The times are changing, at least in Maple Valley and Black Diamond.

Black Diamond will have a new mayor in 2010, Rebecca Olness, and two first-time City Council members, Craig Goodwin and William Saas.

Howard Botts has wielded the mayor’s gavel in the Black Diamond for more than two decades. In January, Olness will be taking over as the city faces a tsunami of change with YarrowBay poised to break ground with two developments, The Villages and Lawson Hills, projects expected to eventually add more than 5,000 homes to the town.

In Maple Valley, Erin Weaver beat two-term incumbent David Pilgrim in a race for the City Council Position No. 4 seat. As of Tuesday she had garnered 61 percent of all votes cast, to Pilgrim’s 39 percent.

Political newcomer Bill Allison shook up the conventional political ring by beating Jim Flynn for Maple Valley City Council Position No. 2

Flynn had served on the Council for 10 years, since the city was incorporated, until Layne Barnes knocked him out two years ago. Flynn had campaigned hard to return to the Council, but the winds of change turned him back and carried Allison into the seat.

The seat is currently held by Deputy Mayor Glenn Smith, who lost to Allison and Flynn in the August primary.

Weaver said looking at the numbers made her “feel a big responsibility to move forward. It’s a little daunting. I feel it is more important than ever to understand that we are all in this together. I want to encourage people to keep talking.”

Allison said looking back on the campaign, he believes the “voters agreed with the message of change. Maple Valley has grown up over the last 10 years. It’s not the same Maple Valley it was 10 years ago. I ran into someone yesterday who said, ‘Please make a decision. Don’t table everything.’ People are ready for change.”

Olness said she was surprised how close her Black Diamond election was. She and Botts were separated by 56 votes in Tuesday’s tally.

She said the campaign was difficult and became more hostile and negative toward the end. Olness pointed out the hostility was coming from supporters of the incumbent, not Botts himself.

“I do want to make it clear it was not Howard,” Olness said. “He is a nice man.”

Olness said the close vote indicates there is a lot of concern over changes coming Black Diamond’s way.

“We have to be careful, but we can do it right,” Olness said. “We have to get some business here. I’m going to do everything I can to get a grocery store.”

Olness believes the city has a “wonderful staff and I’m very comfortable with Leonard (Smith, city administrator).”

Goodwin and Saas will join a Council dealing with the challenges of a rapidly-changing city once the YarrowBay developments get rolling.

The Maple Valley City Council will also be wrestling with a YarrowBay development, the Summit Place project, a proposed Fred Meyer store and the Kite Realty Group redevelopment project at Four Corners.

With the two new Maple Valley City Council members, a change in the mayor’s position could be on the horizon in January.

Maple Valley uses a council-manager system, where the mayor is chosen by City Council members, from within their own ranks, at the first meeting in January. By contrast, Black Diamond has a strong mayor form of government, where the mayor is chosen by the people.

Laure Iddings has been Maple Valley’s mayor since incorporation in 1997.

Allison said he is often asked if he is excited about taking a seat on the Council.

“I am excited,” he said. “I’m excited because I feel people said ‘yes we can do this.’”