Incumbent D.J. Wilson Concedes City Council Race to Challenger Joan Bloom

Incumbent Edmonds City Councilmember D.J. Wilson says he is conceding his race against challenger Joan Bloom.

As of Thursday, Wilson trailed by by 114 votes, 7,156-7,042. Wilson has never led since the first results were announced on Nov. 8.

Earlier this month, Wilson was censured by a majority of his City Council colleagues for what it says was his attempt to mediate a personnel dispute between the City of Edmonds and , the former executive assistant to Mayor Mike Cooper.

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Bloom commented on Wilson's concession on her Facebook page: "My opponent, DJ Wilson, wrote a gracious statement that he has conceded. I want to thank DJ Wilson for his years of service to Edmonds. My campaign committee, friends, family, supporters and, most of all, the Edmonds citizens who voted for me, have won. I hope those who did not vote for me will evenutally decide that they won too. Thanks for your faith in me. Yay Edmonds!"

Even though Wilson has conceded, the race for Position No. 5 has not yet been certified by the Secretary of State's office.

Here is Wilson's concession, which he published on his website:

“Now that the dust has settled on the 2011 election, it is clear I have lost my bid for re-election to the City Council. As I have said during the campaign, I think highly of Ms. Bloom and believe she will act conscientiously on behalf of the citizens of Edmonds. I wish her and the new Council, along with Mayor-elect Earling, all the best.

“Despite the rhetoric, I continue to believe that public service can be an honorable calling.  I also continue to believe that—particularly today—there are more and more opportunities to serve: from jury duty to running a community blog, from helping at the food bank to volunteering in the classroom. Our society rests upon the engagement of its citizens.

“So, I will continue my work to improve the quality and respectfulness of our civic dialog and of good government. That means continuing the 'Civic Engagement' program at Edmonds Community College, now it its 7th year. That means hosting TEDxEdmonds next spring, focused on civic literacy. And, it means teaching next year at the Creative Retirement Institute.

“Most importantly, now that I’ll be leaving the Council, I’ll have another 20-30 hours a week to spend with my family. Maybe now my kids will stop playing 'City Council' and start playing 'house' or something else most 5 and 3 year olds get to do!

“It has been an honor to serve in elected office these past 4 years. It is a tough time in government—at any level—these days. In a republican democracy like ours, we should all be rooting for our elected officials. Their success will be ours, as will their failure.”