3 key Seattle City Council election updates
Newly counted primary ballots highlighted the importance of three races in a field of 45 candidates for seven Seattle City Council districts seats on Wednesday.
The latest results didn’t contain any surprises, falling in line with the same front-runners as the night before.
While each of the seven district elections will make a big difference in the overall makeup of the City Council come November, three races are particularly close and worth watching this week.
District 2
Councilmember Tammy Morales and Chinatown International District community activist Tanya Woo have advanced to the November general election.
Morales, a progressive first-term council member, and Woo had comfortably shut out challenger Margaret Elisabeth in initial results, with the pair earning over 94% of counted votes.
While it’s clear that Morales and Woo will be on the ballot for the district in the Nov. 7 general election, the race between the two is much closer, with Morales pulling just over 49% of counted votes and Woo close behind with about 45%.
Advertising
The narrow gap between the two could suggest a well-matched fight between now and November. Any threat to Morales maintaining her seat also speaks to the unpredictability of which leading political faction — moderate, centrist Democrats or far-left progressives — will hold a majority on the council, as Morales is the most progressive incumbent, given the imminent departure of socialist Kshama Sawant in District 3.
District 7
Early results chart a tough path for incumbent Councilmember Andrew Lewis, who will almost certainly make it through to the general along with challenger Bob Kettle, a retired Navy commander.
Lewis has tried to walk a tightrope of leaning slightly toward the progressive side of many issues while also trying to address public safety and issues facing local businesses in his downtown district.
Early results in his reelection bid suggest mixed reviews of his ability to play both sides, with his two strongest competitors — Kettle and restaurant owner Olga Sagan — posting over 46% combined and Lewis pulling about 42%.
If the results suggest a distaste for Lewis, as Kettle claimed Tuesday, supporters of Sagan could shift to Kettle in the general and pose a real threat to Lewis’ second term.
“A clear majority of our district is rejecting the incumbent, it’s clear, for his failures and inactions on the issues of public safety, public health and homelessness, and so I’m looking forward to contrasting that in the general election with our pragmatic vision for a thriving and vibrant Seattle,” Kettle said late Tuesday.
Advertising
District 5
In District 5, dueling progressives create an undecided primary.
Former King County Superior Court Judge Cathy Moore’s commitment to pragmatism and public safety reform appears to have resonated enough with voters to secure her a spot in the general election with over 32% of votes counted out of a field of 10 candidates — the most in any district — vying to replace outbound council President Debora Juarez in North Seattle.
The second place spot held by progressive social equity consultant ChrisTiana ObeySumner at around 22% of votes counted so far is the thinnest margin between any second and third place candidate, with community activist Nilu Jenks trailing by about 3 percentage points, or less than 500 votes, as of Wednesday.
See other Seattle City Council, key Washington primary 2023 election results.
Other races
The results in the two Metropolitan King County Council races barely budged after Wednesday’s ballot counts. In northwest Seattle’s District 4, Jorge Barón, an immigration advocate, led Sarah Reyneveld, an assistant attorney general, by 18 percentage points, after leading by 17 points on election night. Reyneveld led Becka Johnson Poppe, a county budget manager, by 10 points in the race for second.
Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda lengthened her lead over Burien City Councilmember and Mayor Sofia Aragon, from 15 percentage points to 16 points in District 8, covering West Seattle, Burien and Vashon Island.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Source: The Seattle Times
