YAKIMA, Wash. -- While most Yakima City Council incumbents got the nod from voters Tuesday, Sonia Rodriguez was trailing local radio personality Dave Ettl.

Late unofficial results showed challenger Ettl leading with 52 percent of the votes to Rodriguez’s 47 percent. With  thousands of potential ballots to be counted, neither candidate was willing to declare the race is over.

“Not a huge pad there, but so far, so good,” said Ettl. “I will consider it fortunate if the numbers hold.”

Meanwhile, councilmen Micah Cawley and Bill Lover were enjoying huge leads over their challengers. Councilwoman Maureen Adkison, an appointee like Rodriguez, also had a commanding lead.

Cawley led 57 percent to 42 percent over former councilwoman and mayor Mary Place. Cawley had 6,810 votes to Place’s 5,042.

Lover had 65 percent to 35 percent for former Yakima schools chief Ben Soria. Lover had 7,600 votes to Soria’s 4,125.

Adkison, who was appointed to the council in April, was defeating former councilman Paul George 65 percent to 34 percent. She had 7,537 votes to 3,970 votes for George.

Rodriguez, the first Latino to serve on the City Council when she was appointed to fill a vacancy in December, said the race was too close to call.

“People who were voting for Bill and Micah were voting for me,” she noted. “I think that’s a very promising sign.”

Ettl, meanwhile, said he was pleased to be ahead considering the events around the time of the August primary. He broke his ankle just before the primary and was wheelchair-bound until last week, when he finally moved to crutches. Rodriguez, meanwhile, won headlines with her initiatives on gang violence and ethics.

“A lot of things didn’t fall my way over the course of the summer,” he said, “so if I’m able to hold on ... I’ll be very, very pleased.”

Up for bid is political control of a city grappling with chronic gang violence and heavy spending on public safety that threatens parks, streets and other basic services.

The City Council is trying to close a projected $4 million deficit in its 2010 budget. Other issues include the retirement of City Manager Dick Zais sometime in the next two or three years, the fire department’s fervent desire for a paramedic program, and continuing friction between the city and county over development standards in the West Valley.

A win by Ettl would be widely viewed as strengthening a conservative voting bloc of Lover, Cawley and Councilman Rick Ensey.

But Ettl’s win may not be a slam-dunk for conservative causes. Like Cawley, his close personal friend and colleague at Gap West Broadcasting, Ettl is a strong supporter of a proposed regional aquatic center.

Cawley, who turned 25 in September and remains by far the youngest member of the City Council, said he felt the strong election results were a validation of his first four years on the council.

“I think it’s fair to say the council’s taking a conservative shift, but these people have an open mind,” Cawley said. “Bill and I disagree on the aquatic center, but we agree more often than we disagree.”

Place said she thought the results were going to be closer and noted that voter turnout was way down this year, perhaps as low as 40 percent.

“From doorbelling, a lot of people were upset with government and told me they were going to sit this one out,” said Place. “People were just very unhappy. I felt that right from the beginning.”

George guessed his lackluster showing against Adkison was partly due to the huge difference in their campaign funding. Adkison, a Republican Party insider, raised more than $21,000 compared to $8,000 for George.

Still, he said it’s clear voters are satisfied with the current makeup of the council.

“People like what they see at City Hall,” he said. “They want a super conservative form of government, and that’s what they’ll get. ... I wish them (City Council) all the best, for the sake of the city.”

Neither Lover nor Adkison returned calls seeking comment on their victories.

Soria said he still believes he was the more qualified candidate.

• Chris Bristol can be reached at 509-577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com.