Council President
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Stuckart (N) | 19,643 | 63.63% |
| John Ahern | 11,227 | 36.37% |
* 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.
The Candidates
Ben Stuckart
- Party:
- No party
- Age:
- 52
- City:
- Spokane, WA
Why running: “I’ve seen a lot of great things happen, I also see a lot of challenges. I want to continue working for the citizens of Spokane,” Stuckart said. “I think I’ve been very effective as a council president and we’ve done a lot of great programs, but I want to see some of them to the finish.”
His pitch: Stuckart said he believes he’s the best candidate to address the city’s housing crisis, which he believes is the root of the homelessness issue.
He also points to his accomplishments as the city’s legislative leader for nearly eight years and the city’s continued economic growth.
Political experience: Served two terms as City Council president.
Work experience: Former executive director of Communities in Schools of Spokane County. Former regional manager at TicketsWest, 2001 to 2007. Spokesman for the 2010 campaign in support of the Children’s Investment Fund initiative, which voters rejected.
Education: Graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 1990. Earned bachelor’s degree in political science from Gonzaga University in 2000 and master’s degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University in 2006.
Family: Married. Has no children.
John Ahern
- Age:
- 89
- Occupation:
- Business owner, former Washington Representative
His Words: “I’d be glad to give you a full blown interview after I win the election. Like a colleague of mine said to me in the House, he pulled me aside and said, ‘Ahern, what you don’t say can’t hurt you.’”
His Pitch: According to what Ahern has said at open forum during Spokane City Council meetings, under Stuckart the City Council has lunged to the left, making the city undesirable for businesses and unsafe for citizens. As the council’s leader, Ahern would outlaw marijuana and move to clamp down on immigrants who are in Spokane illegally.
Notable Experience: Former Republican legislator who served five terms in the House of Representatives between 2001 and 2012. Unsuccessfully challenged Councilman Jon Snyder in 2013, when he won 35 percent of the vote. Long-time owner of Janco products.
Education: Graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. Earned bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Denver.
Neighborhood: Comstock
Complete Coverage
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Spokane City Council limits participation in weekly public forums
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Spokane law erasing some marijuana convictions to go into effect without mayor’s signature
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Mayor’s choice for investigator scuttled
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Spokane will vacate marijuana possession convictions
Anyone guilty of a misdemeanor possession of marijuana charge in the city of Spokane will soon be able to have the conviction removed from their criminal record. The Spokane City Council voted 6-0 on Tuesday to allow those convictions to be vacated.
Sunday Spin2: Some campaign tactics to rethink
The 2015 election won’t set any records, but it may have provided us with a few tactics which future campaigns might want to avoid.
Spokane’s cell tower moratorium ends with stricter rules
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For more than a generation, Spokane city politics divided mainly on geographic lines. Tuesday’s election suggests those lines may be disappearing and new coalitions are redrawing the electoral maps.
Mapping the vote: Spokane Council president
Ben Stuckart was re-elected as Spokane City Council president Tuesday, beating challenger John Ahern in all but one of the city’s precincts.
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The city has been without a planning director since Scott Chesney was ousted last November.