The leaders in two tight Federal Way City Council races extended their leads in election results posted Wednesday afternoon.

While the number of votes in favor of the the Federal Way Public Schools construction bond exceeded those opposed, the district was far from reaching the number of votes needed to be counted.

In the mayoral race, Jim Ferrell retained his seat over challenger councilwoman Susan Honda. Ferrell received 6,443 votes (62 percent), while Honda had 3,946 votes (38 percent), as of Wednesday.

While the results weren’t what Honda hoped for, she said she looked forward to continuing to serve the city.

“I am still going to continue to do what I am doing on the City Council, asking those tough questions and do what is best for the city,” she said, adding that she learned a lot through her campaign. “We still have a lot of work to do in the city of Federal Way.”

At a non-partisan celebration party hosted by King County Councilman Pete Von Reichbauer, Ferrell said he was grateful to his family, volunteers and supporters in the community.

“I’m really excited, and I’m so appreciative and thankful for this opportunity,” he said.

Ferrell also commended Honda on her campaign and the work she put into the effort.

“I admire their tenacity and their hard work,” he said. “They worked tirelessly.”

In the race for City Council Position 4, both Hoang Tran and Diana Noble-Gulliford said it was too close to call. They are vying to fill a seat which will be vacated by Deputy Mayor Jeanne Burbidge at the end of this year.

Tran had 5,166 votes (52.4 percent), while Noble-Gulliford had 4,691 votes (47.6 percent).

“I think a lot of people are voting at the last minute,” Noble-Gulliford said on Tuesday. “We’ll just see how things go.”

Being new to politics, Tran wasn’t sure what to expect coming into election night.

“I am hopeful that the result is not going to change that much,” he said.

The Position 2 race between Jesse Johnson and appointed incumbent Bob Celski had an even tighter margin on Tuesday night, with just more than 100 votes separating the candidates. As of Wednesday, Johnson’s lead had grown. He had 5,139 votes (51.2 percent), and Celski had 4,898 (48.8 percent).

Celski said the race was closer than he thought it would be on Tuesday, but he was confident he would come out on top in the end.

“I think my voters who are the ones, for the most part who waited, and they are going to be coming through pretty strong,” he said.

Johnson said he wasn’t surprised to find himself in a tight race.

“I did think I would probably be trying to chase votes the second day rather than being ahead, so I’m doing a little better than I thought.”

He said he was feeling good about his chances.

“I think the last two weeks with calling voters and with the sign waving, we’ve done all we can to put ourselves in the best position,” he said.

For Position 6, incumbent Martin Moore was defeating Roger Flygare.

Moore had 5,257 votes (54.2 percent), and Flygare had 4,450 votes (45.8 percent).

“I am very grateful for the people of Federal Way and their confidence in my abilities to lead on the issues that are important to them,” Moore said on Tuesday night. “I am excited to continue to be the people council member in the next four years. We have challenges that lie ahead and I look forward to being a part of the work and look forward to continuing to fight like I always have.”

Moore encourages people to read his blueprint for the next four years on his website at peopleformartinmoore.com.

“I encourage people to engage and let me know what their thoughts are,” he said.

The Federal Way Public Schools bond was short of the 12,781 yes votes needed to pass. As of Wednesday, it had 9,527 votes in favor (59.9 percent). The measure requires a supermajority approval, or 60 percent, and a voter turnout exceeding 40 percent of the number of voters who participated in the last general election in the district, or 21,301 votes.

At a Tuesday gathering hosted by the Citizens for Federal Way Schools, Superintendent Tammy Campbell said the initial results did not mean the watch was over.

“This is going to be a protracted discovery of where we are,” she said, adding volunteers would be updated via email as more votes were tallied.

King County Elections is expected to post updated results by 4 p.m. each weekday and will certify the results on Nov. 28.

The Mirror will update this story throughout the week.

Other results

(As of Wednesday)

• King County Proposition No. 1 Levy Lid Lift for Veterans, Seniors and Vulnerable Populations

Approved 208,639 (66.3 percent)

Rejected 105,990 (33.7 percent)

• King County Executive

Dow Constantine 230,040 (75.6 percent)

Bill Hirt 74,272 (24.4 percent)

• King County Sheriff

Mitzi Johanknecht 1159,129 (52.6 percent)

John Urquhart 143,343 (47.4 percent)

• Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No. 1

John Creighton 143,986 (51.2 percent)

Ryan Calkins 137,447 (48.8 percent)

• Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No. 3

Stephanie Bowman 188,720 (66.3 percent)

Ahmed Abdi 95,836 (33.7 percent)

• Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No. 4

Preeti Shridhar 107,376 (37.7 percent)

Peter Steinbrueck 177,704 (62.3 percent)

Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell celebrates as King County Councilman Pete Von Reichbauer pops the cap off a bottle of sparkling apple cider at a non-partisan election night gathering at KOAM television station. Ferrell is looking forward to his second term as mayor after receiving 5,379 votes to his opponent Susan Honda’s 3,274 based on early election results Tuesday night. JESSICA KELLER, the Mirror