Soap Lake general election update
NANCE BESTON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 weeks AGO
SOAP LAKE – As of Wednesday at 5 p.m., both Soap Lake Council members Andrew Arnold and Kayleen Bryson have been re-elected by voters, both running unopposed. Rebecca Leavell is leading in the Soap Lake school board position five. The Soap Lake mayoral race is still too close to call. According to the Grant County Auditor, there are still around 4,600 ballots left to count. Around 10,000 ballots have been counted already.
Council
As of the last ballot count, Arnold received 149 votes, with 11 write-in responses. He ran unopposed. Arnold was appointed by the city council at the April 16 meeting. Bryson received 168 votes with four write-in responses. She ran unopposed. She was elected in 2021 during an unopposed election.
Mayor
The Soap Lake Mayoral race is still too close to call, with 103 votes for incumbent Peter Sharp and 90 write-in responses.
Council member Karen Woodhouse ran in opposition to Sharp as a write-in candidate. It is unknown at this time how many of the write-in votes are for Woodhouse.
School
Rebecca Leavell is leading the polls for position five. She has 244 votes or nearly 58% of the vote. Mark Novick has received 174 votes or nearly 41% of the vote. There were five write-in responses.
Incumbent Donald Clark ran unopposed for school director position two; he has received 347 votes with 7 write-in responses.
The 2025 general election will be certified Nov. 20.
ARTICLES BY NANCE BESTON
Mayor Peter Sharp takes oath of office
SOAP LAKE – Grant County Commissioner Kevin Burgess adminstered the oath of office to Mayor Peter Sharp Wednesday. Sharp was previously appointed to this role at the Sept. 18, 2024, council meeting after his predecessor Allen DuPay quit during the Aug. 7, 2024, meeting.
Newhouse, colleagues introduce infrastructure bill
WASHINGTON D.C. — On November 21, 2025, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers introduced the Urban Canal Modernization Act, HR 6279, aimed at addressing the deteriorating condition of urban canal infrastructure across the country. This legislation, sponsored by Representatives Dan Newhouse, R-WA; Mike Simpson, R-ID; Adam Gray, D-CA; and Russ Fulcher, R-ID focuses on providing federal support for the extraordinary operation and maintenance of urban canals deemed to be at significant risk of failure. “As communities in Grant County and elsewhere face serious risks from aging canal systems, it is imperative that we act now to ensure vital water infrastructure is maintained and upgraded,” Newhouse wrote in a statement. “The Bureau of Reclamation’s canals are in dire need of repairs, and the surrounding communities who rely on them would be at risk if they were to fail. This legislation provides local authorities with additional resources to manage these critical pieces of infrastructure while protecting the people and property around canals of concern.”
Ephrata water tower waiting for final tests
EPHRATA — The City of Ephrata is still waiting for the final testing to come back to the water tower. The city had originally hoped the tower would be connected to the water system by Thanksgiving; however, the intensive water testing is taking longer than anticipated.
