Spokane Valley City Council Position 5
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Pamela Haley | 11,414 | 54.66% |
| Catherine Nelson | 9,468 | 45.34% |
* 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.
Results by Precinct
The Candidates
Pamela Haley
- Age:
- 68
- City:
- Spokane, Washington
Education: Graduated from Central Valley High School in 1975. Graduated from Spokane Falls Community College and attended Eastern Washington University before transferring to Ashford University to complete bachelor’s degree in organizational management and master’s degree in business with an emphasis in human resources. Also earned a master’s degree in education from Capella University.
Work experience: Former manager of Valley Empire Collection. Has run day cares, including Rainbow Connection Daycare, for decades.
Political experience: Appointed to Spokane Valley City Council in 2016. Elected to the council in 2017 and 2021. Has served as mayor since 2022. Has served as a Republican precinct committee officer from 2020 to present.
Family: Married to Jim Haley.
Campaign fundraising: Has raised $1,865, as of Sept. 18, 2025, according to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. Of that, $966 are donations and $899 in loans. She has spent $216.
Catherine Nelson
- Age:
- 60
- City:
- Spokane Valley, Washington
Education: Graduated from Ingram High School in Seattle in 1983. Attended South Seattle Community College but never graduated.
Work experience: Nelson has worked as a mortgage broker for about 25 years and as a licensed Realtor for 8 years. In between those jobs, she managed two different multi-million dollar real estate investment trusts.
Political experience: First run for office
Family: Unmarried and has two children and six grandchildren.
Campaign fundraising: Agreed to raise no more than $7,000 for her campaign and is not required to report to the state Public Disclosure Commission.
Complete Coverage
Spokane Valley City Council meeting ends in argument about how to handle Yaeger’s ‘Islamophobic’ post
Spokane Valley City Council members rejected a call to issue an apology or stronger condemnation of Councilwoman Jessica Yaeger, who declared herself a “proud Islamophobe” in a Facebook post last week.
‘This is huge for us’: Coca-Cola distribution facility expansion in Spokane Valley complete
Spokane Valley’s Coca-Cola distribution facility expansion is officially complete after 16 months of construction at a final cost of $22.4 million.
Misinformation spread by City Council candidates on Sprague Avenue Preservation Project
Spokane Valley city staff has been throwing water on a fire of misinformation that started with City Council candidates Brad Hohn and Catherine Nelson this month.
Spokane Valley Mayor addresses health problems ahead of election
After months of speculation and rumors, Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley is addressing concerns about her health ahead of the November election. She faces political newcomer Catherine Nelson, who has worked as a Realtor in the Valley for nearly a decade.
Public to soon be asked to weigh in on their favorite STA CEO candidate – except there’s only one, and it’s still a secret who
Three people appear to have effectively decided earlier this month who will be the next Spokane regional public transit CEO – one of the highest-paid government jobs in the county – with essentially no public input or vetting process.
Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley takes medical leave
Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley announced Monday she has a “health issue” and is taking a “short medical leave” to recover.
One candidate for CEO of Spokane Transit Authority advances, but committee won’t say who
A candidate has been recommended to be hired as Spokane Transit Authority’s new CEO, but the four-person committee that made the recommendation won’t officially tell anyone – even other board members – who it is for the next few weeks.
The city of Spokane Valley and Councilman Al Merkel destined for court following denial of settlement offer
As the shouting match at the end of Tuesday’s city council meeting indicated, it’ll be up to the courts to put an end to the ongoing public records dispute within Spokane Valley’s city hall.
Spokane, county fling accusations of ‘toxic’ relationship as sewer showdown resurfaces amid $57 million threat
Spokane mailed a whopper of a utility bill this month: $57.4 million.
Spokane Valley City Council pulls public safety funding to cover costs of struggles with Councilman Al Merkel
The Spokane Valley City Council clawed back funding intended for public safety Tuesday to help cover the costs of the ongoing legal struggles with a member of the governing board.
Spokane County, two largest cities agree to share data, coordinate on homelessness response
The Inland Northwest took a step towards a regional, coordinated response to homelessness this week, although not to the lengths advocates once hoped.
After 2023 failure, Spokane County jurisdictions working on a more collaborative jail tax proposal for 2026
One-time opponents are coming together to try to draft a unity plan for a major investment in Spokane County’s criminal justice and behavioral health systems after a similar attempt flamed out in 2023.
With filing week over, election season in Spokane County asks if voters want to shake up their cities
Medical Lake residents will be asked whether to re-elect a mayor determined to see the city grow and further developed, or a former mayor worried growth is outpacing the city’s capacity to pay for it and could start to price out current residents.
Contests for Spokane Valley City Council shaping up (and other updates for candidate filing week)
While a couple days remain for interested candidates to throw their hats in the ring, it’s already clear the Spokane Valley City Council will look a little different next year.
Proposed Spokane Valley sales tax to boost police moves a step closer to voters
The Spokane Valley City Council Tuesday overwhelmingly shared a desire to let residents decide if they want to pay higher sales tax to support more police.
Spokane Valley passes ‘not a sanctuary city’ resolution meant to show allegiance to Trump
The Spokane Valley City Council voted Tuesday to reaffirm the municipality is “not a sanctuary city,” in what was likely the most well-attended and raucous meeting of the year.
Spokane Valley City Council considering reiterating it’s ‘not a sanctuary city’; resolution would carry no practical weight
The Spokane Valley City Council will vote Tuesday on a resolution declaring the suburb “not a sanctuary city,” a reiteration of a political grandstanding measure the council approved nearly a decade ago.
Spokane Valley City Council will sue Councilman Al Merkel over Public Records Act fight
The Spokane Valley City Council voted to sue one of its own members this week in the continuing drama over the actions of City Councilman Al Merkel.
Spokane Valley agrees to $11.75 million settlement with contractors who built sinking City Hall
A nearly four-year legal battle is coming to a close after the Spokane Valley City Council approved a settlement agreement Tuesday with the contractors who built the suburb’s defective City Hall.
Spokane Valley Councilman publicly admonished, stripped of seat representing city after violating council standards, state law
Spokane Valley Councilman Al Merkel will no longer be representing the city on regional boards and committees following a failed appeal of an investigation that found he likely violated public records law.