TOPPENISH, Wash. -- Former councilwoman Clara Jimenez received a strong boost from voters in her comeback campaign for Toppenish City Council, while Councilman Mark Oaks, a relative newcomer, was hoping to hold onto a slight lead in his bid for a four-year term.

And in an odd twist, Robert Thomas was handily winning an open seat even though he had withdrawn his candidacy earlier this fall.

Unofficial ballot results Tuesday night showed Jimenez well ahead of her opponent, Karen Rogers, with 57.5 percent of the ballots counted. Jimenez had 234 votes to Rogers' 169 votes. Rogers is married to Councilman Bill Rogers and had hoped to win the seat he vacated to run for Toppenish School Board.

"I'm just so happy," Jimenez said Tuesday night. "I'm just so proud of our voters. I appreciate their voter confidence."

In the Position 7 race, Oaks was ahead of his challenger Christina Kwan by only six votes. He had 196 votes, for 50.2 percent of the vote, while Kwan had 190.

In the third race, Thomas, a 50-year-old construction worker, was well ahead of James Schmidt, claiming 56 percent of votes. He had 201 of the votes counted to Schmidt's 152.

Thomas couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday night, but he told the Yakima Herald-Republic in an earlier interview that he couldn't accept the post because of a work-related injury.

Jimenez, 50, who previously spent more than eight years on the council, campaigned on the issue of gang violence, telling voters she wanted to lobby state lawmakers to enact stiffer penalties.

Rogers, 59, who works with her husband in his property appraisal business, said she would push for stiffer curfew laws for teenagers. She was also interested in offering free English classes for Spanish-speaking parents to help improve community efforts against juvenile crime.

Oaks, a 59-year-old Yakima County Fire District 5 captain, said he wants to lure new businesses to the empty buildings that dot the downtown core. He said he also supports efforts of local group Community Safety Network to combat gang violence in town.

In August, the City Council members selected him over Kwan, 50, to fill the vacancy left by Ed Pacheco in the middle of his term.

Kwan, a social worker with the state Department of Social and Health Services, promoted community centers for youth and seniors.

Incumbent Blaine Thorington, a 56-year-old school bus driver, ran unopposed for Position 2.