BENTON COUNTY, Wash. – The first tally of votes from Benton County’s November 4 General Election has been released. Fred Brink is leading the mayoral race in West Richland with 72% of the vote against city councilmember and mayoral candidate May Hays, who faced a DUI arrest on August 22.
Richland residents are voting against a proposed change to the city council election system. The Richland Charter Amendment Number One, which suggested shifting from an at-large system to a district-based voting system, is failing with 44% of the vote.
In education, the Kiona-Benton School District’s Proposition Number One, an educational programs and operations replacement levy, is also failing with 46% of the vote. The proposition aimed to levy an average of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value to support programs like STEM classes, sports, and music.
Other election results from Benton County:
In West Richland, John Smart leads in the race for the City Council Position 1 seat with 54% of the vote over Nancy Aldrich. Ken Stoker ran unopposed for Position 2, receiving 98% of the votes.
David Cole is winning the Position 3 seat with 62% of the votes, while Braden Sloughter is losing to Richard Bloom, who garnered 55% for Position 4.
In Kennewick, Jason McShane leads in the race for the Council Position 1 seat with 57%, and Loren Anderson ran unopposed for Position 2, receiving 99% of the votes. John Trumbo is ahead for Position 3 with 55%, and Brad Klippert took the At Large Position 4 race with 66% of the vote.
Benton City saw Gerry Hill secure Council Position 1 with 97% of the vote.
In Richland, Pat Holten is winning Council Position 3 with 61%, while Donald Landsman is ahead for Position 4 with 58%. The race for Position 6 is a near tie between Kurt H Maier and Kyle Saltz, both with 50%. Ryan Whitten for Position 7 is edging Colin Michael with 51%.
Brenda Chilton, the Benton County Auditor, reported that 19,725 ballots were included in the election night results. These results cover ballots received by mail and in official drop boxes through Sunday, November 2.
There are 247 challenged ballots due to unsigned Voter’s Declarations or mismatched signatures. Voters with challenged ballots will be contacted by phone, text, and mail. They must respond by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, November 24, or their ballots will go to the Canvassing Board for review.
The next update on election results is scheduled for Wednesday, November 5, 2025, by 4:00 p.m. on the Benton County website. Currently, an estimated 25,000 ballots remain to be counted, including those from drop boxes and mail received on Election Day. Ballot processing will continue until the election is certified on November 25, 2025.
For initial results of all races in Benton County, visit the Benton County elections page.
