Oregon Public Broadcasting

Tim Leavitt appears to have unseated long-time incumbent Royce Pollard as Mayor of Vancouver, Washington. April Baer reports that while unofficial results are still due later Wednesday, preliminary numbers show Leavitt ahead by about 1700 votes.

Conventional wisdom holds that no primary can predict what'll happen in the general election. But unofficial returns show city councilor Tim Leavitt beating incumbent Mayor Royce Pollard by about seven percent. It was barely 8:30 last night when he delivered what sounded like a victory speech at the Brickhouse Bar & Grill.

Tim Leavitt "We have worked our tails off for nearly a year. I am here to tell you we are winning this election."

Leavitt and Pollard fought through one of the closest, most expensive, and most contentious elections in the city's recent history. After weeks of pummeling Pollard on transportation policy and the need for new blood, Leavitt indicated the time had come to make peace.

Tim Leavitt  "Tomorrow is when the real work begins. We have got a lot of healing to do. We are going to move forward collectively in the community."

Just a few minutes later, and a few blocks away, Pollard offered a helping of his signature military-issue toughness, when asked if he was ready to call it a night.

Royce Pollard  "Oh, hell no! Why should I concede? When the last votes are counted I hope I will still be the mayor of America's Vancouver."

Pollard had little else to say, but did offer a guarded critique of what he called a  ridiculously expensive race.

Royce Pollard  "I have to think about this but I'll have a lot to say later about how much money was spent on this race, and what the value is of that."

Clark County's Elections Department will spend today counting the ballots turned in or mailed on the last day of voting. Auditor Greg Kimsey said he didn't consider the seven percent margin particularly close. He said it would take a strong change in the trend to shake Leavitt's lead, but that elections staff would diligently tally the remaining votes.

Perhaps the only question left unresolved is what will come of Leavitt's best-known campaign promise: to fight proposed tolls on the proposed new I-5 bridge. This message clearly resonated with people like Brian Peck, owner of  a  local gas station.  Peck's a Republican, and a candidate for the state legislature, who voted for Leavitt.

Brian Peck  "He's a good man, and he's going to send us in the right direction. And we're gonna stop the light rail and the tolls."

State and federal leaders from Oregon and Washington have said in no uncertain terms that with no tolls, there will be no bridge.