After the top candidates held their leads, it appears Pierce County voters have decided on a new sheriff and county executive.
In the race for county executive, Democrat Ryan Mello leads Republican challenger Kelly Chambers, who currently serves as a state representative for the 25th district, by 2.5 percentage points. Mello is the current chair for the Pierce County Council.
Republican Bruce Dammeier has served as executive since 2016 and will reach his term limit at the end of the year.
Since last week, Mello has maintained 51% of the vote to Chambers’ 48%. As of Friday, there were 10,000 ballots left to count. The election results will be certified on Nov. 26.
In the Pierce County Sheriff's race, newcomer Keith Swank's lead over longtime department veteran Patti Jackson shrunk, but he remains ahead. Swank is leading Jackson by 2.1 percentage points, down from 3 percentage points.
Current Sheriff Ed Troyer declined to run for re-election and endorsed Jackson.
The Tacoma News Tribune is reporting that Swank, a retired Seattle police captain, has defeated Jackson.
Swank is assembling a leadership team from within the department and plans to appoint Lieutenant Cynthia Fajardo as undersheriff — she ran for sheriff and came in third in the August primary.
Swank told the Tribune that he will treat everyone with dignity and respect. He also said the department will crack down on crime.
Swank has stood by his social media posts that mocked transgender people and declared that Democrats “hated the American people.”
Jackson's campaign focused on policy and collaboration, pitching herself as the pragmatic candidate. She told the Tribune she had no comment on her plans after Swank takes over as sheriff. He said he hoped she'd stay with the agency.
