ELECTION 2017: It’s Durkan vs. Moon for Seattle Mayor, and other final primary results

4:50 PM: Just certified by King County, final results from the August 1st primary. See them all here. Advancing to the general election:

SEATTLE MAYOR
Jenny Durkan 51,529 27.9%
Cary Moon 32,536 17.62%

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL POSITION 8
Teresa Mosqueda 53,676 31.59%
Jon Grant 45,652 26.87%

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL POSITION 9
M. Lorena González* 108,602 64.17%
Pat Murakami 33,349 19.71%

KING COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Dow Constantine* 304,456 76.99%
Bill Hirt 49,687 12.57%

SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION POSITION 1
John Creighton* 124,884 32.74%
Ryan Calkins 121,177 31.77%

SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION POSITION 3
Stephanie Bowman* 191,203 51.29%
Ahmed Abdi 121,898 32.7%

SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION POSITION 4
Preeti Shridhar 94,679 24.82%
Peter Steinbrueck 91,227 23.92%

And these are final results for the lone local ballot measure:

KING COUNTY PROP 1 (ACCESS FOR ALL SALES-TAX INCREASE)
Reject 211,113 50.9%
Approve 203,633 49.1%

Seattle voter turnout was 40.49%; countywide, 33.76%. The general election (aka voting deadline in our system) will be Tuesday, November 7th.

ADDED 6:28 PM: Both mayoral candidates have e-mailed statements to the media. Read them in their entirety below:

First one in was from Cary Moon:

Our city is energized for new leadership – made evident by the historic turnout in the primary election. I am deeply honored by the support I received, and look forward to earning the support of all who want a City Hall of, by, and for the people.

We owe a debt of gratitude to each of the Mayoral candidates who organized communities, envisioned a better future, and engaged our city in civic dialogue. And we owe it to our next generation Seattleites to continue inventing our city’s future together. In particular, I acknowledge Nikkita Oliver, Jessyn Farrell, Bob Hasegawa, and Mike McGinn for the expertise, passion, and integrity they dedicated to the race.

Further, The Peoples Party and Nikkita Oliver’s campaign amplified the voices of those who often feel Seattle is no longer for them, and engaged thousands across Seattle in this important election. Our city is stronger for their work. I am inspired to hear the Peoples Party will continue to grow in power and engage in local politics.

I hope to earn the trust and support of every Seattle voter ready to boldly re-envision a City Hall that makes a difference in people’s lives through inclusive, accountable leadership. My experience working in coalition, my deep roots in civic advocacy, and my 20 years of experience building solutions to the very challenges Seattle faces are the leadership skills our city needs now.

This moment calls for an effective change maker, someone with the independence and courage to lead the transformation we so badly need. I am ready to fight for our future, stand up to powerful special interests, resist the Trump agenda, and serve the people as Seattle’s next mayor.

Second in, from Jenny Durkan:

Nikkita Oliver ran a great campaign. She brought not just her powerful voice to the discussion but brought in and amplified the voices, dreams, and pain of those who have been shut out of the opportunities and prosperity of our city. There’s no doubt that she will be a leader for our city for years to come and that the issues she focused on will define our future. During the campaign and many forums, I learned from her, laughed with her, and admired what she was able to accomplish. I commend her as well as the other candidates who put themselves out there to make our city a better place.

For those who didn’t support me, I’ll work hard to earn your support. I fundamentally believe that the next mayor has the moral challenge and deep responsibility to address inequities facing our city. I am committed to ensuring the marginalized and most vulnerable are part of the promise of Seattle. Seattle’s next mayor must be a leader who listens to all communities, brings people together, and gets things done. We have to come together to close the gaps in our city.

From my work in a remote fishing village teaching English to my time as the first openly gay U.S. Attorney, I’ve spent much of life challenging the status quo and making deep systemic reforms that matter in people’s lives. Equality, civil rights, criminal justice reform, police accountability – these have been the fights of my career, and if I have the opportunity to serve as mayor, I will fight every day to put our progressive values into action.

In the upcoming weeks, I will continue to make the case to all voters about my experience to lead this city as well as my specific ideas to address the urgent challenges of inequality, affordability, homelessness, transportation, police reform, and climate change.

West Seattle Hipster August 15, 2017 (9:45 pm)

Whew! Worried that Nikkita Oliver would end up on the ballot….

Brenda August 15, 2017 (10:36 pm)

Ditto!

Jort Sandwich August 15, 2017 (11:22 pm)

Well, it would seem that light rail to West Seattle remains a possibility, since Bob “I Will Personally Kill Light Rail to West Seattle” Hasegawa failed to make the ballot.

Bob “Sworn Blood Enemy of Sound Transit” Hasegawa would have added AT LEAST 10 more years to the Seattle Process Timeline (SPT) for the light rail project.

Cap'n Crunch August 16, 2017 (1:16 am)

Clearly, both are pandering for the votes that went to the other 19 candidates. I agree with some of the values that each of these two candidates express. But, seriously, we are running off the tracks, and in my dreams I had hoped for someone a bit more centrist to reign in the city council. These 2 are already fighting to see who can be the most left, as that is apparently the recipe for winning the elections in Seattle. At least we dodged Oliver… for now.

Mr E August 16, 2017 (10:24 am)

I am disappointed that Nikkita Oliver did not receive enough votes for the November election, but I am so proud of her – and The People’s Party – for running an honest, transparent, and accountable campaign.

ScubaFrog August 16, 2017 (11:25 am)

Nikita would have been great. Sad there’s so many right-of-center voters in Seattle. Likely new transplants. Bad fits.

ltfd August 16, 2017 (11:57 am)

You’re right. They probably have degrees, go to jobs, pay taxes, vote, etc. Bad fits.
- ScubaFrog August 16, 2017 (1:30 pm)
  
  In fact, the left in this country (ie the coasts), are trillion-dollar economies. We pay for the Midwest and south’s (red state’s) subsidies and welfare. We’re the earners and producers in America today, never forget that. If Seattle’s a bad fit for you, see yourself out.
  
  We’ve been doing such since the 1800’s. Because red states (and thus their ideologies) are failures.
  
  Conservatives are anti-intellectual, tend to be religious, and shun college education.
  
  The most successful people I know are liberal. Sure, I’ve known rich Conservatives (think Medina, old money). But Wall Street, Boeing, Microsoft, Hollywood are in liberal bastions, run by liberals for the most part (and naturally are on the blue coasts). What have red states produced? Besides that bloating gasbag trump’s failed Presidency?
- West Seattle since 1979 August 16, 2017 (1:42 pm)
  
  Left-of-center people do those things as well. So sick of the tired trope that liberals or lefties don’t have jobs.
Sna August 16, 2017 (12:01 pm)

“Right of center” in Seattle is pretty darn left any other place in this country.
Jim August 16, 2017 (6:20 pm)

I agree – ideological diversity is the last thing this city needs.
Wseattleite August 16, 2017 (8:41 pm)

Scubafrog, are you saying that if people don’t think like you then you don’t want them as neighbors? This smells a lot like gross intolerance.
- ScubaFrog August 16, 2017 (10:28 pm)
  
  I’m grossly intolerant. I won’t tolerate bigotry or racism in any regard, take that how you will.
  
  I’ve known wonderful (educated) republicans (even some Trump-voters), democrats, and people across the political spectrum. My best experiences have been with political moderates, and those left of center (and again with the occasional educated republican). I won’t tolerate the alt-right.
  
  Two of the biggest myths that fox news/breitbart/Hannity and other ignorant conservatives have propogated , is that “liberals don’t serve in the Armed Forces”, and that “liberals don’t own firearms”. I can assure you that both sentiments are untrue.

Mark August 16, 2017 (12:11 pm)

Whatever happened to the pragmatic center left? The current Mayor and City Council belong in Lenigrad.

WSB August 16, 2017 (12:37 pm)

You mean Saint Petersburg?
You can certainly disagree with the council priorities, but much of what’s happening in Russia seems to be counter to what they’ve been working on.
Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/russia
- Jim August 16, 2017 (6:22 pm)
  
  No, I think he means Leningrad, a reference to the Soviet Union not present-day Russia.
ScubaFrog August 16, 2017 (1:40 pm)

Murray’s a pederast. What he did to his foster son back in the 1980’s is disgraceful, and it sounds like he victimized countless children.

However you must not leave the US often. St. Petersburg’s far right (all of Russia is).

Calling Murray a Marxist, socialist or commie falls on dead ears with me, if you’re going to resort to lazy alt-right buzzwords, don’t engage me.

Mark August 16, 2017 (12:47 pm)

My reference was to Socialistic spending, regarding human rights it is way better here!

hj August 16, 2017 (12:47 pm)

When do the losing candidates start getting fined for leaving their campaign litter up?

West Seattle Hipster August 16, 2017 (2:56 pm)

I carefully read the voters pamphlet before the recent election, and any candidate who had the word “activist” in their bio was immediately rejected. Seattle needs people who can lead, not divide.

Cap'n Crunch August 16, 2017 (5:45 pm)

There are very few right-of-center voters in Seattle. If you have any doubts, look at the primary vote tallies. Well over 50% of the total votes went to Durkan, Moon, and Oliver. There were only 2 candidates that would qualify as being right-of-center anywhere else in the country, and they garnered under 5% of the total vote.

If anyone here thinks that either Durkan or Moon are moderate, you have lost touch with what is mainstream in this country. I am not labeling either candidate as defective by saying this, just asking that we acknowledge that we are a very left leaning city in terms of politics. I’m not into labeling the left or right as being the good guys or the bad guys. But, I think that a more centrist approach to our local government might help us tackle some of the problems that have not been resolved by applying the same failed solutions over and over.

Local wealth has been created by a lot of factors. Some of it is old from more mature industries, such as timber and aerospace. The newer wealth has been created by the tech industry. These jobs tend to pay well, and so it affords more disposable income to individuals who work there. In turn, this drives up real estate prices, which then produces a windfall of property taxes that the city can spend as it deems appropriate. Did the city actually “do” something to increase wealth, other than increase real estate assessments? I don’t believe so. Seattle is the 20th largest city in the US in terms of population, but has the 6th highest annual budget.

I don’t see where it makes sense for people to pat themselves on the back for living in a city that has such wealth. And, I don’t think it is universally true that people who work at places like Microsoft of Boeing are left-leaning. People take jobs that they want, are qualified to do, and are paid adequately to fill. These companies do not have some kind of political affiliation litmus test for applicants.

As for Oliver, I’m sure she has all sorts of fine qualities. I have not seen any instances where the types of policies she espouses have been successfully implemented.

Captin August 16, 2017 (7:26 pm)

Whoa that’s a lot of pragmatism. I like it! However I think the mainstream in this country isn’t very “progressive” and gets lost in the rat race and rhetoric. Progressives to me are a little bit far left due to a lack of pragmatism; as is the far right. But we do need to progress as a country on every issue. I’m just saying let’s improve EVERYTHING for ourselves and the following generations, not as a progressive, as a pragmatist. To me the best answer is almost always in the middle. “Let’s help the homeless in a humanitarian, compassionate way…..but have boundaries and decide when enough is enough or enough is not enough”. That kind of thing. Too liberal is unrealistic and too conservative is unrealistic. The answer is some sort of crazy cocktail blend of the two we haven’t figured out yet.

Mark August 16, 2017 (10:30 pm)

As a long time Seattle resident the City used to be run by the pragmatic center left. Murray and the Council have veered to far left, like Captin said the answer is in the middle.

The polarization of politics is paralyzing the Country. No one is speaking from the center.

The homeless situation has gotten worse the more that is spent on it. Maybe because the boundaries of expecting people down on their luck to also make an effort to help themselves has gone by the wayside.

Center left politicians understood that keeping reasoned boundaries and expectations of those being helped was appropriate.

What is going on now is crazy, illegal camping, illegal parking, lack of civility and expectations. What the Council is considering making parking enforcement stop ticketing certain illegally parked rigs, what next oh camping in parks (nixed due to outrage of citizens).

Taxpayers have seen taxes go up enormously under Mayor Murray and clan, is this extra money being spent effectively? I believe NOT.

Captin August 17, 2017 (5:09 pm)

Exactly. This applies to infrastructure, homelessness, housing, blah blah. We need to team up and be financially responsible while being compassionate while also planning for the future and not leaving a bag of you know what for our kids!

Sorry, comment time is over.