ELECTION NIGHT: Ramos and Winterstein ahead in initial Issaquah City Council results

Published 8:47 pm Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Issaquah City Council President Paul Winterstein and council candidate Bill Ramos were ahead in initial election results Tuesday night, with Ramos taking a commanding lead and Winterstein facing a tighter squeeze.

Ramos, a self-employed traffic consultant and longtime human services commissioner — he currently serves as chair — kissed his wife and handed out a long series of hugs as he heard the results at a joint election party for himself, Winterstein and Jennifer Sutton, who was leading unopposed for council, Tuesday night.

Ramos led opponent Tim Flood with a 62.21 percent lead in a race that’s seen 3,376 votes counted so far. Flood ran on a cautious development campaign that sought to take care of infrastructure projects in Issaquah’s outlying neighborhoods before building up the Central Issaquah core.

The incumbent Winterstein faces a closer race, with a 54.06 percent lead on Christopher Reh in a race that has seen 3,289 votes counted so far. Reh joined Flood in urging slower development and, at the first council candidate forum of the election season, asserted that Issaquah needed a change.

Bill Ramos and Paul Winterstein thanked their supporters before initial election results were released. Photo by Daniel Nash.

Speaking in front of a crowd of supporters — and a who’s-who of incumbents, including Mayor Fred Butler and councilors Tola Marts, Nina Milligan, Eileen Barber and Stacy Goodman — inside the Issaquah Rogue Brewhouse before results were posted, Winterstein thanked his all the volunteers who contributed to his campaign, including Essie Hicks, councilor Goodman, councilor Marts — “a real thinker,” Winterstein said — his wife and voters.

“There is a real majority of people who enjoy and make Issaquah a part of their identity,” Winterstein said.”… I’ll either be disappointed or a lot relieved that election season is over.”

In addition to thanking his campaign volunteers, Ramos thanked firefighters union Local 2878 for their support in his campaign. Ramos said he relied on doorbelling to get out the vote, including “strange hills where people lived behind 100-yard driveways.”

“I remember when it was 90 degrees out and I was knocking on doors, coming home tired but exhilarated,” Ramos said in pre-result remarks. “All the way until it was 50 degrees out and I was knocking on doors, coming home tired and wet, but still exhilarated.”

King County Elections will continue to be updated until they are certified Nov. 24.

Jennifer Sutton, seen here checking initial results in the election, ran unopposed for a seat on the Issaquah City Council. Photo by Daniel Nash.