Jim McCune, removed from the Legislature via redistricting, seems to be on his way to winning a seat on the Pierce County Council.
Approximately 54 percent of the votes counted and announced by the Pierce County election department after voting ended Tuesday in the general election is in McCune's column. His opponent, Marilyn Rasmussen, was at 46 percent and coming up short in her second bid in the past two years to return to public life.
Rasmussen held elected office for a combined 28 years, first with the Eatonville School Board and then in the Legislature, before losing a re-election bid for state senator four years ago. The Democrat tried to return to the Legislature two years ago but lost a race for state representative to McCune, a Republican.
McCune is giving up that office and running for the council because redistricting of legislative and congressional districts in Washington left him out of the Second District he represented.
McCune would be the second consecutive council member for District 3 to come from the Legislature. Fellow Republican Roger Bush, who holds the office now, was prevented by term limits from running for re-election this year.
During the campaign, Rasmussen, 73, leaned heavily on her experience as an elected official and her accompanying knowledge of government, saying that background helped make her "the best person for the job." She also cited her experience running an Eatonville-area farm as an example of the practicality and work ethic she'd bring to the council.
Her priorities include public safety, improving roads, completing the Cross Base Highway and protecting jobs.
McCune, 62, has focused on issues such as taxes and government spending (he opposes tax increases and wants government to spend within its means), crime (he accuses the judicial process of being too soft on criminals), and transportation (he's an advocate for projects such as State Route 162 between Orting and Sumner, the Cross-Base Highway and the Yelm bypass).
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