This report comes from UW student election-night stringer Will Mari:

The mood is celebratory at Bricco della Anna Regina, a posh Italian restaurant on Queen Anne Hill. The candle-lit interior of the restaurant resounds with congratulatory small talk, helped along by copious amounts of red wine and finger-foods.

Initial results from King County show Tim Burgess ahead of Seattle City Council incumbent David Della with 61 percent of the vote. He's busy fielding TV interviews and high-fiving supporters.

Still, Burgess says the night isn't over.

"If the 10:30 batch is strong, we're good," he says, referring to the next round of results. "Anything can happen."

But he's optimistic and appears a little taken aback by his apparently strong lead, a sentiment echoed by his wife, Joleen.

"We're ecstatic," she says. "We didn't expect anything like this."

Katie Burgess, a junior majoring in business communication and marketing at the University of Portland, is on hand to cheer on her dad. And she's not as shy as her parents about declaring victory.

"He was hoping for, like, 55 percent," she says. "I was so nervous. I heard earlier today that it might be really close."

Meanwhile, Della is already talking about what's next for him. Our UW helper Cailin Magruder reports that Della told his suppporters at the China Gate restaurant:

"Public service to me is about making a difference in people's lives and you can do that outside of public office."

And in an interview, Della told Magruder:

"I think we worked hard and had a solid plan. I'm proud of my accomplishments on the city council. The voters spoke and I'll accept it."