By Bob Roegner, Inside Politics

Those who wanted clean, spirited races for the Federal Way School Board and Federal Way City Council weren’t disappointed.

The school board has been somewhat controversial over the past few years both individually and collectively. The board’s lightning rod for debate, Charlie Hoff, wasn’t running for re-election. Suzanne Smith, who had run before, and Len Englund sought to replace him. Both had solid volunteer credentials, and Englund is probably closer in philosophy to the current board majority.

But Smith had run against Hoff four years ago, gaining valuable campaign experience. She also had the backing of the education association and was seen by many as someone who would not be easily pulled into unnecessary controversy. That was enough in a close election with Smith winning about 52 percent of the vote.

The highlight board race was expected to be between appointed incumbent Dave Larson and well respected first-time candidate Ron Walker. Larson had been the board leader on the successful fair funding lawsuit and other issues, but had also been the most visible board member in the “Inconvenient Truth” controversy.

Larson ran an aggressive campaign and won the battle for money and endorsements. Walker, though a solid candidate, got a late start and never seemed to gain campaign traction. The race never felt close. In the end it wasn’t, as Larson won with about 60 percent.

The highlight race actually turned out to be first-time candidate Amye Bronson-Doherty against incumbent Evelyn Castellar. Bronson-Doherty did not have Castellar’s experience, name familiarity and political connections or endorsements. But she also didn’t have Castellar’s controversies. Bronson-Doherty came across as a solid alternative who worked hard as a volunteer parent on school issues. Her potential as a future board leader resulted in a “mild” upset win with about 55 percent of the vote.

With two new board members whose views of education may be different than the remaining three, additional pressure will be on Superintendent Tom Murphy and board leader Dave Larson to blend the board into a solid working unit.

The race for City Council between Dini Duclos and Hope Elder for an open seat was the most closely watched race in town, as both are solid candidates. Neither ran “against City Hall,” but policy differences did emerge, particularly on land use and taxes.

Duclos was the front-runner from last spring and it appeared to be her race to lose. Elder, a former council member, got a late start but ran a very competitive campaign. As of this writing, it is still close, but each vote count increases Duclos’ margin and her likely victory.

In the other contested race, council member Jack Dovey held a large lead over newcomer Roger Freeman.

Not much changed in the courthouse. The Democrats retained control of the council as all incumbents were either unopposed or faced minimal opposition.

The biggest question was what would the voters on the Eastside do with King County Council member Jane Hague? Her problems with a DUI, faulty resume and campaign violations were well documented.

But her Republican-turned-Democrat opponent, Richard Pope, didn’t provide much of an alternative and Hague won easily, although she spent a small fortune to do it. Her victory may be short lived as rumors continue to circulate that other problems exist, and the scariest word to a politician — recall — is being mentioned.

The Democrats retained the incumbent Scott Noble in the Assessor’s office with an easy win over Republican Jim Nobles.

The Democrats might have been able to capture the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, but so many of them crossed over to support appointed Republican Dan Satterberg that it reduced their chances.

In other races, the Lakehaven Utility District’s board of commissioners were all re-elected with only Charles Gibson facing opposition, and he won comfortably.

The South King Fire and Rescue commission seat was contested by two incumbents due to the merger, and Bill Gates defeated Gary Bollinger. Bollinger was a good board member and the other commissioners will likely find a way to keep him involved in case he wants to run again in the future.

Congratulations to all the candidates. It isn’t easy to run for public office and you should all be proud.

Federal Way resident Bob Roegner, a former mayor of Auburn, can be reached at bjroegner@comcast.net.