Lent declares herself victor; Maupin has yet to concede.

One week after initial results were released from Kitsap County, Patty Lent has declared herself the winner in the race for mayor of Bremerton.

“With less than 50 votes to be counted, I feel confident in declaring victory,” Lent said in an e-mail to her supporters.

City Councilman Will Maupin, Lent’s opposition in the election, said last Friday he was concerned the lead was going to be hard to overcome.

“The difference keeps going up and down but staying about the same,” Maupin said. “I would need a miracle — all of the next batch of votes going to me — to close the gap.”

At that time Lent had not claimed victory, but she said she was preparing for the new position.

“My reaction is still positive and I am researching the 2010 budget, making a priority list of projects and developing a transition team portfolio,” Lent said. “I can hardly wait to begin.”

By Tuesday morning Lent felt she had enough of a lead to call the race and she issued a statement.

“On May 26 I officially threw my hat in the ring and started my campaign for mayor of Bremerton,” she said. “It was a difficult race and there were a lot of ups and downs. In the primary election we faced four impressive candidates and barely made the general. In the final, Will Maupin was a formidable candidate who ran a tough campaign. I always felt that the strength of my campaign was all of the people I met who just wanted to make Bremerton a better place to live. We joined together, worked for a common goal and won.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us. Bremerton faces some serious challenges in the next few years, both in terms of fixing a serious budget deficit and growing Bremerton’s economy to get us out of this recession. I am committed to continuing the efforts started by Mayor Bozeman and expanding revitalization to the rest of Bremerton as well. My ultimate goal is to make Bremerton the jewel of the Northwest. In the coming weeks I will announce a transition team and my initial plans for the future.”

Maupin said Tuesday the announcement was a bit premature, but ultimately he felt it might come regardless.

“I haven’t heard the fat lady sing yet, but I think she is warming up,” Maupin said.

As of Wednesday, Lent was holding 3,797 votes, 48.96 percent, while Maupin was at 3,728 votes, 48.07 percent.

In the race for the two contested Bremerton City Council District seats, one incumbent maintained a lead Wednesday while the other was almost a full percentage point behind.

Brad Gehring, with 422 votes Wednesday, 49.13 percent, was trailing Jim McDonald who had 431 votes, 50.17 percent, in the race for District 1.

District 7 incumbent Carol Arends held her lead with 363 votes, 51.34 percent over newcomer Gentry Lange who had received 340 votes, 48.09 percent.

Bremerton’s incumbent Municipal Court Judge James Docter held a significant lead over his opponent, Ed Wolfe, on Wednesday. Doctor’s 4,567 votes, 62.43 percent, was well above Wolfe’s 2,698 votes, 36.88 percent.

The Bremerton School District also has three contested director positions on the ballot, two of which are for vacated or soon-to-be vacated positions.

For position 1, Scott Rahm held an almost 20 percent lead Wednesday with 5,212 votes, 59.30 percent, to his opponent, Christianne Martin’s, 3,504 votes, 39.87 percent.

Position 4 incumbent Cynthia Galloway was trailing David Boynton Wednesday 4,384 votes, 49.13 percent, to 4,486 votes, 50.27 percent.

Newly appointed interim director for position 5, Carolynn Perkins, maintained her lead with 5,467 votes, 62.34 percent, over challenger Ruben Garcia with 3,249 votes, 37.05 percent.

Position 2 of the North Perry Water Commission will likely remain with incumbent Gary Purbaugh who had 2,302 votes, 57.8 percent, versus his opponent Jae Relling who had received 1,640 votes, 41.17 percent.

Also, Bremerton Transportation Proposition 1 was well on its way to failure with 5,210 “no” votes, 69.07 percent, to 2,333 “yes” votes, 30.93 percent.