On Tuesday we published an update on the city budget-review process, as it’s in the heart of public-feedback time right now, if you want to let city leaders know where you think money should be spent over the next two years. This afternoon, the City Council‘s budget chair, West Seattle-residing citywide Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, announced a few schedule changes after a new revenue forecast showed the city will be taking in less money than expected. Instead of announcing her “balancing package” next Monday, it’ll be a week later. But the Tuesday morning (November 8th) public hearing is still on, and ongoing feedback can be sent any time to council@seattle.gov. Here’s more information on the new schedule and the revised income forecast.

In the comment discussion below our coverage of the shooting that injured two people on Alki last night, some are talking about larger issues of public safety, police, and politics. One immediate matter in which you still have time to give feedback is the city budget for the next two years, which will be finalized before Thanksgiving. Last week, city councilmembers discussed their proposed changes to what Mayor Bruce Harrell presented, and next Monday, the council’s budget chair, West Seattle-residing citywide Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, presents her version of an amended budget. If you feel strongly about what the city should focus on (or not), you’ll want to send a message now, and consider speaking at the next public hearing, which is one week from today – online and in-person. In the short run, you can find out about the proposed budget amendments by using this online tool developed by the council. Here’s council staffer Joseph Peha‘s overview:

It lays out all 100 amendments with detailed information about each one:

o The department it pertains to

o The amendment number

o A short summary of what it does

o The Councilmembers who originally sponsored it

o A link to read a memo from Council’s policy staff

o And a link to watch the Council’s discussion of the amendment – timestamped to go right to that specific part of the meeting

The tool is interactive. You can filter amendments by Councilmember or department. And the number of amendments for each department is listed in the dropdown. Everything is also mobile friendly, so the tool will work on phones, tablets, etc.

After Councilmember Mosqueda presents her “balancing package” on Monday, and the public hearing next Tuesday (9:30 am – the agenda explains how to participate), there’s another round of council amendment opportunities, followed by a November 22nd public hearing and final voting November 23rd. (Here’s the budget calendar.) And if you’re just catching up on the city budget – here’s our coverage of the mayor’s original announcement, and key points.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Your ballot should have arrived by now, so you might take some time this weekend to fill it out and send it back. Whenever you do that, the choices you’ll be asked to make include only one open local office: 34th Legislative District State House Position 1, one of the three people who represent this area in the Washington State Legislature. The longtime holder of that position, State Rep. Eileen Cody, is retiring. Two other West Seattle women, Leah Griffin and Emily Alvarado, were the top two finishers in a three-candidate primary. Since this campaign has been light on local forums/debates (the 34th District Democrats held one in May), we decided to interview both candidates on video so you could see and hear them before you vote, if you haven’t already made up your mind.

We conducted these interviews over the past two days and present both unedited. Aside from starting with the question “Why do you want this job?” both conversations took slightly different turns, rather than covering a preset punchlist of questions. The candidates have a lot in common – both West Seattle residents, both Democrats, both first-time candidates. And when we got down to specifics, similar positions on hot issues, too. But they have traveled different paths to get to this campaign, and have different issues about which they’re most passionate, as you’ll hear.

EMILY ALVARADO: Alvarado is a former Seattle Office of Housing director, now employed with a national nonprofit that focuses on housing. She says her experience in the public and private sectors gives her experience that will translate to effective service as a legislator. Here’s her page on the King County Elections website with her candidate statement and background basics. We interviewed Alvarado on Thursday at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse:

LEAH GRIFFIN: Griffin is a school librarian who became an advocate for sexual-assault victims after she became one. She says her experience working with state and federal leaders to pass legislation is experience that will enable her to hit the ground running, and she promises to be the kind of elected official from whom she sought help – one that solves people’s problems. Here’s her page on the King County Elections website with her candidate statement and background basics. We interviewed Griffin today at Work and Play Lounge:

Whoever you’re voting for, your ballot has to be in a King County dropbox by 8 pm Tuesday, November 8th, or in a postal mailbox in time to be postmarked no later than November 8th. (Here’s our quick overview of what else is on it.)

After next year’s election, the seven district-elected City Councilmembers will be representing areas with new boundaries. What those district boundaries will be has yet to be finalized – and relatively late in the process – with less than two weeks until a final vote – there are new suggestions, with your feedback requested. Here’s the news release (and a reminder, District 1 is the one that includes West Seattle):

The Seattle Redistricting Commission continues its process of examining how to redraw the boundaries of Seattle’s seven City Council Districts and is inviting community members to offer feedback on four distinct maps. Members of the public can review and provide input on the maps at seattle.gov/redistricting/how-to-participate.

During the regularly scheduled Seattle Redistricting Commission meeting on October 25, the Commission discussed various revisions to the official Amended Draft Map that was adopted on October 18, 2022. These revisions are presented as Discussion Maps below.

Commissioner Nickels proposed a Discussion Map that:

Uses I-5 as the primary boundary for Districts 1 and 2.
Keeps Pioneer Square and West Seattle whole in District 1.
Keeps Chinatown International District and Beacon Hill whole in District 2.
Keeps Central District whole in District 3.
Uses I-5 as the boundary for Districts 5 and 6.
Keeps Magnolia whole and together with Queen Anne in District 7.
Keeps Eastlake and Fremont whole in District 4.
Keeps Lake City and Northgate whole in District 5.
Keeps Ballard whole in District 6.

Commissioner Juarez proposed a Discussion Map that:

Extends the south end of District 6 and District 7 boundary along 28th Ave W from W McGraw St to W Howe St. This removes the quickly turning boundary that followed W McGraw St, Condon Way W, and 30th Ave W before meeting with W Howe St.

Commissioner O’Sullivan is sponsoring a Discussion Map submitted by a community member that:

Moves the area of Magnolia west of 15th Ave W and down to the Magnolia Bridge to District 6.
Moves the area between Aurora Ave N and Stone Way N, between NE 50th St and Lake Union, to District 6.
Moves all of Eastlake to District 7.
Moves all the blocks in First Hill bounded by I-5, Boren Ave, and James St to District 7.
Moves the University of Washington to District 3.
Moves all Green Lake and Meridian east of Aurora Ave N, south of NE 85th St, west of I-5, and north of NE 50th St, to District 4.
Keeps Districts 1, 2, and 5 unchanged.

Members of the public are invited to submit public comment on these proposed adjustments. The Seattle Redistricting Commission plans to vote on a final map at their meeting on Tuesday, November 8. The public comment period will remain open until the Commission files the final district plan on or before November 15, 2022.

Make a public comment
-In-person or online at the Seattle Redistricting Commission special meeting on Monday, October 31 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Meeting will be held at Seattle City Hall, Room L280, 600 4th Avenue. Public can also participate online.
-In writing using the Seattle Redistricting Commission’s public comment submission form.

Whichever maps are finalized, those will be the new district boundaries starting with the 2023 elections.

Two election notes:

BALLOTS ARRIVE: As noted here Wednesday, King County Elections has mailed the general-election ballots, and they’ve started arriving, so voting has begun. If you want to return your ballot via a county dropbox, West Seattle has three – the full countywide list is here. We recently previewed what’s on your ballot. You have until Tuesday night, November 8th, to vote, and you can choose a new way to track your ballot. Not registered to vote yet? Not too late to change that.

SENATOR CAMPAIGNS IN WEST SEATTLE: U.S. Senator Patty Murray just made a noontime campaign stop in West Seattle:

(WSB photo)

She spoke at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor), accompanied by Mini Timmaraju, who is president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. Murray is a Democrat running for a sixth 6-year term in the U.S. Senate, challenged in this election by Republican Tiffany Smiley. Murray chairs the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee. Her speech at C & P not only focused on reproductive rights but also touted, among other things, the federal funding that helped cover the cost of the West Seattle Bridge repairs. After the C & P event, she was off to campaign in other parts of the city, including the Rainier Valley and International District.

King County Elections has started mailing ballots for the November 8th election, and you can vote as soon as yours arrives – drop boxes open tomorrow (or just drop it into USPS mail, no stamps needed). Something new this time – the county has launched ballot alerts. From today’s announcement:

Voters can now opt in to receive text or email notifications as their ballot is processed, making it even easier to know that their vote counted. Ballot alerts will also let voters know if there is an issue with their signature that they need to resolve before their vote can be counted. Alerts are available in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

You can sign up by going here (the option will come up on the second screen). Here’s our preview of what you’ll see on your ballot when it arrives. Election Night – when the voting ends and vote-counting begins – is Tuesday, November 8th,

(WSB photo from September – Ladder 13 at Station 37 in Sunrise Heights)

Will SFD Ladder 13 and Medic 26 stay in West Seattle? City Councilmember Lisa Herbold says she’ll push for it as one of her top two budget priorities – but to win over her colleagues’ support to add funding to the city budget, it’ll take a public show of support. Your next major chance to show support for – or opposition to – that and/or other budgetary issues is tomorrow (Tuesday, October 11th), 5 pm. You can comment either in-person (City Hall, 600 4th Avenue) or online – signups start at 3 pm; here’s how that works. The hearing will last until everyone who’s signed up has spoken, no matter how long that takes. This is the first of three public hearings, but the only one at the start of the council’s discussions of how/whether to change the mayor’s budget proposal. Councilmember Herbold’s latest weekly newsletter details the process, with dates and topics. Here’s our coverage of the initial mayoral budget announcement two weeks ago; the detailed budget summary is here, and the even-more-detailed “budget book” is here.

Election Day, November 8th, is exactly five weeks away. But you’ll be able to start voting a lot sooner – King County Elections plans to send out ballots on October 19th, and you can vote as soon as you get yours. Here’s KCE’s one-stop info page for the election, including a link you can use to preview the ballot you’ll get. Here’s the sample ballot we downloaded, which is what you’ll receive if you’re in the city and the 34th State Legislative District.

The most complicated issue is Seattle Proposition 1A-1B – alternatives for changing the way you vote in Seattle city primaries. Initiative-born 1A would enable voters to check off as many candidates “as they approve of” in races for Mayor, City Attorney, and City Council. The two top vote-getters for each office would advance to the general election. 1B is an elected-official-proposed alternative that would allow voters in those same primary races to rank candidates by their preference, with a multi-round vote-counting process ensuing. You’ll have two votes on this two-part proposition – should either become law, and regardless of whether you said yes or no, which one would you rather see become law? The ballot also includes a King County charter amendment that would change elections, moving County Executive, County Councilmembers, County Assessor, and Elections Director to even-numbered years. Plus there’s a King County levy proposal, the Conservation Futures Levy. Besides those issues, the ballot includes U.S. House, U.S. Senate, State Legislature, Secretary of State, King County Prosecutor, and 17 judicial positions, only two of which are contested. Two state advisory measures are on the ballot too. Not registered to vote but eligible? Go here.

That’s the budget speech Mayor Bruce Harrell gave earlier this afternoon, with our area’s big shoutout coming when he talked about transportation spending and noted the reopening of the West Seattle Bridge. From the audience assembled at SDOT’s Charles Street yard, District 1 City Councilmember Lisa Herbold yelled out, “You can’t have One Seattle without West Seattle!” echoing what the mayor said a week and a half ago when politicians gathered for pre-reopening speeches.

But transportation was not at the top of the list in the mayor’s speech, marking his release of a budget proposal for 2023-2024. What was: Public safety, followed by homelessness. Those two topics took up a big chunk of the speech. He promised major investments in police and fire, as well as money toward “diversifying 911 response” and a third public-safety department aimed at that goal. He also announced he’d be undoing a controversial move made before he was elected – taking Parking Enforcement Officers out of SPD and moving them to SDOT. You might recall that the move was so bungled, millions of dollars in tickets had to be voided. As for SPD staffing, the budget summary expresses a hope that the trend of losing officers can be stopped and reversed, to post a net gain over the next two years.

One thing that’s not in the public-safety section of the proposal, according to a summary we received: Continued funding for SFD Ladder 13 and Medic 26, added in West Seattle/South Park for the bridge closure. We reported earlier this month on the fact they only had guaranteed funding through year’s end. So the only way to keep them now would be a council amendment to the budget; Herbold said in her most-recent weekly update that she’ll propose one if necessary.

Regarding tackling homelessness, the mayor declared: “Lack of housing is the source of homelessness.” He promised to get more housing built – saying he’s proposing an added quarter-billion dollars toward affordable housing – and to remove red tape that slows the construction-permitting process. He also said the city would increase its funding for the Regional Homelessness Authority by 13 percent, including more than $2 million for new tiny-house villages and $5 million for residential-vehicle “safe lots.” The Unified Care Team, a multidepartmental group that has worked on outreach, cleanup, and sweeps, will be turned into geographically based teams, Harrell said.

When he got to transportation, Harrell spoke about electrifying the city fleet and supporting the Vision Zero program (which new SDOT director Greg Spotts has said he’s thoroughly reviewing). Besides a mention of the bridge and the importance of infrastructure, he also said the city will step up its work related to the West Seattle-Ballard Link Extensions light-rail program, hiring “a team” including engineers. One note of interest for those who live in West Seattle’s two Residential Parking Zones:

The proposed budget is also making changes to the Restricted Parking Zone fees. The fees will increase from $65 per two years to $95 per two years, along with other fee changes for guest passes and temporary passes. Low-income passes will remain the same.

Other key budget points are in the news release from the mayor’s office, including links to “fact sheets” in areas of emphasis. A more detailed budget summary is here; the full “budget book” is here. Various city departments are all publishing their own takes on what’s in it for them; you can find those aggregated here.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Starting tomorrow, the City Council reviews and amends the mayor’s plan over the next two months. Councilmember Herbold’s most-recent weekly update summarizes how that’ll work and how you can get involved, including key dates – scroll to the last section here.

Next week the City Council, meeting as the Seattle Park District Governing Board, will consider finalizing the district’s 2023-2028 funding plan. The district provides supplemental funding to the Parks and Recreation department (SPR). This week Councilmember Andrew Lewis, as governing board president, presented his version of the budget proposal, which adds more money and projects to what Mayor Bruce Harrell already had proposed. One of those added projects would be a second off-leash area (dog park) for West Seattle. Note the second-to-last line on this slide from a meeting earlier this week:

This was called to our attention by Alec Rodenhauser, who’s taken over the group that’s been lobbying for an added dog park for West Seattle, which currently only has the Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area. Where the new West Seattle off-leash area would be has yet to be determined – as we reported in February, the West Seattle Dog Park Coalition studied and proposed five sites – at four SPR locations, the West Seattle Golf Course, Hamilton Viewpoint, Lincoln Park, and inland Duwamish Head, and port-owned Jack Block Park. Rodenhauser says they’re still awaiting word from SPR on the feasibility of those possible sites.

Meantime, Lewis’s Park District counterproposal also adds funding for High Point Community Center and eight other community centers around the city, described as renovating and/or making the buildings “climate-conscious.” Here’s that slide from the presentation earlier this week:

Another key point from Lewis’s proposal – by the end of the funding cycle in 2028, all 129 city-park restrooms would be open year-round, while currently fewer than half are. His proposal also contains what the mayor had proposed, which includes funding to develop West Seattle’s three long-“landbanked” park sites, West Seattle Junction (40th SW), Morgan Junction Park Addition, and 48th/Charlestown. Like the mayor’s proposal, this plan would more than double what the Park District is costing property-tax payers and add a few dollars more beyond the mayor’s plan – the annual cost for the “median-value home” would range from $339 a year in 2023 to $446 in 2028. While the City Council/Park District Board has to approve the plan, there’s no further voter approval needed as this is within the range in what voters originally approved. Currently Park District funding covers about a third of the SPR budget.

When the City Council reconvenes the day after Labor Day, their first meeting could see the Transportation and Public Utilities Committee voting on the mayor’s nominee for SDOT director, Greg Spotts. He appeared briefly before the committee last month with introductory remarks (see that here, 12 minutes in) but this time will answer questions before the committee votes on whether to advance his nomination to the full council. He’s already provided written answers to questions from councilmembers, collected in this document. We thought you might be interested in what he had to say abut bridges – here’s that excerpt:

BRIDGES: Seattle is a city connected by bridges and the city has suffered from the closure of the West Seattle Bridge during the past two years. How will you apply in Seattle your experience upgrading or building bridges in LA?

a. Before voters consider a renewal of the multi-year property tax levy called “Move Seattle” in 2024, how do you plan to expedite repairs to many of Seattle’s bridges, especially those ranking ‘poor’ by the audit conducted in 2020 and those originally promised for seismic upgrades from the 2015 levy?

(SPOTTS REPLY) As I said in my remarks to the Transportation and Seattle Public Utilities Committee, one of my first areas of focus will be on bridges. I want to make sure that we are using best practices in asset management to maintain, repair, retrofit, and, when necessary, replace our bridge assets. I appreciated the opportunity to tour the University Bridge with Councilmember Pedersen on the day I was announced as Mayor Harrell’s nominee. I’ve already begun familiarizing myself with the work being done to improve Seattle’s bridges and I’ve been researching best practices across west coast cities.

I think it is essential that we accelerate SDOT’s work on bridge repair, seismic reinforcement and maintenance of structural and mechanical systems. We need to build confidence among the residents of Seattle that SDOT is embarked on a strategic and sequenced plan that takes care of our bridge assets in a proactive manner, ensuring the safety of the traveling public and the resiliency of our transportation network for people and goods. I have seen the beginnings of that good work and am committed to analyze, systematize, and accelerate these efforts, including the completion of the bridge audit recommendations. I plan to communicate frequently to you and the public on this topic. On a case-by-case basis, I am willing to involve outside subject matter experts if I determine that such input is needed to further strengthen our people, systems and technology across the full spectrum of bridge activities.

Regarding outside funding, I will be working with SDOT staff to strategically and aggressively pursue grant opportunities for bridges. I will also be ensuring that we are fully expending available budget for bridge maintenance, supporting the acceleration of work on grant funds recently received, and assessing the Move Seattle Levy bridge commitments to finish strong on the Levy.

Spotts’ appearance before the Transportation and Public Utilities Committee will be Tuesday at 9:30 am. If you’re interested in commenting, either during the meeting or in advance in writing, the agenda explains how.

Two weeks after the primary election, King County certified the final results this afternoon. No changes in the way these six races turned out, but for the record, here are the final percentages (rounded) for the top two in each race – click the race titles to see the full results:

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE REP. POSITION 1 (no incumbent)
Emily Alvarado (D) – 54%
Leah Griffin (D) – 31%

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE REP. POSITION 2
Joe Fitzgibbon* (D) – 84%
Andrew Pilloud (R) – 16%

34TH DISTRICT STATE SENATOR
Joe Nguyen* (D) – 83%
John Potter (R) – 10%

DISTRICT 7 U.S. HOUSE REP.
Pramila Jayapal* (D) – 85%
Cliff Moon (R) – 8%

U.S. SENATOR (statewide)
Patty Murray* (D) – 52%
Tiffany Smiley (R) – 34%

WASHINGTON SECRETARY OF STATE (statewide; no incumbent)
Steve Hobbs (D) – 40%
Julie Anderson (NP) – 13%

Turnout in our area’s legislative district – the closest gauge of West Seattle turnout (the district also includes some surrounding areas such as Vashon/Maury Islands and White Center – was 41 percent. Countywide, it was 39 percent. (Here’s the KC Elections overview.) The races above are just part of what you’ll find on the November 8th ballot – here’s an unofficial preview of ballot measures (both the city and county have proposals on election changes); candidate lineups are yet to come.

No changes in who’s leading the six races in which our area voted this primary. King County Elections is out with the second round of results. First four races below are from the full King County result list, last two are from the statewide results linked to the race tutle, all percentages rounded:

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE REP. POSITION 1 (no incumbent)
Emily Alvarado (D) – 52%
Leah Griffin (D) – 32%

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE REP. POSITION 2
Joe Fitzgibbon* (D) – 83%
Andrew Pilloud (R) – 17%

34TH DISTRICT STATE SENATOR
Joe Nguyen* (D) – 83%
John Potter (R) – 10%

DISTRICT 7 U.S. HOUSE REP.
Pramila Jayapal* (D) – 84%
Cliff Moon (R) – 8%

U.S. SENATOR
Patty Murray* (D) – 54%
Tiffany Smiley (R) – 33%

WASHINGTON SECRETARY OF STATE (no incumbent)
Steve Hobbs (D) – 41%
Julie Anderson (NP) – 13%

As of tonight, the county has received almost 38 percent of West Seattle/South Park ballots; countywide, almost 37 percent, with more than a third of those still to be counted, along with whatever’s received by mail in the days before the election is certified.

8:12 PM: King County Elections is out with tonight’s first and only round of results in the primary election. As we mentioned in previews, local ballots had only six races – three for the state Legislature, two for federal office, one for statewide office. Top two advance to the November 8th general election. Here’s the full King County result list; here’s who’s leading:

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE REP. POSITION 1 (no incumbent)
Emily Alvarado (D) – 52%
Leah Griffin (D) – 33%

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE REP. POSITION 2
Joe Fitzgibbon* (D) – 83%
Andrew Pilloud (R) – 17%

34TH DISTRICT STATE SENATOR
Joe Nguyen* (D) – 83%
John Potter (R) – 11%

DISTRICT 7 U.S. HOUSE REP.
Pramila Jayapal* (D) – 84%
Cliff Moon (R) – 8%

ADDED 8:23 PM – these two races’ results are from the statewide list and may change during the night (we’ll update periodically; we’re listing three in the SoS race because the contest for 2nd place is so close):

U.S. SENATOR (updated 8:59 pm)
Patty Murray* (D) – 54%
Tiffany Smiley (R) – 32%

WASHINGTON SECRETARY OF STATE (no incumbent; updated 8:59 pm)
Steve Hobbs (D) – 41%
Julie Anderson (NP) – 13%

With two days left to vote, only 17.3 percent of ballots sent out to West Seattle/South Park have been received by King County Elections. Don’t let the turnout stay anemic; take a few minutes to vote. The primary ballot is short in our area: two federal races, one statewide race, three state-legislative races. Here’s who’s on your ballot, in order of how they appear on the ballot, and with the party preference that’s listed on the ballot (incumbents are marked with asterisks):

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE REP. POSITION 1 (no incumbent)
Leah Griffin (Prefers Democratic Party)
Emily Alvarado (Prefers Democratic Party)
Jolie Lansdowne (Prefers Republican Party)

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE REP. POSITION 2
Joe Fitzgibbon* (Prefers Democratic Party)
Andrew Pilloud (Prefers Republican Party)

34TH DISTRICT STATE SENATOR
Tony Mitchum (States No Party Preference)
Joe Nguyen* (Prefers Democratic Party)
John Potter (Prefers Republican Party)
Amber Bennett (Prefers Independent Party)
Goodspaceguy (Prefers Republican Party)

WASHINGTON SECRETARY OF STATE (no incumbent)
Bob Hagglund (Prefers Republican Party)
Kurtis Engle (Prefers Union Party)
Marquez Tiggs (Prefers Democratic Party)
Tamborine Borrelli (Prefers America First (R) Party)
Steve Hobbs (Prefers Democratic Party)
Keith L. Wagoner (Prefers Republican Party)
Mark Miloscia (Prefers Republican Party)
Julie Anderson (Prefers Nonpartisan Party)

DISTRICT 7 U.S. HOUSE REP.
Cliff Moon (Prefers Republican Party)
Pramila Jayapal* (Prefers Democratic Party)
Jesse A James (Prefers Independent Party)
Paul Glumaz (Prefers Republican Party)

U.S. SENATOR
Henry Clay Dennison (Prefers Socialist Workers Party)
Mohammad Hassan Said (Prefers Democratic Party)
John Guenther (Prefers Republican Party)
Tiffany Smiley (Prefers Republican Party)
Dan Phan Doan (States No Party Preference)
Dr Pano Churchill (Prefers Democratic Party)
Dave Saulibio (Prefers JFK Republican Party)
Sam Cusmir (Prefers Democratic Party)
Bill Hirt (Prefers Republican Party)
Jon Butler (Prefers Independent Party)
Bryan Solstin (Prefers Democratic Party)
Martin D. Hash (States No Party Preference)
Patty Murray* (Prefers Democratic Party)
Thor Amundson (Prefers Independent Party)
Charlie (Chuck) Jackson (Prefers Independent Party)
Naz Paul (Prefers Independent Party)
Ravin Pierre (Prefers Democratic Party)
Leon Lawson (Prefers Trump Republican Party)

This page has links to more information about the candidates; the voters’ guide is here.

WHERE TO VOTE: You can send your ballot in via U.S. Mail, no stamp needed, as long as it’s postmarked by Tuesday, or you can put it in a King County Elections dropbox as long as it’s there by 8 pm Tuesday. Here are the West Seattle dropboxes
-South side of SW Alaska between California and 44th (top photo, with the 5-minute parking spots)
-SW Raymond by High Point Library, between 34th and 35th
–South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), 6000 16th SW (along the driveway in front of the administration building)

You might also find the White Center and South Park dropboxes convenient. All dropboxes countywide are mapped/listed here. Once you’ve voted, you can check here (wait at least a day) to see if your ballot’s been received/counted. For other voting options, go here.

P.S. Just moved here, or just turned old enough to vote (as long as you’ll be 18 by the general election on November 8th, you can vote in the primary)? You can register right up through the close of voting Tuesday night – here’s how.