It’s that time of the year, again. We here at STB will be posting results for races in which we endorsed (or have a general interest in) in this thread and on Twitter. Make sure to get your ballot in a box or postmarked by 8 p.m.
Races to Watch (STB endorsed candidates listed with bold text):
- Seattle Mayor: Cary Moon vs. Jenny Durkan
- Seattle City Council Position 8: Teresa Mosqueda vs. Jon Grant
- Seattle City Council Position 9: Lorena González vs. Pat Murakami
- Washington State Senate, 45th District: Manka Dhingra vs. Jinyoung Lee Englund
- King County Executive: Dow Constantine vs. Bill Hirt
- Auburn Mayor: Nancy Backus vs. Largo Wales
- Tacoma Mayor: Jim Merritt vs. Victoria Woodards
- Everett Mayor: Cassie Franklin vs. Judy Tuohy
5:30 pm
- The Stranger has compiled a list of election night parties in Seattle and the Eastside, broken down by candidate.
- Turnout so far is estimated at 20 percent for King County, with the final turnout expected to reach 48 percent. According to The Everett Herald, Snohomish County has seen 14.8 percent of its ballots returned and expects an overall turnout of 34 percent. Pierce County expects to see a total turnout of 33 percent.
- The first results will be posted at the following times: approximately 8:00 pm (Snohomish Co.), 8:15 pm (King Co.), and 8:30 pm (Pierce Co.).
8:15 pm
- Ballot boxes have closed and the first results are streaming in. So far:
| Office | Candidate | % | Candidate | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle, Mayor | Cary Moon | 39.38 | Jenny Durkan | 60.62 |
| Seattle, Council No. 8 | Teresa Mosqueda | 61.51 | Jon Grant | 38.49 |
| Seattle, Council No. 5 | Lorena González | 67.68 | Pat Murakami | 32.32 |
| Senate, 45th District | Manka Dhingra | 55.42 | Jinyoung Lee Englund | 44.58 |
| Tacoma, Mayor | Jim Merritt | 48.02 | Victoria Woodards | 51.98 |
| Everett, Mayor | Cassie Franklin | 49.69 | Judy Tuohy | 50.31 |
In a few weeks, it’ll be the end of my fourth year living in Olympia. After a move that wasn’t my choice, at the worst possible time in my life, While, like a lot Seattle under its new economy, the home I loved became part of a city presently in a condition I really hate.
But now that the state of shock is wearing off, implications are setting in of the fact I can’t vote anywhere in the Sound Transit service area. For any person, or measure, bearing on a transit system I can’t help but consider some lifelong thing of mine.
One very strong comfort is that from its beginning, we were supposed to be creating a Regional system. Early planning and promises stressed that. Always a strong positive for me, because I really think that increasingly we’ll be leading regional lives, involving variety of trips, modes, and reasons.
But no more threatening or negative than process that made Ballard part of Seattle. A lot more freedom, day to day choices about work, residence, school, entertainment and the rest of life. I keep saying what i really believe: orderly well-designed dispersal is not “sprawl.”
I like Olympia. But I also consider the worst of what I see in Seattle as temporary and curable. Same for every part, and connecting corridor, of a region that intelligent regionalism can only help improve. Having just gotten home from having a nice lady volunteer repair my ballot envelope for me, it’s time to see what I can do about regional transit here.
Really admitting how little I know about what’s needed. So I’ll start like this. What does Sound Transit need from Olympia, both the interior of the dome across the snail-pond, and also the ordinary people of Thurston County outside Olympia. Who have now found themselves among some changes they’re less ready for than anybody above the Nisqually River.
Whatever TV says an hour: What can I do to help you?
Mark Dublin
I think a transit advocate like you located right by the state capitol could do a huge amount of good for sound transit. To start, just your history is quite compelling. Growing up on transit in Chicago back when transit was respected, driving trolleys for metro through the hard times for transit, then getting priced out of the transit region just as transit began a local resurgence. On top of that, you have in depth knowledge of transit workings, politics, and policy.
Just consider how valuable talking to legislators about the car tab issue could be. What if you can convince Dems that any change to ST’s tab valuation needs to be revenue neutral? That would eliminate the biggest threat to ST3.
What about Sounder to Olympia? That would likely require buy in from your region. You are well situated to advocate for that
Given that Olympia can’t sustain Sound Transit Express service I think it would be a fool’s errand to extend Sounder.
During peak periods the 605 is scheduled to take 1 hr 10 min from Olympia Transit Center to Tacoma.
All the getting on and off the freeway plus heavy traffic means slow service.
Sounder service might be developed to be a backbone of better service, which might attract more ridership.
Looks like another four years of Mukilteo Mayor Jennifer Gregerson. #Relief
City of Mukilteo Mayor
21/21 100.00%
Under Votes 89
Over Votes 0
Vote Count Percent
Dan Matthews 1,716 45.87%
Jennifer Gregerson 2,010 53.73%
Write-In (if any) 15 0.40%
Total 3,741 100.00%
Nail biters in Burien.
The wing of the City Council that calls the transit center “the transient center” and fights density lost a swing-vote councilmember but picked up a hard ally. However, one of their long-time incumbents is only up by a little more than 100 votes. If she loses ground in the late batches of returns, we could get a more urban majority. We could get one councilmember who lives on a frequent transit line, instead of 7 who live in the same car-centric low-density neighborhood.
Where do the leaders in the Tacoma and Everett mayoral races stand on transit?
I was sad to see little coverage of the Snohomish County Council races. It looks like the status quo will be maintained based on the latest precinct tallies. That means 3 Dems and 2 Cons will continue to serve on the council. This came about because when Dave Somers ran for County Executive his old council seat was flipped from Dem to Con.