News / Politics / Election

Onslow bests challenger in Ridgefield

3 of 4 incumbents lose seats in Battle Ground

By Tom Vogt, Columbian Science, Military & History Reporter

Published: November 5, 2013, 4:00pm

Ron Onslow

Ridgefield Mayor Ron Onslow is in position to retain his post after defeating write-in candidate Tim Wilson, but Battle Ground’s leadership is in churn mode as challengers beat incumbents in three of the four contested city council races Tuesday.

Lyle Lamb, Chris Regan and Mike Dalesandro have wide margins over sitting Battle Ground city council members after Tuesday night’s ballot count; with his win, Dalesandro unseated Lisa Walters, the first woman to serve as mayor of Battle Ground. Bill Ganley is the only incumbent to retain his spot.

Battle Ground

If there was a theme in three challengers winning, Dalesandro said, it came down to voters looking for something new.

“I talked to hundreds of people, and the biggest issue is that people are not happy with the way things are going. There’s not a lot getting done,” Dalesandro said. “When people see traffic on Main Street, and the roads not getting fixed, they wonder what the city is doing with their money.”

Ganley, the only holdover to win, said it shouldn’t take long to get everybody up to speed.

“I worked with Chris Regan before on the council. Mike has been on our planning commission,” Ganley said.

Lamb, a political newcomer, received 59.7 percent of the vote in the Position 1 race. Lamb led Mike Ciraulo, a former mayor, 967-642.

Regan won 72.4 percent of the vote against Alex Reinhold, Jr. in the Position 4 race. Regan, who served two council terms before losing his seat in 2011, led Reinhold, 1,101 to 407.

Dalesandro received 64.5 percent of the vote in the Position 5 race against Walters, leading the vote count 1,004 to 538. Battle Ground’s councilors choose the city’s mayor from among its council members.

Ganley retained his council seat with 54.2 percent of the vote in the Position 6 race against Steven Douglas Phelps, a first-time candidate. Ganley, Battle Ground’s longest-tenured councilor, led in votes, 847-703.

Ridgefield

Onslow received 68.2 percent of the vote in the Position 1 council race, and earned the opportunity to continue serving as mayor. The council will select the mayor in January, and Onslow said he will seek another two-year term. Onslow led Wilson in votes, 447-193.

In Position 7, Sandra Day rolled up 84.2 percent of the votes against Linda Tracy. Day had been appointed to the post last year when the city council expanded from five to seven members.