Incumbents were leading challengers in races for Mountlake City Council Tuesday night, Nov. 7, with Mayor Pro Tem Kyoko Matsumoto Wright, Mayor Jerry Smith and Councilmember Rick Ryan all ahead in early returns.

“It’s a great evening. Everybody was happy with the result,” said Wright, who was monitoring Tuesday night’s results with fellow councilmembers Smith and Ryan at Azteca Restaurant in Mountlake Terrace. “We have a lot of work to do.”

A local Realtor, Wright was running for re-election to City Council Position 4, which she has held since she was appointed in January 2008. (She won election to the seat in 2009 and re-election in 2014.) After the first day of returns were reported, Wright was leading challenger Seaun Richards with 58 percent of the vote — 1,107 votes to 800 for Richards.

The owner of Red Onion Burgers in Mountlake Terrace, Richards himself is in the middle of his second Mountlake Terrace City Council term in Position 7. He said he decided to challenge Wright for her seat in an effort to create a vacant seat and bring new blood to the council. If he loses, Richards still retains his own council seat.

Smith, who was elected to City Council Position 2 in 2001, has served as the city’s mayor since 2004. He was leading challenger Margaret Loiseau, a Mountlake Terrace business owner, with 1,064 votes — or 56 percent — compared to 827 votes or 44 percent for Loiseau in Tuesday’s returns.

Ryan, an elementary school teacher who was appointed to Position 1 on the council in February 2008 and re-elected thereafter, was leading by a 67 percent to 33 percent margin — receiving 1,263 votes to challenger Stephen Barnes’ 630 votes.

Councilmember Doug McCardle, a middle school teacher who was elected to Position 3 in November 2009, was running unopposed for his second term.

Snohomish County Elections will release another round of results at 5 p.m. Wednesday. You can see all current election results here.

— By Teresa Wippel