By Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Hours after the vote count that all but guaranteed Katie Wilson’s mayoral win, one of the organizations that endorsed her gathered for its monthly meeting and holiday party.

At the 34th District Democrats‘ gathering, we talked with some attendees about the election results. The main focus of the gathering was to present the group’s annual awards; we’ll get to that after the results reaction.

“I’m very excited she won the election. One thing we saw nationally and locally is that voters want elected officials that deliver on promises. Katie is that person.” said Jordan Crawley, chair of the 34th.

“I’m excited. She might not have experience, but she has integrity.” said Virginia.

“I voted for her because we need a change. I thought why not; I wouldn’t be upset if Harrell won, but I’m excited for a new face in there.” said another attendee.

A consistent theme with those we talked to was the necessity of improving Seattle’s housing situation. According to Zillow‘s statistics, the current average listed rental price in the city is $2,713, and the average listed home price is at $840,957. Many said that this presents a two-fold issue: Not only is it becoming increasingly hard for young people to be able to afford to live within the city limits, it also prevents a clear path for those experiencing homelessness to find a way off the streets.

One attendee, Sharon, shared her thoughts. “It’s too expensive for the people who have money, and too expensive for people who don’t have money. I wish we had laws limiting the property any one individual or corporation could have.” Sharon also shared that she is helping her son pay for his rental in Redmond, a situation similar to what the Harrell campaign criticized Wilson on during the campaign. Others echoed her opinion. “[Wilson] wants more housing – and that’s a big problem we have to solve.” said Virginia. “Rich people, low income, [homelessness] – a lot is going on that is all intertwined.” said another attendee.

They also highlighted Wilson’s strengths as a coalition builder and grassroots activist.

“She’s very intentional on building a broad coalition that included multiple Democratic party organizations. She’s had lots of experience building coalitions, doing incredible things policy-wise. It’s great to have that experience in our city as mayor.” said Crawley. Sharon said she was inspired by Wilson’s appearance at October’s No Kings protest at Seattle Center. “She worked the crowd, she was really reaching out, not preaching. […] The way she was reaching out to people for their concerns – is a good way to start on [the issues facing our city].

In terms of issues specifically affecting the 34th District, and West Seattle in general, many pointed toward their optimism that Wilson’s work in transit would help the situation with transit here. “We are hoping for the 34th District that there will be Comprehensive Plan updates for the Sound Transit plan. We hope that bus service will be returned to pre-pandemic levels. The 34th and West Seattle have been neglected in general investment,” said Crawley. On that topic, the 34th Dems are co-sponsoring Monday’s Light Rail Visioning Forum, announced earlier this week.

(It should be noted that the 34th DDs did not endorse Bruce Harrell in 2021, either.)

Though Wilson was not in attendance, some other winners from the recent election made appearances at Wednesday night’s event, including citywide Position 9 Councilmember-elect Dionne Foster (above; she beat City Council President Sara Nelson), City Attorney-elect Erika Evans (below; she beat incumbent Ann Davison), and State Senator Emily Alvarado (who ran unopposed).

Crawley began the night’s program by voicing hope for the future, and concern about managing the political realities of the present. “People with progressive values are winning, but we cannot act like we are done. MAGA is not disappearing anytime soon, these battles won’t get easier, and we won’t be less tired next November. But we can be sure we have strong allies in the Legislature who will fight like our lives depend on it, because they do.” he said.

He also noted that, for the district, this November’s election cycle marked high turnout for an odd-year election. “The 34th turnout was 52%, outperforming the median [of other legislative districts]. We’re not just winning and turning out more voters – we’re winning by larger margins.” he said. He also highlighted that most of the endorsements the 34th made during the cycle enjoyed large margins of victory during the election. “Our endorsees are averaging 64% of the vote.” he said.

After his opening speech, the 34th District Democrats presented their annual awards. These were as follows:

Executive Board Member of the Year – Rachel Glass, for organizing programs such as the “Bend It Like Booker” event (WSB coverage here), as well as outreach to a diverse selection of communities and organizations:

Elected Official of the Year – Gina Topp (District 6 Seattle School Board director and current board president), lauded in the presentation as “a calm voice in the face of public dismay about the [once-proposed] closure of schools across the district. […] As SPS goes through the process of closing the funding gap, her work will be invaluable and keeps the public on board with the decisions they make.”

Cherisse Luxa Lifetime Achievement Award – Leslie Harris, Topp’s predecessor on the school board; her successor presented the award, saying that for eight years Harris was “a fierce advocate for our students, an advocate for transparency, and always asked the tough questions and put focus on our students. […] She’s smart, funny, and brave; she stood firm in her values, and never forgot who she’s fighting for”:

Rising Star of the Year – Whitney Moore-Adams, for her work as outreach and visibility chair:

Member of the Year – Jonathan Herman, for improving the internal systems for voting inside the organization:

Committee of the Year – Resolutions Committee, accepted by Ann Martin:

ANNOUNCEMENTS: After the awards, there were a few:

-Another “Bend It Like Booker” event is planned for next year. No date set yet.

-A member plans to form a new ad-hoc committee focused on researching opportunities for non-violent resistance and protest, particularly in the light of the Trump Administration’s threat to send armed forces to cities, possibly including Seattle. “What do we do if the National Guard is on our streets? Who do we call if ICE raids your neighbors’ home? What do we do if they try to interfere in our elections next year? […] Hoping for the best is not a plan, failing to plan is planning to fail, let’s take a lead.” he said.

-The 34th’s end of the year service project is planed for Food Lifeline], 1-3 pm December 13.

NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, January 14th. While that meeting and two others next year will be virtual, they also announced that there will be seven in-person meetings for 2026, and that thanks to funding for the organization, they will be moving back to The Hall at Fauntleroy.

(WSB photo by Torin Record-Sand, substituted for originally published phone photo)

2:31 PM: We are at the Labor Temple in Georgetown, where Mayor-elect Katie Wilson has just delivered her victory speech and answered a few media questions. No audience, just reporters and photographers.

She promised to be “a mayor for everyone,” including those who did not support her. She had warm words for outgoing Mayor Bruce Harrell despite the “bruising campaign” against her. How she won, she said, was the result of thousands of volunteers: “No one saw us coming!” We video-recorded the entire speech and will add it when back at HQ. (Added: Here it is:)

4:09 PM: While she offered words of gratitude and reflection, she did not offer specifics about her transition plan, saying those would be forthcoming next week. In Q&A, she was asked about how she plans to deal with the city’s budget deficit, whether she would propose new taxes, and she did say she would have city staff study the “progressive revenue” proposals that were “in (her) platform.” … She opened the speech by reiterating her campaign slogan, “This is YOUR city,” and saying she was “beyond delighted” to be speaking to Seattleites as their mayor-elect. She called Seattle “a spectacular city” and said she would lead it as the “community organizer” she’s long been.

She said what she wants to accomplish/facilitate as mayor includes “everyone in this great city of ours to have a roof over their head, universal child care, free K-8 summer care … world-class mass transit … great, safe public spaces where kids can run around with abandon … stable, affordable housing for renters … social housing … much more land and wealth to be stewarded by communities instead of corporations … a robust economy with thriving small businesses, great living-wage jobs and rights for workers … a city where everyone has the basics of a dignified life, including healthy food, access to health care … a city where your health or your life expectancy or your children’s future doesn’t depend on your zip code or your race … I believe that I will be stepping into office with a strong mandate to pursue this vision.”

P.S. A few more ballots were counted today – current results:

SEATTLE MAYOR
Katie Wilson – 138,673 – 50.20%
Bruce Harrell* – 136,655 – 49.47%

12:09 PM: Mayor Bruce Harrell has just started his promised “address to the people of Seattle.” You can watch live via Seattle Channel above; we’ll be writing about it as he speaks. Katie Wilson, meantime, who holds the mayoral-election lead with most ballots counted, is scheduled to speak to media at 2 pm.