After years of discord amongst Kirkland City Council members, the council looks set for some unity.

Kirkland City Council incumbent Deputy Mayor Joan McBride is running ahead of Martin Morgan for Position No. 1, according to King County ballot counts. As of 4:20 p.m. Nov. 5, McBride was leading by 76.70 percent over Morgan, with 23.06 percent of the votes.

Position No. 3 challenger Penny Sweet leads with 67.62 percent, while Brad Larssen tallied 32.23 percent, or 2,842 votes.

At 63.17 percent, challenger Amy Walen is ahead of Karen Tennyson, at 36.53 percent, for Position No. 5.

For Position No. 7, former Redmond Mayor Doreen Marchione also leads with 66.25 percent, while 2,907 ballots were cast for Tom Hodgson, or 33.52 percent.

So far, the county has counted 35.23 percent of the ballots cast for the council race.

Annexation of the Finn Hill, Kingsgate and North Juanita neighborhoods to Kirkland is likely, with 61.60 percent approval – or 4,374 yes votes – and 38.50 percent voting no.

According to voting guidelines, the approval rate for annexation must stay above 60 percent. Final voter turnout must also reach 6,770 voters, or 40 percent of the potential annexation area’s turnout in last year’s general election.

So far, the county has counted 37.93 percent of the annexation ballots.

On the county level, King County Councilmember Dow Constantine defeated former KIRO news member Susan Hutchison in the race for King County executive. Constantine earned 57.01 percent of the vote while Hutchison earned 42.76 percent.

The 2009 King County election counts are not yet complete. Check back for frequent updates.