(The Center Square) — Conservatives on the Spokane City Council saw their numbers shrink on Monday as Sarah Dixit defeated incumbent Jonathan Bingle by just 156 votes, expanding the progressive majority’s grip.
Dixit announced her victory after Spokane County finished counting final ballots from the 2025 general election late Monday, days after initial results had put Bingle ahead by roughly 200 votes.
Spokane County won’t certify the results until Nov. 25, so the results are still subject to change. But Bingle accepted the loss and congratulated Dixit, organizing director for Pro-Choice Washington.
The outcome expands the council’s progressive majority to six of its seven seats, leaving District 1’s Michael Cathcart as the lone conservative.
“After the longest week of our lives, today’s count confirmed that we won!” Dixit posted in a statement on Facebook. “Thank you times a million. I am honored to be your next council member.”
“We came up short in our bid for re-election, losing by just 156 votes,” Bingle wrote in a statement on Facebook. “While that’s not the outcome we worked for, it is the outcome before us today.”
Councilman Zack Zappone defended his District 3 seat against Chris Savage, winning with 54% of the vote; newcomer Kate Telis beat Alejandro Barrientos in District 2 with 59.6% of the vote, and Dixit won the last seat up for grabs in this election cycle with 50.32% of the vote. She will take her spot on the dais in January along with Telis.
The two-member conservative minority had hoped to gain at least one more seat in District 2 or District 3, particularly with the possible departure of Cathcart.
Last May, Cathcart declared his candidacy for county auditor in a bid to succeed retiring incumbent Vicky Dalton. A win would leave a vacancy on the council until the 2027 election cycle.
Cathcart confirmed his bid for county auditor on Tuesday, but Bingle said he hasn’t made a decision on another council run. He told The Center Square that the next election is still a “long ways down the road” and that it’s time to “let the dust settle a bit.”
Conservatives have viewed the two as a defense against repeated tax hikes and back-to-back budget deficits under the progressive council majority.
While the final results of the 2025 election didn’t fall within the half-percent margin required to trigger a recount, Bingle said he would ensure that every vote is counted and done so “legitimately.” He said that it’s not about changing the results; it’s about “honoring the process” and upholding election integrity.
Cathcart said his biggest concern now is advancing legislation. Under the council’s rules, he would need at least two sponsors to advance a proposal, which the majority tried to expand to three sponsors last winter.
“I don’t know that Sarah will be someone willing to do that,” Cathcart told The Center Square, “but if not her, I do hope, if we can’t change the rules, that there will be other council members who will be willing to step up and fundamentally stand for the ability to bring ideas to the forefront.”
