Seattle may be taking swing to the center after years of lefty candidates
Seattle's three incumbent city council members were trailing after the first ballot drop on Election Night.
It wasn't supposed to be this exciting.
As the first batch of ballots dropped in King County on Tuesday night, the three incumbents for Seattle City Council trailed behind their more conservative opponents.
This possible move to the right suggests that Seattleites may want leaders who are tougher on crime as homicide rates approach record highs and homeless encampments get pushed around the city.
Andrew Lewis, of District 7 (downtown), has 44% of the vote so far, behind Bob Kettle, who had 56%. Kettle is a stay-at-home dad and former Navy officer.
In south Seattle, incumbent Tammy Morales got 45% compared to community activist Tanya Woo's 54%.
The race was tightest in the Ballard area, where incumbent Dan Strauss has moved more center and was endorsed by Mayor Bruce Harrell — the only incumbent to get the mayor's stamp of approval.
When the preliminary results landed, Strauss laughed and said, "I'm going to send us back to mingling while I go find another 400 votes."
If these numbers hold, Seattle will have an entirely different city council in 2024.
The more conservative candidates rallied in districts without incumbents, too.
In West Seattle, activist Maren Costa had 41% of the vote, compared with tech attorney Rob Saka, 59%.
View the rest of the election night results here.
—Isolde Raftery, Casey Martin
Prop 1: Housing levy
Seattle’s nearly $1 billion affordable housing levy appears to be cruising towards victory.
The results could still change, but early ballots Tuesday night show it passing by 66% to 34%.
So what will the levy buy?
It spends money in several different areas. These are just estimates, but backers expect it’ll build over 3,000 apartments. It'll also help purchase some older apartment buildings, and invest in workers who keep up that housing.
A small fraction of the money will help people with down payments on a home purchase. Home ownership builds wealth, and some families – especially Black families, have historically had a harder time getting loans.
—Joshua McNichols
Seattle City Council District 1
In keeping with tradition, the first ballot drop on election night in Seattle gives a glimpse into the priorities of early voters. But it’s far from a final result.
The race to represent District 1 on Seattle’s City Council, which includes West Seattle, South Park, Georgetown, and Sodo, pits climate activist and former Amazon employee Maren Costa against Rob Saka, a former lawyer for tech company Meta.
Saka, who came in second in the primary with roughly a quarter of the votes, was leading after the first ballot results were released Tuesday evening.
Initial results show Saka with 58.65% of votes counted so far, or 10,088 votes.
Costa, who won the primary with roughly a third of the votes, was trailing with 40.77% of votes in initial tallies, or 7,013 votes.
There are still a lot of ballots to be counted, but Saka said the early results are encouraging.
“I feel grateful and humbled,” Saka said. “It’s very clear to me that voters are demanding change,” he said.
In a statement, Costa said she’s proud of the campaign she ran and thankful for everyone who supported her.
“Regardless of the final result, I'm proud that we campaigned according to our values, without billionaires or dangerous fearmongering, and in collaboration with working families, community advocates, and policy experts,” the statement said.
Whoever wins the race will be replacing outgoing Councilmember Lisa Herbold.
—Kate Walters
Seattle Council District 2
Seattle City Council District 2 candidate Tanya Woo, led by 9% over incumbent Councilmember Tammy Morales in the first round of ballot results.
Woo is on the Seattle ballot for the first time and is known for her advocacy efforts in the Chinatown International District. She led the movement to stop a proposed expansion of a homeless shelter in the CID and other neighborhoods.
Woo says despite being in the lead, she will be closely watching the additional tallies in the coming days, as Progressive voters tend to vote late and may not be in her favor.
“It makes me feel a bit nervous, because I know a lot of people in the district vote later," Woo said. "And I think turnout was pretty low at the onset. I think it's gonna be nail biter, it's gonna be very close, but hoping for the best.”
Morales says she is confident that the votes that are yet to be counted will be in her favor.
“I really want to thank all of Seattle's very Progressive voters who wait till the last minute to vote," Morales said.
District 2 includes the CID and Rainier Beach and has been expanded this year to include Mount Baker.
— Natalie Newcomb
Seattle City Council District 3
Update: Alex Hudson called Joy Hollingsworth Friday, Nov. 10 and conceded the race for Seattle Council District 3, and offered her support moving forward, according to a statement from Hudson's campaign.
“This was a hard fought campaign, but also a civil and substantive one, and I want to publicly congratulate Joy on her victory. Of course it hurts to lose, but Joy ran a stellar campaign, and I have no doubt she will be a strong and effective representative for the people of District 3,” Hudson said in a statement. “I also want to offer my heartfelt thanks to the thousands of Seattleites who supported my call for a safer, healthier Seattle where everyone can thrive.”
Original: It’s the end of an era in District 3, which includes Capitol Hill, East Lake, Montlake, Leschi, and the Central Area.
Joy Hollingsworth and Alex Hudson are vying to replace outgoing council member Kshama Sawant, the city’s only elected socialist, and a long-time controversial figure in local politics.
Hollingsworth and Hudson both made it through the primary with almost identical vote tallies. Hollingsworth, a business owner, just squeaked into top spot with 36.87% of the vote, compared to Hudson’s 36.53%. Hudson is a transit advocate.
In initial results Tuesday night, Hollingsworth was leading the race with 58.28% of votes, or 10,306 total votes so far, to Hudson’s 41.35%, or 7,313 votes.
Both candidates noted Tuesday that the initial results are not the final word on the race.
Still, Hollingsworth said she feels confident, and it was a good first drop. Hudson said she’s excited to see how things shake out once all the votes are counted.
Now that the intense campaigning period is over, both candidates are looking forward to some rest.
“I’ve been really missing just being my kid’s mom and so, no matter what happens, for the next couple of weeks I just get to be my kid’s mom and I’m excited about that,” Hudson said.
“Netflix and chill. That’s all I want to do in my life,” Hollingsworth said. “Play the piano, hang out, be with my family."
— Kate Walters and Jason Burrows
Seattle City Council District 4
Ron Davis and Maritza Rivera are vying to replace outgoing Councilmember Alex Pedersen in District 4, which includes Wedgewood, Ravenna, Wallingford, the University District, and Sand Point.
Rivera is an attorney and civil servant. Davis is a tech entrepreneur.
As is expected, the first ballot results skewed in favor of the more moderate or centrist candidate. Rivera was leading Tuesday evening with 55% of votes (8,281 votes). She took second place in the primaries with just over 30% of votes.
"I am encouraged by last night’s results," Rivera said Wednesday morning. "I am hopeful that, as votes get counted, I will be successful and look forward to working with the mayor and other council members to get Seattle back on track."
Davis, who won the primary with just under 45% of votes, was trailing Rivera in initial results Tuesday with 44.23% (6,619 votes).
Following initial results, Davis said things were looking exactly as he’d expected they would. He said he expected to be down at this point.
“We think there will be substantial shift,” Davis said, adding that he’s feeling cautiously optimistic.
— Kate Walters
Seattle Council District 5
Retired Judge Cathy Moore gathered with supporters at Northgate's Watershed Pub. She seemed flabbergasted to receive 70% of the initial ballot results, a lead which she said was likely insurmountable by her opponent, social equity consultant ChrisTiana ObeySumner. Moore said she saw public safety as the most critical issue to voters she contacted.
"I think the voters want a return to a collaborative, solutions-based approach to good governance," Moore said. "And that’s what we’re going to do."
ObeySumner, who is now a longshot in light of Moore's strong lead, gathered with supporters at The Rickshaw in Greenwood Tuesday night. After the first ballot results were published, they opted to grab the karaoke mic, noting that the band Journey is a favorite, and chose to sing "Don't Stop Believing."
ObeySumner agreed that the number one core issue for voters is that they want a city council that will work together without fighting or getting caught in minutiae, posturing and peacocking. They said they felt their message of diversifying public safety responses was distorted, and in turn, their campaign was lumped in with the message of defunding the police — ObeySumner said that was not accurate.
"At the end of the day, it’s a lot of crap happening out here, a lot of difficult things," ObeySumner said. "People are really struggling, people are really hurting, everyone from folks who are unhoused to middle class and beyond. So really what matters is that we are going to have a city council that’s going to amplify the voices and leadership of those most impacted and get stuff done."
— Amy Radil
Seattle Council District 6 (Ballard, Fremont, Greenwood)
Incumbent Councilmember Dan Strauss was behind challenger Pete Hanning by 2% Tuesday night. Hanning had 50.75%, and Strauss had 48.7%.
“Obviously it's a close race, but I'd rather be in my position than where Dan’s at,” Hanning said at an election night party at Shibuya Hi-Fi Vinyl Bar.
He noted that people who voted later could tilt the race in the other direction.
“There's 400 some vote difference and whether it tightens, stays the same, or widens, it's not a real wide divide right now I hope that as many people participated as possible.”
Strauss was with supporters at Reuben's Brews Barrel House in Ballard.
"We got some initial numbers in, and they’re not exactly what we wanted,” Strauss told the room Tuesday night. "I'm ready to send us back to mingling while I go find another 400 votes."
Strauss was familiar with Seattle City Hall when he won the District 6 election in 2019. He previously was a legislative assistant to Councilmember Sally Bagshaw. He also worked for a range of Democratic causes and candidates, and was a legislative assistant for State Senator David Frockt.
Hanning emerged from Seattle's small business and nightlife community. He owned Fremont's Red Door for more than three decades, which focused on the region's craft beer scene. He is currently executive director of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce.
District 6 includes the neighborhoods of Ballard, Green Lake, Fremont, Greenwood, and Phinney Ridge.
— Casey Martin and KUOW staff
Seattle City Council District 7
District 7, spanning downtown, South Lake Union, Queen Anne and Interbay, is one of only three races with an incumbent council member on the docket.
Councilmember Andrew Lewis is being challenged by Bob Kettle, a stay-at-home dad and member of a police advisory council for the West Precinct.
Initial returns have Lewis, and the other two incumbents up for re-election this cycle, down. Tuesday evening, Lewis had 43.81% of votes, or 5,882 votes, to Kettle’s 55.79%, or 7,490 votes, in the first drop.
The reaction at Kettle’s election night gathering was jubilant, with the crowd cheering as first results were announced.
“Incredible results, very positive,” Kettle said.
Lewis said he knew it was going to be close.
“We don’t have election day, we have election month, so here we are,” he said.
— Kate Walters and David Hyde
