Bellevue City Council Members Sworn In

Returning Bellevue City Council members Claudia Balducci, John Chelminiak and Jennifer Robertson were sworn in Monday night by King County Superior Court Judge Brian Gain. Councilman-elect , was in the audience, but will be sworn in publicly on Jan. 3.

Mayor Don Davidson, also serving his last night as mayor and will return to his role as Bellevue City Councilman, presented outgoing City Councilman Grant Degginger, who opted not to run after 12 years on the city council.

Degginger, in a speech thanking the public and his family for their support, said that he was offered tickets three separate times to the Seahawks' Monday Night Football game against the St. Louis Rams at CenturyLink Field, but that the city's business, which included the city's budget on Monday night's agenda, was a priority.

"I had a calling to come here," he said.

Election night saw the, but a cliffhanger in the race for Degginger's seat between Stokes and Bellevue attorney Aaron Laing. That race was so close, it triggered an automatic hand recount that Stokes won.