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Gordon, Wallan, D’Alessandro, Brooks take lead Kim Wallan Tuesday Nov 8, 2016 at 8:48 PM Nov 9, 2016 at 10:08 AM Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune @teresathomas_MT As of late Tuesday, incumbent Dick Gordon maintained a tight, if not slight, hold on his Ward 1 position on the Medford City Council, while newcomers Tim D’Alessandro, Kristen “Kay” Brooks and Kim Wallan were poised to win their respective races, according to unofficial results. As of 10:04 p.m. Tuesday, Gordon, 73, who has represented Ward 1 since 2009, had a 285-vote lead over local accountant Curt Ankerberg, who also ran against Gordon in 2012. Results showed that Gordon had garnered 3,304 votes (51 percent) against Ankerberg’s 3,019 votes (47 percent). “Assuming I win, I’d just like to thank my neighbors in Ward 1 who are supporting me in returning to Medford City Council,” said Gordon, shortly after the early returns were published. “I’ll continue to represent them to the best of my ability, and I hope my constituents will keep in contact with me to help me become a better councilor.” D’Alessandro, Brooks and Wallan could rest easier Tuesday, knowing their wins were more definite. D’Alessandro, 58, the operations manager at Rogue Valley Transportation District, led the Ward 2 race with 2,622 votes (46 percent), followed by Jim Herndon with 1,569 votes (27 percent) and Nick Lancaster with 1,449 votes (25 percent). D’Alessandro ran for a different position in the same ward two years ago, but lost to Clay Bearnson.  “We worked really hard, and my family worked really hard,” D’Alessandro said. “And I’d like this thing to be over with. With the numbers, I feel pretty confident that we are there, and I can move on to helping the city.” At the top of his agenda, D’Alessandro would like to address the lack of affordable housing, improve communication within city government and develop a comprehensive plan for emergency preparedness. In Ward 3, Brooks with 2,076 votes (44 percent) had the edge on Curt Turner with 738 votes (15 percent), Don Libby with 1,076 votes (22 percent) and Chad McComas with 790 votes (16 percent). Brooks, 30, is the facilitator of WorkSource Rogue Valley’s Rethinking Job Search Program and serves on several boards and commissions. “It was a four-way race and could’ve gone a lot of different ways, but I think the work I’ve done in the community spoke for itself,” she said. In Ward 4, Wallan took home 3,357 votes (41 percent), compared to Michelle Atkinson’s 2,680 votes (33 percent), George Schroeder’s 1,191 votes (14 percent), Ruth Moncus’ 421 votes (5 percent) and Andrea Jablonski’s 368 votes (4 percent). “I had literally no idea what to expect at all,” said Wallan, an online business instructor and former Medford School Board member. “They don’t poll city council races. I knew what campaigning I had done … but that’s really all I knew.” As a councilor, Wallan said she’d like to improve communication among the councilors, with the city manager and the county administration, streamline meetings and beef up the city’s planning department to meet the demand. Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt.