Ramos extends lead over Krauss for Spokane City Council, will face Fagan

Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan has a clear opponent after the third day of counting ballots put a little more space between his challengers, Randy Ramos and Ben Krauss. Ramos, a recruiter with the Spokane Tribal College, leads Krauss by 26 votes, less than one percent of the ballots cast between them. When votes were first tallied Tuesday evening, just one vote separated them men, with Krauss in the lead. Yesterday, Ramos jumped in front of Krauss by 16 votes, extending that lead today. Out of the 2,958 votes for the two men, the difference amounts to eight-tenths of one percent, not enough to trigger an automatic recount. According to state law, a machine recount of the ballots occurs when less than 2,000 votes and less than half of a percent of total number votes between the two candidates exists. Officials at the Spokane County elections office said that the counting is virtually complete, and no more numbers will be released until the vote is certified Aug. 18. Krauss, an analyst with the Spokane Police Department, said he would not contest the results or pay for a recount. “I’m all about following the rules. If it doesn’t fall within the range specified, we’ll just go with it,” Krauss said today. “We’re not changing the rules at the 11th hour.” Krauss said he filed to run after hearing comments made by Fagan after colleagues on the council announced an effort to “close the gap” on gender pay at City Hall. At the time, Fagan said women should be paid as well as men, but added, “One would have already thought they were.” Fagan said certain jobs at the city, such as in the police and fire departments, are better suited for men. “Men and women are not equal,” he said. “Biologically, there are differences between men and women. Is a 150-pound woman (police officer) going to be able to control a 250-pound, out-of-control so-and-so?” Krauss, who worked as a police officer before becoming an analyst, said Fagan’s comments were inappropriate. “I filed because of Mike’s comments about women not having the requisite skills for police and fire. I did it for 12 years,” Krauss said about being a cop. “It’s not a question of being upset. If someone makes that comment about women, it’s just not right.” Krauss said he was not voting for Fagan, but was not ready to endorse Ramos. Fagan still leads the pack with 49 percent of the vote.