By Dennis Box

The Courier-Herald

Election Day is in sight and candidates are busy waving signs and knocking on doors.

The most anticipated race among the four Bonney Lake City Council seats up for grabs is the Ward 5 race between incumbent Phil DeLeo and Dan Decker.

Decker edged out DeLeo in the Aug. 21 primary. Decker received 110 votes or 30.47 percent to DeLeo's 104 votes and 28.81 percent.

DeLeo has been on the council 14 years, the first eight in the at-large No.1 and the last six in Ward 5.

Decker ran for mayor in 2005, losing in the primary to Mayor Neil Johnson and Councilman Jim Rackley.

&#8220The anxiety is pretty high around here right now,” Decker said. &#8220It's an election. I think things are going pretty good. I've been going door to door and I'm being treated pretty nice.”

Decker said two of the top issues for him will be sidewalks and &#8220moving the city's infrastructure forward so it gets caught up with the growth.”

DeLeo said he wants to work on a regional traffic plan and &#8220a sewer system for the south Plateau.”

The councilman also said he was happy to see three cities - Bonney Lake, Auburn and Sumner - working together and &#8220trying to do something about Lake Tapps.”

Councilman Mark Hamilton and Tom Watson are running for the at-large No. 2 seat.

Hamilton, the incumbent, is seeking his second term.

This is Watson's first attempt at political office.

Hamilton won the primary with 826 votes, 55.32 percent and Watson picked up 386, 25.85 votes.

Jim Rackley, the incumbent from Ward 2, is unopposed.

Laurie Carter, a first-time candidate, is running for the Ward 3 seat and is unopposed on the ballot, but Lynda Dabson is running as a write-in candidate. Dabson filed for the seat after the Aug. 21 primary, too late for her named to be added to the ballot.

Area voters will also decide on a commissioner for Fire District 22. Ray Bunk III is running against Roger E. Coleman Jr. Coleman's name remains on the ballot, even though he resigned from office and withdrew from the race Oct. 6. It was too late for his named to be removed, however.

The Sumner School District has three candidates running, Jeff Demarre, Rick Hendricks and Greg Hanon. None are opposed.

Dieringer School District has two board candidates running unopposed, Larry Thompson and Corey Pawlak.

Proposition No. 1 is one of the more contentious issues on the ballot this season.

The tax measure is designed to expand Sound Transit and mass transit services and improve roads and bridges in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

The proposition would raise funds through sales and use tax and license tabs.

Election day is Tuesday. Results will not be available for next week's edition, but the numbers will be posted the morning of Nov. 7.

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com.