As ballots are being sent to voters this week for the upcoming August 5th Primary Election, the races for the Seattle mayor’s office appears to be coming down to what order the two leading candidates in the political battle will finish.

Challenger Katie Wilson seems to have a top-two result all but wrapped up.

“This woman is so smart, she’s kicked my ass so many times in so many debates,” repeat mayoral candidate Joe Mallahan said Tuesday night during a candidates forum focused on District 3 issues organized by the Leschi Community Council, the Central Area Neighborhood District Council, and the Coalition of Immigrants Refugees and Communities of Color.

Mallahan’s admission — he’s currently running third in fundraising in the race with $122,000 in campaign contributions plus another $15,000 from an independent expenditure committee — made it pretty clear he knows Wilson is going through to November’s General Election.

Wilson and incumbent Bruce Harrell’s campaigns have both reported raising around $450,000 each. Harrell is also backed by a $200,000 “Bruce Harrell 4 SeattlesFuture” independent expenditure committee.

“We have great values here in Seattle but we often fail to live up to them,” Wilson said Tuesday night in her pitch to the crowd inside Leschi’s Grace United Methodist Church as she positioned her leadership as a collaborative and active effort to push beyond current City Hall leadership’s moderate leanings. Wilson promised an administration that would be more aggressive in galvanizing the city against federal cutbacks and attacks on DEI programs. She said she would back efforts to civilianize more of the work currently saddling the Seattle Police Department, expand alternative responses like the CARE crisis responders, and fix the city’s “broken” police accountability system. And she said she would lead in unity with the city’s community organizations and labor unions — “I’m a believer in the power of organization,” Wilson said.

The progressive organizer who is the executive directors of the Transit Riders Union and helped lead minimum wage and renter rights campaigns around the region won the endorsement of the 43rd District Democrats last month.

Tuesday night, Harrell “had another appointment and couldn’t move his schedule,” forum organizers told the crowd. In 2021’s primary, voters in Leschi and this area of the city were strong supporters of the Central District born and raised candidate.

Harrell’s absence might have been to his advantage. The mayor did not have to respond to the role former T-Mobile executive Mallahan has settled into of Harrell basher with hopes of somehow henpecking the incumbent into third place and out of the race. “I believe the city of Seattle is badly mismanaged,” the repeat mayoral candidate said during one of his times at the microphone, calling Harrell a “disrespectful, vindictive, finger-pointer of a mayor.”

You can watch the full candidates forum here.

Ballots will begin arriving this week for the August 5th vote.

Find all CHS Elections coverage here.

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