Brett Mulvihill celebrates his election win for Pendleton City Council Ward 3 on May 21, 2024, on election night at Mac’s Bar and Grill in Pendleton.

PENDLETON — John Thomas and Brett Mulvihill won their respective races for seats on the Pendleton City Council, according to unofficial results in the May 21 primary, marking them as the two newest councilors come January 2025.

In addition to Thomas and Mulvihill, preliminary results show Steve Campbell and Sally Brandsen kept their seats on the council in their races.

Thomas won the Ward 1 election with 68.9% of the vote, 421-188 votes against Barbara Wright.

“I’m very excited that the voters of Ward 1 of Pendleton chose to give me their vote and put their trust in me to represent them on the Pendleton City Council for the next four years,” Thomas said. “As I mentioned in my campaigning, I will be focusing on enhancing the things that make Pendleton great and bringing together a coalition of people to fix the things that frustrate us.”

Wright said she would continue to “fight to revitalize” Pendleton.

“I’d like to thank everybody that voted for me and to say that the fight’s not over, the fight’s just begun,” she said. “We need to band together and continue to push to get Pendleton back on a solid foundation.”

Mulvihill beat Alicia Kay Reynon for the Ward 3 seat 894-279, winning 75.9% of the vote.

“I’m honored to have been elected city council person representing Ward 3,” Mulvihill said. “I want to thank everyone for their support and I will work hard for you.”

His opponent wished him well.

“Congratulations to Brett Mulvihill, very well deserved, an amazing person, and I’m excited to see what he has to offer and to bring to the table for Pendleton, and congratulations to all the others who won,” she said. “I’m not done running for city council because I’m going to run for Ward 3 again.”

Councilors reelected

In the other two Pendleton City Council races, preliminary results indicate familiar faces will be returning.

Steve Campbell kept his seat on the council after beating Kristine Hudson-Bonniot 1,684-812 for the at-large slot, making up 67.2% of the vote to Hudson-Bonniot’s 32.4%.

“I ran against a very good candidate,” Campbell said. “I was glad to see the turnout, as in the number of votes that were cast for the position, it was a larger number than my previous campaign, so I was impressed by that. I look forward to this coming term on the council and continuing to strive for improvement in the city.”

Hudson-Bonniot wished Campbell well with the upcoming term.

“I didn’t realize I had an opponent, and Steve Campbell was a formidable opponent and a returning council member, and it’s been an honor to meet him and to go through the process,” she said. “I’ve learned a great deal and I hope to try again next time.”

Sally Brandsen retains her position representing Ward 2 after running unopposed and receiving 648 votes.