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It’s John Stokes. Stokes was elected to the Bellevue City Council Friday, defeating Aaron Laing by 54 votes in a manual recount. That was an increase of three votes over Stokes’ machine tally among 35,867 ballots. King County Elections said in a statement that technology has reduced but not eliminated errors. “We are still dependent upon people to perform…

A hard-fought battle for an open Bellevue City Council seat ended Tuesday, with a 51-vote victory by John Stokes over Aaron Laing. But the narrow margin separating the candidates — just under 0.17 percent — means the results will be subject to a manual recount, which will begin Dec. 8. The election, which focused largely on Sound…

Bellevue City Council candidate Aaron Laing gained ground on John Stokes in Monday’s vote count, narrowing Stokes’ lead to 141 votes. Monday’s count was the first count in which Laing, an attorney backed by downtown developer Kemper Freeman, received more votes than Stokes, a retired attorney backed by developer Wright Runstad and other light-rail supporters Stokes is ahead 50.15…

John Stokes moved closer Thursday to a seat on the Bellevue City Council, edging further ahead of Aaron Laing in a still-tight race. With a lead of 169 votes, Stokes was ahead 50.25 percent to Laing’s 49.47 percent. Stokes wasn’t yet declaring victory yet. “I’m excited to still be in the lead, and we’re gaining something each…

In a tight Bellevue City Council race, John Stokes increased his lead over Aaron Laing to 146 votes Wednesday, but the race remained too close to call. Thousands of ballots are yet to be counted, and Stokes barely topped 50 percent of votes counted Wednesday. Stokes leads Laing by just over three-quarters of a percentage point. Stokes, a strong…