Mayor
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Mary B. Verner (D) | 20,377 | 59.35% |
| David A. Condon | 11,511 | 33.53% |
| Michael J. Noder | 1,205 | 3.51% |
| Barbara Lampert | 859 | 2.50% |
| Robert A. Kroboth | 380 | 1.11% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
About the Race
Spokane is Washington state’s second-largest city and the economic hub of the growing Inland Northwest. The city employs about 2,000 people and spends about $600 million annually. The mayor serves as the city’s chief executive, overseeing all day-to-day operations at City Hall but must work with the seven-member city council on annual budgets and certain hiring decisions. The nonpartisan position pays about $170,000 per year plus healthcare and retirement benefits. The term is four years.
Featured Candidates
Mary B. Verner
- Party:
- Democratic
- Age:
- 68
- City:
- Spokane, WA
Education: Graduated from Houston Academy in Dothan, Alabama, in 1973. Earned bachelor's degree in medical anthropology from Davidson College in 1988, master's degree in environmental studies from Yale University in 1992 and law degree from Gonzaga University in 1992.
Political experience: Appointed Deputy for Wildfire & Administration at Washington Department of Natural Resources in 2013 and continues in that role. Served as the mayor of Spokane from 2007-2011 and Spokane city councilwoman from 2004 to 2007. Member and past chairwoman of City of DuPont Tree Board and the DuPont Heirloom Orchard Committee. Member of the Board of National Institute of Building Sciences.
Work experience: Interim CEO, Spokane Tribe Enterprises from 2012 until 2013. Executive Director of the Upper Columbia United Tribes from 2002-2007. Served as director of natural resources for the Spokane Tribe of Indians for about 10 years. Adjunct professor at Whitworth University
Family: Single. Grown daughter and 18-year-old son. Two grandchildren.
David A. Condon
- Age:
- 50
- Occupation:
- Incumbent mayor
His Words: “We have now for two years developed budgets that didn’t require reductions. Last year we added more police officers. We are looking at doing things smarter, not only our accountability standards and performance measures, but also at how we do economic development.”
His Pitch: As mayor, Condon has overseen falling crime rates, an increase in median household income and a steadying of the city’s finances. Also under his watch, the city cut $150 million off the plan that will significantly reduce pollution from entering the river, which helped prevent significant utility bill increases. Voters also approved a 20-year street levy and $64 million bond to revamp Riverfront Park.
Notable Experience: Incumbent mayor. Former district director and deputy chief of staff for Republican U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers from 2005 until 2011. Served in U.S. Army from 1996 through 2005, including as a company commander at a combat support hospital.
Education: Graduated from Gonzaga Prep in 1992. Earned bachelor’s degree in finance from Boston College in 1996.
Neighborhood: Comstock
Complete Coverage
From rhetoric to reality: Mayor-elect faces challenges
And now comes the hard part: governing. David Condon made a spectacular comeback in his bid to become the mayor of Washington’s second largest city.
Doug Clark: Condon, put your pull where your rhetoric was
We’re still weeks away from that familiar moment when Spokane’s next one-term mayor will slide behind the desk in that spiffy City Hall office with a view. Although quite frankly, if Mary Verner keeps refusing to concede last Tuesday’s election, David Condon may have to call for an eviction.
Shogan aside draws protest
After years of frustration over Spokane City Council President Joe Shogan’s temper, a majority of council members for the first time this week engaged in a minor protest of Shogan’s behavior during a council meeting. When he leaves office at year’s end, he may be ending his tenure on a sour note.
It’s now Spokane Mayor-Elect Condon
David Condon, the former deputy chief of staff of Republican U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, claimed enough votes on Thursday to make any last-minute, shocking comeback by Mayor Mary Verner unrealistic.
Incumbents slide, try to explain shift
Many of those elected Tuesday to serve in Spokane City Hall were the most outspoken ahead of the election that Proposition 1 would doom the economy. But the same electorate that chose those candidates also decided to give Proposition 1 – the Community Bill of Rights – a fighting chance. The ballot measure is still too close to call, although it lost ground in counting on Wednesday.
Doug Clark: Thank Mayor Bair for the one-term curse
Now comes that post-election moment for rationally minded pundits to scientifically pick apart how David Condon, a political upstart, made up a Goliath-size disadvantage to knock off a sitting Spokane mayor Tuesday night. Remember the August primary?
Health district funds chopped 8.7 percent
Local public health officials voted Wednesday to cut 8.7 percent from the Spokane Regional Health District’s budget for next year. The move, announced last month, included several layoffs and changes to programs that help babies and children receive care for birth defects and other special needs.
Many candidates, issues familiar from past ballots
Washington voters checking their ballots this weekend for the first time may feel a sense of déjà vu. They voted last year on proposals to get the state out of the liquor business, and in 2008 to require more training for home health care workers. And while it isn’t immediately clear from the ballot language, the initiative on road and bridge tolls resurrects some of last year’s initiative requiring supermajorities in the Legislature.
Clark: To those who disgraced the law they swore to uphold
“Members of the Spokane Police Department will so conduct their public and private lives that they exemplify the high standards of integrity, trust, and morality demanded of a member of the Spokane Police Department.” – Canon Four of the Spokane Police Department Policy Manual Code of Ethics Might I suggest some much-needed reading?