New Direction?

It's definitely not 2008, but looking at early returns for the Spokane City Council, it seems change reigned anyway this Election Day.

With an incumbent appearing to be swept out of office and an outgoing member replaced by a first-time candidate of a completely different ilk, the council should see a shift in policy toward a more progressive agenda.

In northeast Spokane's District 1, Amber Waldref early on stomped Mike Fagan with 63 percent of the vote, in a battle over the vacated seat of Councilman Al French, a development-friendly powerhouse on the Spokane political scene who was forced out of office due to term limits. In the first candidacy of her career, Waldref made no bones about her neighborhood activism and wasn't shy about her career with the Lands Council, a local environmental group.

"It's exciting," Waldref says of her victory. "The margin [of victory] just shows that I'm on the same page as the voters."

Waldref credits her message of "good paying jobs, strong neighborhoods and quality of life" with her impressive showing.

"I'm looking forward to working with all the neighborhoods in Spokane," she says. "And with all the city council people. We have a tough road ahead of us here."

Waldref declined to say her victory marks a new direction for the council, but she did say that voters are ready to make some hard decisions and are "not looking for the easy Band-Aid fix, but for long-term solutions."

As for a new bloc in city government, Waldref says she's ready to come up with some creative solutions with some like-minded officials.

"I'm real eager to work with Mary [Verner]. She's done a great job reaching out," Waldref says. "She and I and Richard [Rush] are all looking to be proactive."

In southern Spokane’s District 2, Jon Snyder was leading incumbent Mike Allen with 52 percent of the vote. His victory, however, was anything but a sure thing, considering that another 40,000 ballots remain to be counted. That's not even including any ballots mailed this week and the last-minute deposits in the city's various drop boxes.

Two years ago, Allen was appointed to office to replace the newly elected Mayor Mary Verner. His appointment felt rushed to many, including Councilman Richard Rush, Allen's fellow representative from District 2.

But with Snyder, whom he endorsed, Rush might now have a brother-in-arms. Snyder is founder and publisher of Out There Monthly and was the race’s recognized progressive. Throughout the campaign, he talked of “complete streets” for cars, bikes, pedestrians and the disabled. He likes the idea of light rail. He says neighborhoods need a larger say in the city’s future. He doesn't like big box stores.

Finally, in northwest Spokane’s District 3, incumbent Nancy McLaughlin took an unsurprising lead over her challenger, Karen Kearney, with 66 percent of the vote. Coming out of September's primary, McLaughlin was the race’s top dog — she whipped Kearney with three times as many votes. And as the Republican Party's candidate, she raised almost $40,000 — four times her opponent’s booty.

As a fiscal and social conservative, McLaughlin has loudly denied global warming and fostered U.N. conspiracy theories. With the absence of French, McLaughlin could become the lone voice of conservatism on the council.