Parmeter Still leads Brown in Soap Lake council race

SOAP LAKE — Debra Parmeter Still is leading former Soap Lake City Council member Robert Brown, who recently resigned from the council, in unofficial results released Tuesday night.

As of Tuesday, Still had 135 votes to 115 for Brown.

Tricia Stevens, Grant County certified elections administrator, said ballots that were dropped off Tuesday in ballot boxes around the county are collected after the official 8 p.m. poll closing and aren’t included in the Tuesday night totals. Nor are ballots that were mailed Tuesday, she said.

Brown resigned Oct. 18, after a tumultuous career on the council that included sponsoring a ballot measure to change the city’s form of government to a city manager. Brown and former council member Maynard Hagen sent a letter to Soap Lake residents in 2015, urging them to vote Mayor Raymond Gravelle out of office.

That earned Brown a rebuke from the council, which was later rescinded. Brown filed suit against the city in July 2016, claiming that council rules were a violation of First Amendment rights. The suit was settled out of court, with the city agreeing to pay Brown’s attorney fees, revise city policy and pay him $1.

In his resignation letter, Brown said he was left out of council discussions, including what he considered important topics such as the city’s water and sewer rate study.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.