The final results of King County Elections’ hand recount won’t be released until later this afternoon (and the county elections office won’t certify the final results until later this month), but PubliCola hears John Stokes has decisively won the race for an open Bellevue City Council seat against Aaron Laing.

The vote, a source tells us, changed by “only a couple of votes,” with retired attorney Stokes maintaining his close lead (51 votes as of the final machine count last month) over attorney Laing. Laing was part of a slate of candidates backed by influential Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman; Stokes, whom Laing outspent nearly two to one, had support from Seattle-based developer Wright Runstad, a Freeman rival on the Eastside.

Laing reportedly does not plan to challenge the results to the county’s canvassing board.