In a dramatic turnaround, Edwin Obras has overtaken Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling in the race for the 33rd Legislative District, and incumbent Angelica Alvarez has taken the lead over Sue-Ann Hohimer for the Highline School Board, according to updated results released Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, by King County Elections.

Meanwhile, all four Burien City Council candidates who led in earlier counts — Hugo Garcia, Sam Méndez, Sarah Moore, and Rocco DeVito — continue to hold commanding leads that all but assure their victories.

33rd Legislative District

In the 33rd Legislative District Position 1 race, Obras has pulled ahead of Schilling by 205 votes, with 9,554 votes (49.7%) to Schilling’s 9,349 (48.6%). The latest count represents a 404-vote swing in Obras’ favor since Tuesday’s results, when Schilling held a slim 199-vote lead.

Burien City Council & Prop. 1

All current City Council front-runners are on track to be sworn in at the first meeting of the new term on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026:

  • For Council Position No. 1, incumbent Hugo Garcia led Jessica Ivey with 4,352 votes (55.8%) to 3,382 (43.4%).
  • For Council Position No. 3, Sam Méndez widened his advantage over Marie Barbon, 4,639 (58.9%) to 3,200 (40.6%).
  • Incumbent Sarah Moore held the largest margin, 5,049 (63.8%) to Gabriel Fernandez’s 2,825 (35.7%) for Council Position No. 5.
  • For Council Position No. 7, Rocco DeVito continued to outpace incumbent Stephanie Mora, 4,308 (54.8%) to 3,515 (44.7%).

The city’s Proposition No. 1 public-safety measure continued to trail, with 53.3% voting no (4,237 votes) and 46.7% yes (3,718 votes).

Highline School Board

  • In Director District 2, Angelica M. Alvarez has taken the lead over Sue-Ann Hohimer with 9,516 votes (50.85%) to 9,096 (48.61%). That shift moved Alvarez from trailing by 151 votes to leading by 420 votes.
  • In District 3, newcomer Katie Kresly maintains a narrow 231 vote lead over incumbent Joe Van, with 9,462 votes (50.39%) to Van’s 9,231 (49.16%).
  • Incumbent Damarys Espinoza continues to hold a commanding lead in District 4, with 10,965 votes (58.11%) to Ken Kemp’s 7,817 (41.43%).
  • In District 5, Blaine Holien remains uncontested, securing 14,190 votes (98.11%).

King County Council

Steffanie Fain expanded her lead over Peter Kwon in the race for King County Council District No. 5. Fain now has 15,953 votes (53.87%), compared to Kwon’s 13,494 (45.57%), widening her advantage by nearly 1,200 votes since the previous day’s results. On Nov. 5, Fain held 13,454 votes (53.14%) to Kwon’s 11,632 (45.95%), meaning both candidates gained support as additional ballots were counted, but Fain’s share grew slightly, solidifying her position as the likely winner in this closely-watched race.

Turnout in Burien stood at 27.4% of the city’s 30,454 registered voters.

King County Elections will release its next results update on Friday, Nov. 7, with final certification set for Nov. 25.

Since 2007, The B-Town Blog is Burien’s multiple award-winning hyperlocal news/events website dedicated to independent journalism.

5 replies on “ELECTION RESULTS 3: Obras surges past Schilling as latest returns roll in; Alvarez now leading Hohimer”

  1. A lot of good, decent people helped Burien to recover from the chaos and crime of a couple of years ago. These election results have shown that was not appreciated by the majority of voters. I have been told by some local business people they will leave. I am trying to understand what happened. Unfortunately, many voters want to live in a drug and crime infested city. Maybe they find that exciting. Also, your voter turnout here is disgraceful. There is a real lack of civic pride. Burien’s reputation has been sullied.

    1. Well, a lot of good, decent people voted for a better wage for Burien workers, and had their representatives ignore them. Perhaps our leadership should have considered listening to the people, and not just the businesses, if they wanted to continue representing us.

  2. The current city council and Mayor have done a great job of cleaning up Burien. They fought successfully to remove the drug encampments making our city cleaner and safer. We hope the new members of the council won’t try to destroy the progress the city has achieved.

  3. 27.4% turnout is pathetic, but the will of the people is clear. We are not a city of hate, or one of ignorance.

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