The Republican Street north-south divide in Capitol Hill was just as apparent as it was during the August primary, according to the final certification of the November 5th election. Voter’s on the north side leaned more “conservative” as the Pike/Pine core remained a solid block in the “progressive” direction.

But while outgoing Mayor Mike McGinn maintained strong support in Capitol Hill, Ed Murray was able to dip below the Republican Street demarcation to pick up additional votes in his home neighborhood. Murray was also able to chip away at some precincts in the central part of the neighborhood that McGinn ultimately won with less support than he enjoyed in the primary. You can see the struggle the played out on Capitol Hill just by looking at the colored map compared to other neighborhoods.

“Murray made big inroads with the young voters in urban core neighborhoods. On Capitol Hill, (Richard) Conlin received only 29% of votes, but Murray managed a respectable 41%,” wrote political analyst Ben Anderstone of Anderstone Strategies. Continue reading →

The 43rd District — click for larger image

Earlier this month, CHS reported that there was more than one winner in the Seattle race for mayor. With Ed Murray’s victory, the 43rd District’s House rep Jamie Pedersen appears lined up for a promotion to the Senate. The ripple effect will also likely mean the 43rd Dems will be picking a new representative. Below is a mail sent out Wednesday morning by the group to members profiling the potential candidates.

King County Democrats chair Karl de Jong has called a special caucus for the senate appointment. During this caucus, Precinct Committee Officers will also be voting on three nominees for the potential house vacancy. Details on the December 3rd meeting are here.

Pedersen’s statement as well as statements for the three potential candidates to replace him are below. Continue reading →

Sawant on Election Night (Image: Alex Garland for CHS)

Ten days after a seemingly decisive election day win, incumbent council member Richard Conlin has conceded to socialist challenger Kshama Sawant. Conlin made the announcement at a 5 PM press conference on Friday after ballot numbers released an hour earlier put Sawant in 1-point lead.

Sawant’s improbable win marks the first time a socialist will take a seat on the Seattle city council in at least 100 years (maybe ever); she’ll also be the first Indian American and software engineer-turned-economist to take the post.

On election night Conlin was more than 7 points ahead of Sawant, with a 6,000 vote lead, but Sawant refused to concede the race. As ballots continued to be counted in the days after November 5th, Sawant steadily gained on Conlin. She narrowly surpassed him on Tuesday with 41 votes. By Thursday, Sawant had widened her lead to 1,148 votes, putting the election outside the margin that would trigger an automatic recount.

Sawant, a member of the Socialist Alternative party, championed pro-worker and anti-corporate causes during the campaign, including a $15/hr minimum wage, rent control, and a “millionaires’ tax.” She pummeled Conlin during several barbed debates, often referring to him as a defender of corporate and developer interests. Conlin has said this would be his last run for office.

Sawant is an economics professor at Seattle Central Community College and was an active member of Occupy Seattle. Depending on how her term goes Sawant could be a frontrunner for Seattle’s new Council District 3.

Following election day Sawant has posted increasing gains on ballot counts (Image: CHS)

The resurgence of Kshama Sawant in her race with Richard Conlin for the incumbent’s City Council seat continues.

UPDATE 4:40 PM (11/14): Sawant continued her slow but steady accumulation of votes over Conlin on Thursday, surpassing him by 1,148 votes. Thursday’s ballot release also put the race out of automatic recount territory. The two candidates are now separated by .67% — an automatic recount is triggered if the race is within a .5% difference.

Returns as of 4:30 PM on November 14. (Image: King County Elections)

UPDATE Wednesday, November 13th, 4:45 PM: Sawant’s surge continued with Wednesday’s only scheduled vote count update. The challenger has now opened a 402-vote lead over her rival.

UPDATE Tuesday, November 12th, 4:40 PM: Following the release of Tuesday’s batch of ballots, Sawant has pulled ahead of Conlin by 41 votes. If Sawant continues to post similar leads over Conlin in the next couple days she will not only have caught the incumbent from behind — she’ll have won outright, no recount required. If these current percentages hold, however, an automatic recount would be triggered.

“We’re very hopeful we’re going to make history,” said Sawant campaign manager Ramy Khalil, who attributed the late ballot surge to October campaign  endorsements.

On election night Conlin was more than 7 points ahead of Sawant, with a 6,000 vote lead. Sawant refused to concede the race — good thing since Sawant has continued to narrow in on the incumbent. As of Friday Sawant was only trailing Conlin by 1,237 votes, narrowing the race to under 1%. If elected, Sawant would be the first socialist candidate ever elected to the city council. Her pro-worker, pro-middle class and anti-poverty messages have apparently resonated with voters — at least in this race. CHS has reported on her efforts to champion a $15 minimum wage and rent control in the city.

The campaigns got word last week that some 5,600 ballots had been declared invalid, likely due to issues with ballot signatures. Over the weekend both campaigns launched efforts to reach out to voters whose ballots had been kicked backed. Continue reading →

Like it or not, district-based city council seats will be here in 2015. As of Thursday’s last count, nearly 65% of Seattle voters approved Charter Amendment 19 to drastically re-calibrate the city’s top elected body. Under the new arrangement the city will have seven district-based council seats and two at large representatives, with Capitol Hill dominating Seattle District 3.

District-based council seats represent a historic shift in the political dynamics of the city and will likely cast a microscope over neighborhood politics. Madison Park moms, Seattle Central Community College students, and Central District old-timers will now all be jostling to elect and influence one single council member in the Fighting Third.

A lot of political rising and falling can happen in two years, so District 3 candidate predictions may be premature. Who would run if the elections were held today? Wyking Garrett? Sandy Cioffi? Bobby Forch? Dominic Holden? Jason Lajeunesse? Toss out your best guesses/nominations in comments.

Kshama Sawant, your first District 3 Council alderperson? (Image: CHS)

Continue reading →

Pedersen, left, was also a winner Tuesday night (Image: Alex Garland for CHS)

The race to lead Seattle is over and the political show must go on. As Ed Murray prepares to become Seattle’s 53rd mayor, he will leave behind his 43rd District Senate seat and minority leader post. The most likely contender to win the appointment to fill Murray’s soon-to-be empty seat is Capitol Hill’s own 43rd District Rep. Jamie Pedersen.

Pedersen, an attorney who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, tells CHS that he decided to seek the Senate seat in June even though he would enter as a junior member in the minority party. Murray’s majority leader position will be filled by a sitting senator.

“It’s not really an obvious choice for me personally. I’m chair of a committee that I like a lot and a relatively senior member of the House,” Pedersen said.

Despite the drawbacks, Pedersen said there are big issues in the Senate he wanted to tackle. “We need more revenue to invest in our education system and the Senate is the biggest obstacle to that,” he said, adding that past frustrations with the Republican majority body were partially behind his desire to take Murray’s seat. “I have some experience of getting things stopped in the Senate.” Continue reading →