As ballots for the 2012 general election begin to roll in, Gordon Bisset has established a dominant lead over challenger Frank Irigon for the Newcastle City Council’s only contested race this year, according to information provided on the King County elections website.

With about 71 percent or 1,077 votes — of about 28 percent of the ballots counted so far — Bisset leads Irigon for the council’s fourth position. Irigon earned 28 percent of the vote, or 425 votes.

“I’m very pleased with the results,” Bisset said. “I’d like to thank the voters of Newcastle and will be getting ready to carry out my campaign themes.”

Bisset previously served a four-year term on the council from 2002-2005 and has lived in the Hazelwood neighborhood of the city for 41 years.

Irigon has lived in the Rainer Crest neighborhood of Newcastle for 25 years. This is the first time he has run for the position.

Bisset said he’ll continue to attend meetings to stay current on issues, especially when it comes to the city’s 2012 budget discussions.

The winner of the contested race will replace longtime Councilman Sonny Putter, who has continuously served on the council since 1994.

Incumbent councilwomen Lisa Jensen and Carol Simpson and incumbent Deputy Mayor Steve Buri were re-elected for their respective positions after they ran unopposed in the election.

Incumbents scored leads in the initial election results released just after 8 p.m.

Issaquah School Board incumbents Brian Deagle and Suzanne Weaver, as well as Port of Seattle Commission incumbents Bill Bryant and Gael Tarleton, pulled ahead as the off-year election came to a close.

Deagle pulled ahead of challenger Patrick Sansing and Weaver outpaced opponent Brian Neville.

In the only uncontested school board race, voters elected Bellevue resident Anne Moore to succeed outgoing Issaquah School Board member Jan Colbrese.

Bryant trounced challenger Dean Willard, a Sammamish resident, in a Port of Seattle Commission race focused on economic and environmental issues. Tarleton defeated Richard Pope to remain on the commission.

Renton School Board candidate Denise Eider, an account executive for a title company who lives in the West Hill area, was elected for four-year, district No. 4 position. It will be her first term on the school board.

Todd Franceschina and Lynn Desmarais, two uncontested incumbents, retained their seats on the Renton School Board after running unopposed this year.

King County Elections officials said ballots for 11,000 Eastside voters — including more than 100 people in Newcastle — did not go out last week as planned due to a glitch.

The elections office plans to mail ballots Saturday; voters should receive them early next week. The deadline to return ballots via mail, drop box or accessible voting center is Nov. 8.

Overall, the issue impacted 11,000 Eastside voters, including 54 in Issaquah, 141 in Newcastle and 875 in Sammamish. Some North Bend and Snoqualmie voters also face delays in receiving ballots.

King County Elections started mailing 1.1 million ballots to voters Oct. 19.

“Fortunately, we had some voters who were on top of it and that tipped us off to start checking and seeing if there were any anomalies,” King County Elections spokeswoman Kim van Ekstrom said. “There are always voters who don’t get their ballots. Things happen, and that’s why they have several weeks to try to connect with us.”

Officials review calls to the elections office’s phone bank to determine if any issues arise during the election. In recent days, the office started to receive calls from Eastside voters about not receiving ballots in the mail.

The office hears from a small percentage of voters in every elections about not receiving a ballot. Call the voter hotline at 206-296-VOTE.

“In every single election, you hear a fair amount from us about, if you haven’t received your ballot, call us, call us, call us,” van Ekstrom said.

The reason for the delay remains unknown.

“We were able to clearly figure out who didn’t get them, but we’re still not completely sure on why it happened,” van Ekstrom said. “We’re still trying to figure that out.”

Officials check ballots throughout the process, from printing and insertion into envelopes to mailing and then to the Renton elections office for tabulation.

“We investigated the matter and discovered a technical problem associated with part of our voter database that resulted in exclusion of these ballots from being mailed on the date originally scheduled,” Elections Director Sherril Huff said in a statement issued Friday afternoon. “Quality assurance is an important component of our elections processes and while we regret that this event occurred, I’m pleased that the reviews we have in place helped us in identifying and problem solving the issue.”

Resident Frank Irigon and former City Councilman Gordon Bisset have filed to run for City Council Position 4 in this year’s election.

Gordon Bisset

Frank Irigon

Bisset — who served as a member of the council from 2002-2005 — and Irigon will face off against Parks Commission Chair Andrew Shelton in a primary election in August.

The top two finishers will advance to the general election in November.

Councilman Sonny Putter, who holds Position 4, announced in April he would retire from the council at the end of the year.

Incumbent councilwomen Lisa Jensen and Carol Simpson and incumbent Deputy Mayor Steve Buri have filed to run for re-election this fall in their respective positions. Each will be unopposed on the November ballot.

Council positions are at large and not assigned to geographic regions of the city.

Councilwoman Lisa Jensen’s only signs this year are in her front yard in Milepost, as she is running unopposed for Position 1 on the council. By John Jensen

Frank Irigon

Frank Irigon has been a resident of the Rainier Crest neighborhood of Newcastle for 25 years. He said he is running for City Council to help steer the city toward balancing residential and commercial development to increase its tax base, as well as to increase transparency and accountability on the council.

This is his first time running for a council position.

He said the biggest issues facing the city are financial. The city needs to ensure it lives within its means, especially given the tough economic times at hand, he said.

“It can’t have anything that’s frivolous,” Irigon said about the city. “Whatever it wants to do, it has to be able to fund it. It should live within its means.”

Irigon has a bachelor’s degree in general interdisciplinary studies and a master’s degree in social work with a focus in community and organizational services, both from the University of Washington.

He has worked for various nonprofit organizations during the past 40 years, most recently as director of admissions and recruitment for the Center for Career Alternatives in Seattle.

He was the executive director and cofounder of the International Community Health Center in Seattle, and cofounder and executive director of Washington Asian Pacific Islander Families Against Substance Abuse.

He also served on the Renton Technical College board of trustees for five years, but he resigned when he found that he did not live in the college’s district. Then-Gov. Gary Locke had appointed him to the position.

Irigon is a member of the board of directors for National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse Inc. and the executive board for the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans.

His friend Frank Kiuchi will serve as Irigon’s treasurer during his campaign.

Irigon and his wife Felicita have two grown sons, a grown daughter and one grandson. His hobbies are reading and doing work in the community.

“I have a passion for community work,” he said. “That’s what I was trained for.”

Gordon Bisset

Gordon Bisset has been a resident of the Hazelwood neighborhood of Newcastle for 41 years He served as a member of the City Council for one term. He also served as chairman of the city’s Planning Commission from 1998-2001, and he was a member of the finance committee while he was on the council.

Bisset said he ran for election in 2001 with the intention of not running for re-election in 2005, because he wanted to focus on city issues rather than campaigning. Nonetheless, he remained a common figure at council meetings after leaving his post. Last year, he began serving as president of the Hazelwood Community Association.

Bisset said he decided to run because he can make a positive impact as a member of the council once again.

“I felt that I could hit the ground running,” he said. “I’m really up on what’s going on because I have attended meetings as the president of the Hazelwood Community Association the last two years.”

He added that he wants to ensure the city doesn’t raise taxes, because families are still battling economic troubles. Likewise, Bisset said infrastructure maintenance is the most important issue facing the city, because delaying maintenance can end up costing much more money.

Bisset became involved in city issues prior to being elected in 2001, as he gathered signatures for a petition to keep the council from instating a utility tax. The tax was never adopted.

During his time as a councilman, he said he placed priority on holding down expenses, and he helped establish the city’s rainy day fund.

Bisset has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Washington. After graduating, he worked in the university’s applied physics lab for 32 years, focusing on mathematics and computers, eventually becoming a senior mathematician.

Bisset and his wife Diane have a grown son and two grandchildren. Bisset enjoys films and playing bridge.

Reagan Dunn

In a long-expected campaign announcement, Dunn, a Republican, referenced his experience at the U.S. Department of Justice as a key asset in the race, and rolled out a series of high-profile endorsements.“I am running for attorney general because I am concerned about the overall direction of Washington state government and I believe we can do much better,” he said in a statement. “While Rob McKenna has done a very fine job as our AG, much more still needs to be done. Our state faces significant challenges, including high unemployment, an unfavorable business climate for job creation and crime levels that are unacceptable.”

Dunn is seeking to succeed Attorney General Rob McKenna, the leading Republican in the 2012 race for governor. McKenna launched a bid for the Governor’s Mansion on June 8. Incumbent Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, is not seeking a third term; Democratic U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee is expected to run.

On the County Council, Dunn represents unincorporated communities south of Issaquah, as well as parts of Bellevue and Renton.

Fellow County Councilman Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, is also running for attorney general. Democrat John Ladenburg, a former Pierce County executive, is in the race, too.

Ferguson confronted Dunn on council business after the Republican entered the race.

“I noticed that his four-minute announcement video focused exclusively on law and order — yet, he has consistently voted against funding for sheriff deputies, courts and criminal justice agencies here in King County,” Ferguson said in a statement. “He also never mentioned ‘consumer protection’ in his video. As attorney general, I will make protecting Washington consumers a priority, especially as families struggle through this recession.”

In 2005, council members appointed Dunn as McKenna’s replacement after McKenna resigned to become attorney general. Before the appointment, Dunn served as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Florida and the District of Columbia, prosecuting narcotics cases and other street crimes.

Following the stints on the East Coast, he joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle, prosecuting crimes, such as narcotics manufacturing, child pornography, Internet crimes, bank fraud and weapons violations.

In Seattle, Dunn also served in the Terrorism and Violent Crime Unit and as the coordinator of the Firearm Crime Enforcement Coalition of Western Washington, a multiagency law enforcement effort to reduce gun-related violent crime.

Dunn’s mother, the late Jennifer Dunn, represented Newcastle and the 8th Congressional District in Washington, D.C., for 12 years.

On June 14, the candidate announced endorsements from McKenna, former state Attorney General Ken Eikenberry, and former U.S. attorneys Mike McKay, John McKay, Jim McDevitt, Bill Hyslop and Jeffrey Sullivan, a Sammamish resident.

“Reagan Dunn brings an ideal balance of criminal and civil experience as a candidate for attorney general,” McKenna said in a statement. “His work leading the U.S. Justice Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, his service as a federal prosecutor and his two terms on the King County Council make him eminently qualified to be attorney general, and I wholeheartedly endorse him.”

Resident Frank Irigon and former City Councilman Gordon Bisset filed to run for City Council Position 4 in this year’s election. Bisset — who served on the council from 2002-2005 — and Irigon will face off against Parks Commission Chair Andrew Shelton in a primary election in August.

The top two finishers will advance to the general election in November.

Councilman Sonny Putter, who holds Position 4, announced in April he would retire from the council at the end of the year.

Incumbent councilwomen Lisa Jensen and Carol Simpson and incumbent Deputy Mayor Steve Buri have filed to run for re-election this fall in their respective positions. Each will be unopposed.

Council positions are at large and not assigned to geographic regions of the city.

Republican Steve Litzow appears to be the next state senator to represent Newcastle after defeating incumbent Randy Gordon.

King County Elections completed a mandatory machine recount for the contest Wednesday afternoon. The unofficial results present a solid lead for Litzow, a Mercer Island councilman.

Democrat Gordon trailed Litzow by more than 1,000 votes in the days after the Nov. 2 election. The gap between the candidates slimmed to 194 votes — or 0.32 percent — as the county tallied ballots.

The margin closed to 192 votes after the recount; both ballots favored Gordon.

Under state law, a machine recount is required if the difference between the candidates is less than 2,000 votes and also less than one-half of 1 percent of the total number of votes cast for both candidates.

King County Elections tallied 63,361 ballots in the race. The recount ended at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. The county Canvassing Board meets Friday to certify the results in the race.

The recount settled the last undecided Newcastle race. Litzow is due to represent the 41st Legislative District in the Legislature. In addition to Newcastle, the district includes Bellevue, Mercer Island, portions of Renton and Issaquah, and rural King County.

King County Council members appointed Gordon to the seat in January after then-Sen. Fred Jarrett resigned to serve as deputy King County executive.

The last undecided race to represent Newcastle in Olympia appears to be headed for a recount.

State Sen. Randy Gordon trailed challenger Steve Litzow by more than 1,000 votes in the days after the Nov. 2 election. In the 15 days since the campaign ended, the gap between the Democrat Gordon and Republican Litzow has slimmed to 142 votes.

Under state law, a machine recount is required if the difference between the candidates is less than 2,000 votes and also less than one-half of 1 percent of the total number of votes cast for both candidates.

King County Elections has tallied 62,252 ballots in the race so far. The margin for a machine recount in the race is about 300 votes.

The law requires a manual recount if the difference between the top candidates is less than 150 votes and also less than one-quarter of 1 percent of the total number of votes cast for both candidates. Under the latest tally, the margin for a manual recount is 156 votes.

The county Canvassing Board meets Nov. 23 to certify the election results. The board authorizes recounts in local and regional races.

In the meantime, both political parties seem poised to scrutinize any recount.

King County Council members appointed Bellevue attorney Gordon to the seat in January after then-Sen. Fred Jarrett resigned to serve as deputy King County executive. Litzow serves as a Mercer Island city councilman.

The contest is to fill Jarrett’s unexpired term. The eventual victor faces voters again in 2012.

Gordon and Litzow hope to represent the 41st Legislative District.

Incumbent candidates outpaced challengers in the initial election results released Tuesday night.

The primary set up a showdown for a 41st Legislative District in the state House of Representatives, a competitive congressional race and a chance to elect a judge to the King County District Court bench.

State Rep. Judy Clibborn, a Mercer Island Democrat seeking a fifth term, outpaced Stephen Strader, a Bellevue Republican, and independent Orion S. Webster.

Clibborn represents the 41st Legislative District — Talus and other Cougar Mountain communities, plus Mercer Island, Newcastle and parts of Bellevue, Renton and unincorporated King County.

The incumbent led Strader by about 55 percent to about 40 percent to set up the general election contest. Webster, like Strader, a political newcomer, trailed at 5 percent.

Congressman Dave Reichert pulled ahead of a crowded field, including the Democrat, former Microsoft and Drugstore.com executive Suzan DelBene. Reichert, a former King County sheriff, led DelBene by about 47 percent to about 28 percent. Longshot candidates rounded out the field.

Observers expect a close election, as DelBene seeks to become the first Democrat to represent the 8th Congressional District. Though Reichert has come close to defeat in the past, political analysts said he has a stronger hand in November.

The congressional district sprawls across eastern King and Pierce counties from the Snohomish County line up north to the Lewis County line in the south.

Newcastle attorney Donna Tucker and Redmond City Prosecutor Larry Mitchell surged past Mercer Island attorney Ketu Shah in the race for District Court judge.

Tucker pulled in 45 percent and Mitchell garnered about 35 percent. The candidates face off in the November election. Shah trailed at about 20 percent.

The county created the position last year to address a growing caseload.

The bustling court handles traffic infractions, misdemeanor criminal offenses and some civil cases. The district includes Issaquah, Sammamish, Bellevue, Redmond, Woodinville and parts of unincorporated King County.

King County Elections released the initial results just after 8 p.m. Tuesday, the last day to postmark or drop off a primary ballot. Elections Director Sherril Huff had predicted 45 percent turnout in the summer primary.

Expect the next round of results at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The elections office plans daily updates until all ballots have been counted.

The results remain unofficial until the county Canvassing Board meets Sept. 1 to certify the election. Final results should be posted to the elections website by noon Sept. 1.

The elections office started to receive marked ballots days after the office mailed blank forms to voters in late July. The agency starts processing ballots upon receipt, but law prohibits elections staffers from tabulating results before 8 p.m. on Election Day. In the run-up to the deadline, staffers opened ballots and reviewed voter signatures in a secure location at the elections office in Tukwila.

If a signature problem arises, staffers contact voters to resolve the issue in order for the ballot to be counted.

A man reported his wife returned home, in the 14700 block of Southeast 80th Court, to find the front door of their home open. The door opened between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. June 4, and nothing was missing or disturbed in the home. The man said he was not sure if the door had been left unlatched and came open on its own or if somebody had opened the door.

Homeowner’s best friend

A woman reported that somebody opened the rear sliding door of her home in the 7000 block of 121st Place Southeast between 12:15 and 12:25 p.m. June 7. She said she heard the door open slightly and shut quickly. Immediately, her dog began barking.

Crank text

A boy crank-texted his brother, who attends Newcastle Elementary School, between 9:36 a.m. and 12:12 p.m. June 8. A faculty member called the police.

Uncool bonkeding

Police responded to an assault at a waste water pond on Southeast 91st Street noon June 11, when a man was struck in the back of the head by a fist-sized rock. The man was a member of a crew cleaning the waste water area, and he was looking down when he was struck. He fell and rolled 75 feet downhill. He said he did not remember falling or rolling, but he remembered getting up. He suffered a small cut on his head and complained of echoing in his ears. The rock came from near a trail on which kids often walk.

Gone skating

A teenager reported that his two skateboards had been stolen from the front porch of his home, in the 7000 block of 121st Place Southeast, between 12:45 and 1 a.m. June 19. One skateboard was worth $120 and the other was worth $50.

Anybody home?

A woman reported that her condominium at the Cedar Rim Condos, 7910 110th Ave. S.E., had been broken into between 4 and 5 p.m. June 20 while she was taking a nap. In her sleep, she remembered her bedroom light turn on for a moment, then turn off. The intruder had broken in through her locked sliding glass door, but did not take anything. The intruder caused $250 in damage to the sliding glass door, and left wet footprints on her deck. The woman thought the intruder found her asleep inside and left.

Car break-ins

A woman reported that her Volkswagen Jetta was broken into at the Coal Creek YMCA, 13750 Newcastle Golf Club Road, between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. June 14. The thief attempted to pry the front passenger door, causing $300 in damage, but was unsuccessful and resorted to shattering the vehicle’s rear passenger side window. The thief stole a Blackberry cell phone valued at $45, a Visa card, $13 in cash and a leather wallet valued at $100.

A man reported that his Nissan X-Terra had been broken into at the Red Town Trail Head, 7436 Lakemont Blvd. S.E., between 4:30 and 5:45 p.m. June 15. The thief shattered the rear side window, causing $300 in damage, and stole a bag containing $4,300 worth of camera equipment. The bag had been left on the seat.

A woman reported that her Ford Focus had been broken into at the Cougar Mountain Trail Head, 10200 Renton-Issaquah Road S.E., between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. June 19. The thief shattered the front, driver’s side window, causing $200 in damage, and stole her driver’s license, passport, laptop computer valued at $2,500 and family ruby and diamond jewelry, valued at $10,000.

A man reported that his Toyota 4-Runner had been broken into at Parterra Apartments, 13301 S.E. 79th Drive, between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. June 21. The thief shattered the rear window, causing $250 in damage, and stole an emergency kit worth $100, a Magellan GPS unit worth $150 and the owner’s manual for the GPS unit, worth $50.

Celebration was in the air as Issaquah School District officials gathered to welcome election results Tuesday.

The celebration continued Wednesday: Results released at 4:30 p.m. showed district ballot measures leading with 64 percent for a maintenance and operations levy, 63 percent for a transportation levy and 64 percent for a technology and repairs levy.

If the measures pass as expected, taxpayers would pay $4.81 for every $1,000 of assessed property for the levies and the remainder of the 2006 bond.

Levy supporters gathered Tuesday night to await early results. As the numbers appeared on the King County Elections Web site just after 8 p.m., sighs of relief, high fives and victory cries erupted from partygoers.

Superintendent Steve Rasmussen thanked voters for their support.

“This campaign was a community effort and took an army of volunteers stepping up because they know it is the right thing to do for our community,” he said. “Schools are the cornerstones for thriving and wonderful communities to live in. I think this bodes well for our community because they know the value and importance of education.”

If the levy package passes, the measures would supplement the district budget with more than $214 million by 2014.

“First, I would really like to thank the whole community for standing behind our schools and this campaign and passing the levy,” Issaquah Education Association President Neva Luke said. “It is thrilling to me because we will be able to maintain existing programs and continue to provide an excellent education for our students.”

Assistant Superintendent Ron Thiele welcomed the election results. He had a bet going with himself that the levies would pass with 64 percent.

Other district officials also praised voters.

“I think it is imperative that the levies pass, especially, the maintenance and operations,” school board member Marnie Maraldo said. “With all the critical decisions we will have to make once the legislative session is finished, this is such a victory for our kids and it means that the impact to our kids won’t be as great in the classroom. It is imperative and our voters recognized that.”

Levies in other King County school districts also appeared likely to pass. In the Snoqualmie School District, a maintenance and operations levy and a technology capital projects levy accumulated 59 percent and 60 percent of the vote, respectively, by Wednesday.

In the Lake Washington School District, educational programs and operations, capital projects and general obligation bonds lead with 59 percent, 57 percent and 54 percent, respectively, in results released Wednesday.

A levy lid lift requested by the King County Library System also led in returns released Wednesday. The measure led with about 51 percent of the vote. Furthermore, a measure in Renton that would discontinue the city’s library system in favor of joining the KCLS also led in returns released Wednesday with about 51 percent of the vote.

Proposition 1 asked King County voters to restore the property tax rate to 50 cents per $1,000 in assessed value in 2011. A homeowner with a $400,000 home would pay $32 more next year if voters approved the measure. The measure would raise the rate for a year.

The next round of results will be released at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. The elections office predicted 35 percent turnout countywide in the all-mail election.

Tuesday marked the deadline to mail or drop-off ballots. Officials tallied 19,055 ballots — or about 33 percent — from school district voters by 4:30 p.m. The district stretches from Sammamish to Newcastle; the elections office mailed 56,313 ballots to district voters.