In the second round of election returns released on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, all four leading Burien City Council candidates slightly expanded their margins, while 33rd Legislative District candidate Edwin Obras gained ground on opponent Kevin Schilling.
Challenger Rocco DeVito widened his lead over incumbent Stephanie Mora in the race for City Council Position 7, now holding 3,321 votes (54.40 %) to Mora’s 2,753 (45.09 %) — a small but steady increase of nearly one percentage point since the first count.
Incumbents Hugo Garcia and Sarah Moore also extended their advantages. Garcia leads Jessica Ivey 3,319 (54.81 %) to 2,683 (44.31 %), while Moore is ahead of Gabriel Fernandez 3,884 (63.10 %) to 2,238 (36.36 %). Challenger Sam Méndez grew his margin over Marie Barbon in Position 3, now with 3,555 votes (58.06 %) to Barbon’s 2,535 (41.40 %).
Burien’s Proposition 1 public safety levy remains narrowly trailing, with 47.27 % “Yes” to 52.73 % “No.”
In the closely watched 33rd Legislative District Position 1 race, Edwin Obras continued to close the gap on Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling, cutting his deficit from three points to about one percentage point. Schilling leads with 7,459 votes (49.78 %) to Obras’s 7,260 (48.45 %).
Highline School District
The district’s renewal levy is on track to pass, with approximately 60.31 % of voters casting ballots in favor, well above the 50 % threshold needed for approval. The levy supports staff, educational programs and services that the state does not fully fund.
For the school board race:
- In the race for Director District 2, Sue-Ann Hohimer holds a slim lead over Angelica M. Alvarez, with 7,273 votes (50.21 %)to 7,122 votes (49.17 %).
- In Director District 3, Katie Kresly leads Joe Van by a narrow margin, 7,406 votes (50.9%) to 7,073 (48.6%), a race that remains close and could shift as late ballots arrive.
- In Director District 4, Damarys Espinoza led with 8,295 votes (56.76 %) to Ken Kemp’s 6,239 votes (42.69 %).
Countywide, turnout increased to 24.05 %, up from 20.26 % on election night, as roughly 55,000 additional ballots were counted. Burien’s local turnout rose to about 21.3 %.
In other South King County races, Des Moines incumbent Harry Steinmetz and newcomer Pierre Blosse continue to hold leads, and SeaTac candidates Caitlin Konya and Bedria Abdullahi remained on top in their council contests.
King County Council District 5 Race
In the race for King County Council District 5, covering Des Moines, SeaTac, Burien and neighboring communities, Steffanie Fain widened her lead over Peter Kwon by 275 votes, increasing her margin from 1,175 to 1,574.
According to the latest returns, Fain held 12,379 votes (52.99 %) in the initial tally and increased her support slightly in the second count, while Kwon garnered 10,805 votes (46.26 %) in the first count and made smaller gains.
The trend suggests Fain may be on track to defeat Kwon, barring a significant late-ballot shift.
What’s Next
King County Elections will continue releasing updated totals daily at around 4 p.m. through final certification on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
Full, updated results are available at kingcounty.gov/elections.
🗳 Burien City Council Trends: First vs. Second Count
| RACE | CANDIDATE | NOV. 4 VOTES | NOV. 5 VOTES | Δ VOTES | NOV. 4 % | NOV. 5 % | CHANGE (pts) | TREND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. 1 | Hugo Garcia | 2,740 | 3,319 | +579 | 53.73 | 54.81 | +1.08 | 📈 Lead widening |
| Jessica Ivey | 2,295 | 2,683 | +388 | 45.00 | 44.31 | –0.69 | 📉 | |
| Pos. 3 | Sam Méndez | 2,909 | 3,555 | +646 | 56.49 | 58.06 | +1.57 | 📈Lead widening |
| Marie Barbon | 2,196 | 2,535 | +339 | 42.64 | 41.40 | –1.24 | 📉 | |
| Pos. 5 | Sarah Moore | 3,224 | 3,884 | +660 | 62.30 | 63.10 | +0.80 | 📈Lead widening |
| Gabriel Fernandez | 1,909 | 2,238 | +329 | 36.89 | 36.36 | –0.53 | 📉 | |
| Pos. 7 | Rocco DeVito | 2,743 | 3,321 | +578 | 53.45 | 54.40 | +0.95 | 📈Lead widening |
| Stephanie Mora | 2,344 | 2,753 | +409 | 45.67 | 45.09 | –0.58 | 📉 | |
| Prop. 1 | Yes | 2,467 | 2,931 | +464 | 47.35 | 47.27 | –0.08 | ⏸ Flat |
| No | 2,743 | 3,269 | +526 | 52.65 | 52.73 | +0.08 | ⏸ Flat |
I feel disheartened that the only woman elected is an incumbent. Male chauvinism is alive and well in Burien. Please don’t tell me that the men running were more qualified than the females they ran against. What time warp is Burien in? 1950 maybe?
As a woman, I did not feel that Jesica, Marie, or Stephanie was good for the people of this community (including women!) Women who are minimum wage workers, renters, immigrants, or unhoused (to name only a few) would not benefit from having women on council who support policies that harm them.
Your select group has the highest social services needs, yet pays the least into the taxes that fund them, so if you expect change you better come up with funds, not more taxes. Those candidates had Burien’s best interests in mind because they realize that without a funtioning, business friendly and safe city there will be no fund money available, so let the cuts begin.
So Hugo Garcia is a big supporter of women and their issues? He understands the plight of women more than Jessica? Give me a break. If you believe that, I would like to sell you some ocean front property in Iowa.
Pretty disappointed with these results, I don’t want to start picking up feces and breaking up constant druggies again in front of my business, but I’m ready this time around – I’m picking up and moving to another city when or if it does start happening
Burien has been changing into something that unfortunately it won’t be able to change back from, its really sad. Multiple generations of my family grew up here and now… becoming to be just past memories.
I just cannot believe there are so many people that want to see the City of Burien to revert back to the way it was a couple of years ago. I guess the old saying “money is the root to all evil” holds true with this council that was voted in with their “out of city” campaign funds.
You hit the nail on the head. It was all about that. Thousands and thousands of dollars spent on people with no vision other destroy people who try to live a decent life.
I have been a small business owner in another state. I would never own one in Burien. The local progressives (regressives) have no respect, just distain for hard working business owners. Did you notice during the siege that a lot of them had free time to be causing trouble and wandering around town? A lot of mugging for the cameras and convincing homeless to plop down where they pleased. I don’t get the thinking here at all. Soak the government and take drugs. No consequences?