by Mary Rupert
Mayor Mark Holland was surrounded at his watch party tonight at the Mason Jar restaurant with a group of happy campaigners.
“We’re very excited about the outcome,” Mayor Holland said, who had about 40 percent of the five-way vote. “It’s a big win. We have our work cut out for us for the general election.”
Holland’s lead was big enough that he will almost certainly be declared the primary winner after an unknown number of mail-in ballots are counted on Friday. Then the votes will be certified on Monday. Holland, with 5,380 votes on Tuesday night, was more than 1,100 votes ahead of challenger David Alvey, who had 4,263 votes, and David Haley had another 2,474 votes.
Holland said it was his fourth time running county-wide – he won the first one by only 13 votes.
“So maybe we are getting better,” Holland said.
David Alvey, at his campaign headquarters on North 6th Street, said, “We are very excited to be moving on, and we look forward to bringing the debate.
“We intend to expose Mayor Holland’s narrative that everything is well and growing in the county,” Alvey said. “We have to take care of our residents all across the county, it’s not just about development out west.”
David Haley, at his campaign watch party at Gates restaurant at 10th and State Avenue, was still waiting for the final numbers to come in when he said that his campaign was all about shifting the focus to other parts of Wyandotte County.
“Whatever the outcome, we believe that either of the status quos, Mr. Holland or Mr. Alvey, should build small businesses in other parts of our county, and immediately. That is our focus,” Haley said.
The unofficial results on Tuesday night showed a 17.5 percent voter turnout, with 13,484 votes cast.
The general election is Nov. 7.
Primary election results, unofficial results
With 13,484 votes cast, 17.5 percent of registered voters
All precincts are in; some mail-in ballots have not yet been counted.
UG Mayor- Chief Executive Officer
David Alvey 4,263 votes, 31.76 percent
David Haley 2,474 votes, 18.43 percent
Mark R. Holland, incumbent 5,380 votes, 40.09 percent
D. Keith Jordan 319 votes, 2.38 percent
Janice Grant Witt 985 votes, 7.34 percent
UG Commissioner, 5th District
John T. Fotovich, 436 votes, 11.23 percent
Mike Kane, incumbent 2,276 votes, 58.60 percent
Sarah Kremer, 1,172 votes, 30.18 percent
UG Commissioner, 7th District
George Cooper, 453 votes, 28 percent
Jim A. Gibson, 410 votes, 25.34 percent
Jim Walters, incumbent 755 votes, 46.6 percent
UG Commissioner, 8th District
Brad Isnard, 279 votes, 14.79 percent
Kendon McClaine, 560 votes, 29.69 percent
Jane W. Philbrook, incumbent, 1,047 votes, 55.51 percent
Sheriff
Donald Ash, incumbent 6,507 votes, 50.21 percent
Charles W. Bunnell, 671 votes, 5.18 percent
Marvin L. Main, 1,220 votes, 9.41 percent
Celisha Towers, 2,806 votes, 21.65 percent
Victor Webb, 1,755 votes, 13.54 percent
BPU member, position 1, at-large
Kevin Braun, 1,994 votes, 17.13 percent
Mary Gonzales, incumbent, 5,738 votes, 49.29 percent
Bryan Messmer, 2,010 votes, 17.27 percent
Nikole C. Owens, 1,899 votes, 16.31 percent