscom lost a council race in 2005 to Albertson.
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