With just under 40 percent of the votes counted,State Senator Joe McDermott is the apparent winner of the election for Metropolitan King County Council District No. 8. McDermott stationed himself on the corner of 35th Avenue and Fauntleroy today, Wednesday, holding a large "Thank You" sign waving at passing vehicles with a grin.

"The numbers that just came out are just as strong as yesterday," said McDermott. "I am feeling great about the race and spent the afternoon cleaning up, picking up my (campaign) yard signs all over the District to recycle."

A young passerby smiled and waved to McDermott and she said, "Congratulations Joe. Don't let us down."

He responded, "I won't. That's my job."

4:30 pm Nov. 3 Update:

Council District No. 8 unexpired 1-year term

Joe McDermott 24032 67.84%

Diana Toledo 11268 31.81%

Write-in 122 0.34%

"I am feeling really confident with the results tonight," said McDermott at Calamity Janes with the Election Night results projected on a screen behind him Tuesday evening.

"And that's especially gratifying after spending most of the last year talking to residents of the 8th Council District about the issues facing King County and about my experience and my values and bringing those with me to this new job.

"(I look forward) to actually stepping up to help take on the issues facing King County from the budget deficit to Metro Transit to the Shorelines Master Plan," McDermott continued. "The 8th Council District has a great legacy of strong leaders. I remember Bob Greive, and in the summer of 1988 I interned for then Councilmember Greg Nickels. He has continued to be a friend and mentor to me. So serving in the same position he did when he and I met is quite an honor.

This election is for a one year term," said McDermott. " will be asking the 8th Council District to support me for a full four-year term in next year's election."

Toledo said, "The top three issues in District 8 are jobs, because of the unemployment rate, taxation, too many taxes, and I think transportation issues (...) We need to tackle the $60 million budget crisis by making it run more efficiently, more effectively and therefore be able to lower taxes, or at least keep from raising taxes and restore some of our services that have been cut."

This was Toledo's first run at public office, choosing to run only after losing her job and she plans to run again. "This is the office that counts. It's non-partisan and it's where I could be the most effective."