Lane, Spall, and Zurita Projected to Take Manassas Council Seats
Preliminary Election Day counts show Democrats sweeping three open seats in Virginia while incumbent Theresa Coates Ellis loses her bid for reelection.
By Pedro Tanaka ·
Three Democrats are projected to win open seats on the Manassas City Council, according to preliminary data from the Virginia Department of Elections. Dianne Lane, Jill Spall, and Helen Zurita are leading the race as of Election Day counting.
Seven candidates competed for the three available positions. Theresa Coates Ellis, the council's only Republican, sought reelection. The other two open spots were vacated by Sonia Vasquez Luna, who withdrew to campaign for the Virginia House District 20 seat, and Ralph Smith, who did not seek another term.
Election Day returns indicate Lane led the vote in five of the city's six precincts. In the remaining precinct, Round, Ellis outpolled Lane 479 to 453. Zurita finished ahead of Spall in the Weems, Haydon, and Baldwin precincts.
The Virginia Department of Elections notes that these figures exclude mailed-in, provisional, and absentee ballots, which are still being processed. The department considers all results preliminary until formal certification takes place.
Final certified results for the Manassas City Council race are scheduled for release on Dec. 7. Voters can track the remaining ballot counts and official certification on the state elections website.
Source: Patch Doylestown
