And then there were two.

With only Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant and Broadway Business Improvement Area head Egan Orion remaining after the city’s most expensive Primary battle, the race for District 3 money ramps up — even as another city council member is ready to introduce legislation to try to slow the escalating cost of getting elected in Seattle.

Orion was boosted by more than $156,000 in independent expenditures from the pro-business Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy during the primary, the biggest outside spending in the city. Amazon has contributed $250,000 to CASE and Vulcan has given $155,000, according to filings with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC). Some say this money lifted him over the line over other qualified candidates, including Seattle Public Schools Board member Zachary DeWolf.

“I think that Egan has the business community to thank for him getting through, absolutely,” a veteran Seattle political consultant said, adding that “the outside groups were able to move the needles where they needed to go roughly to boost Egan where his direct campaign couldn’t do it.”

At the same time, citywide Council member Lorena González has recently drafted legislation that would limit how much contributors could give to PACs and place more stringent regulations on foreign money in Seattle politics. Continue reading →

Egan Orion as Shegan (Image: @gramsofgnats)

Ten of the 14 remaining Seattle City Council candidates — including one District 3 candidate done up in drag for the night — faced some of their most progressive constituents in a fun but heated at times pageant Wednesday night.

District 3 incumbent Kshama Sawant, Scott’s competitor in D4 Alex Pedersen, as well as both of North Seattle’s District 5 competitors, council member Debora Juarez and Ann Davidson Slatter, did not participate.

Don’t get your hopes up that the socialist D3 incumbent was rejecting the evening’s frat talent show theatrics or stepping away from the alternative biweekly that endorsed her in the primary. Sawant’s campaign tells CHS the candidate was unable to attend due to “a personal scheduling conflict.”

On stage at Neumos, District 4’s Shaun Scott “won” the contest, narrowly eking out District 2’s Tammy Morales, who was voted the most spirited contestant, to win the pageant hosted by The Washington Bus and The Stranger at the Capitol Hill music venue.

The event, comprised of a mostly cringe-worthy talent portion, and policy questions, often turned hostile with heckling of less left-leaning candidates. Continue reading →

With reporting by Margo Vansynghel

If the advocates of pro-policing and anti-street disorder efforts in Seattle like Speak out Seattle, Safe Seattle, and People for Seattle really are sweeping in a wave of change in the city, this is what it looks like in District 3.

CHS started the week showing you Election Night heat maps for the top two candidates moving through to November’s General Election in D3.

Here is the Election Night map for the person who cam in third and will not advance — Pat Murakami.

Supported by an endorsement from Speak Out Seattle, a pro-policing and public safety group which has opposed the head tax and safe-consumption sites, Murakami outpaced many expectations and should finish with around 13% of the vote but falling well short of Egan Orion and Kshama Sawant.  Continue reading →

With the dust of the primary election settling and ballot counts slowing to a trickle, Seattle City Council candidates who made it to the General Election in November are now gearing up for the second round of campaigning. Expect for things to swing back into action with a wave of forums starting next month including the GSBA’s event at the Broadway Performance Hall on September 10th.

Meanwhile, in mapping out their strategy, precinct-level voting data from King County Elections might help candidates figure out in which areas they could garner some more support — or which ones might be lost territory.

For the full picture, candidates including D3 City Council incumbent Kshama Sawant and General Election-bound challenger Egan Orion will have to wait a couple more days. Primary results will be certified August 20th. Precinct-level voting data will be released in the days following.

The precinct-level results CHS has mapped date from the night of the election represents 60% of ballots counted. Continue reading →

King County Elections officials tallied another 3,500 or so District 3 votes in Wednesday’s second release of Primary totals and the numbers show incumbent Kshama Sawant’s number one position strengthening. Continue reading →

The qualifying round in Seattle’s most expensive and hotly contested City Council race is finally nearing the finish line and District 3’s candidates are ready to celebrate — or commiserate — with you. Here’s a look at the Election Night events planned by D3 candidates around the district. Come out and join CHS and your neighbors for a night of democratic good times — and the first ballot drop around 8 PM. Still need to vote? You have until 8 PM to either find your nearest ballot box or have your ballot post marked.

District 3 Primary Election Night Parties

• Sawant (incumbent): Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute — 104 17th Ave S — 6 to 10 PM. Info
• Bowers: Chuck’s — 2001 E Union — 7 to 10 PM. Info
• DeWolf: Marjorie: 1412 E Union — 7 to 9 PM. Info
• Murakami: Madrona Arms — 1138 34th Ave
• Nguyen: Seattle Fish Guys —  411 -23rd Ave S — 7 to 9 PM — Info
• Orion: Rachel’s Ginger Beer — 1610 12th Ave — 7 to 9 PM — Info

Still need to vote? If you are the kind of voter who chooses your candidate based on party location, here you go. If not, check out CHS’s Election 2019 coverage, below. Continue reading →