Just 7 votes separate the two major candidates for Everett mayor

EVERETT, Wash. -- Everett mayoral candidates Judy Tuohy and Cassie Franklin were only 7 votes apart after a second batch of votes were counted Wednesday.

The race to become the first female mayor of Everett in 124 years wasn't likely to be decided for days. Counting will continue as more mail-in ballots arrive.

In Wednesday's vote returns, Tuohy held the tiniest of leads -- 4,804 votes to Franklin's 4,797.

Franklin and Tuohy are both members of the Everett City Council.



Businessman Gary Watts , who garnered national attention for placing a sign outside his business nicknaming Everett "Tweakerville," staged a write-in campaign for mayor. The write-in candidates, however, had received just 1,171 votes -- and not all of them necessarily went to Watts.

The only woman to occupy the mayor's job since Everett incorporated in 1893 was Joyce Ebert -- and she wasn't elected. She agreed to fill the post for two months after Bob Anderson resigned in 1977.