CENTRALIA — In the contested race for Centralia mayor, Bryan Kuder came out on top, bringing in more than 66 percent of the vote over his opponent Herb Williams.

The seat was contested beyond the ballot box, with a Marion County lawsuit by Kuder seeking a court decision naming him the rightful Mayor of Centralia after the Centralia City Council vacated his 2019 election victory. They later appointed Williams to fill the vacancy created by their decision.

Kuder says he’s glad to again be elected to the mayor’s seat, adding that hopefully he will be seated this time and the city can move forward.

Jeffrey Castellari and Robert “Rob” Jackson were both elected to the Centralia City Council, replacing outgoing member Andre Marshall and Howard Jones who didn’t seek reelection.

Centralia voters also rejected for a second time a sales tax increase to pay for public safety.

In Salem, Nicholas Farley brought in 55 percent of the vote to win the Salem mayor’s seat that was left vacant with the death of Mayor Sue Morgan. Farley has served as interim mayor since Morgan’s death and beat opponent Brock Waggoner.

Jim Koehler and Royce Bringwald beat out Jacob Hocket, Seth Dawson and Neal Canon for the two seats available on the Salem City Council.