Samuel is Monte’s first female mayor; Estes concedes

In what could be called a repeat performance of the August primary election, Montesano attorney Vini Samuel was elected mayor in a landslide Tuesday. Incumbent Ken Estes conceded the race soon after the initial tally of votes by the Grays Harbor County Auditor’s office.

Samuel received more than 67 percent of the vote, leading 762 to 366.

“It’s wonderful, it’s exciting and I’m overwhelmed with gratitude,” Samuel said on Tuesday night.”This has always been about Montesano and coming together as one town and trying to get things done. I think the race went perfectly. We worked really hard and I appreciate the show of confidence. I think we ran a pretty solid, positive campaign. the goal was always about coming together and keeping the city of Montesano as the focus of the conversation.”