SPOKANE, Wash. — Betsy Wilkerson beat Kim Plese to become the Spokane City Council’s next council president Tuesday evening. Wilkerson will take over for interim city council president Lori Kinnear.
“I think the citizens of Spokane are talking to me with their votes tonight,” Wilkerson said during her campaign’s watch party. “Leadership that listens.”
Wilkerson, a current city council member representing most of the city south of the Spokane River, was endorsed by outgoing council president Breean Beggs earlier this year.
Plese, a Spokane businesswoman who launched a failed campaign for Spokane County commissioner in 2022, argued during her campaign that the current city council has been too ideological.
“There’s still a lot of votes out there to count, and I’m feeling very positive,” Plese said. “I’ve had 100 phone calls from people who are just voting today alone.”
Wilkerson will lead the Spokane City Council in addressing a growing homelessness crisis, among other issues. She will also be tasked with restoring a relationship with the mayor’s office which has been frayed in recent years.
“To every one of our campaign supporters, voters, volunteers, and grassroots donors – THANK YOU,” Wilkerson wrote in a statement. “You made this win possible. Nearly a thousand people contributed to our campaign for progress – the most ever for Council President. I am deeply thankful and humbled by the wave of love, support, and hope that powered this campaign. I will always be grateful.”
