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.

King County Elections just announced that the ballots for the August 2nd primary are in the mail – so voting is about to begin. No ballot measures for our area, but there are races to narrow down – including U.S. Senate, U.S. House District 7, Secretary of State, 34th District State Senator and 34th District State House Position 1, which has no incumbent as longtime State Rep. Eileen Cody is retiring. You can see all the candidates listed, with links to their websites, here. You can send your ballot back by postal mail, as long as it’s postmarked by August 2nd, or take it to an official dropbox (here’s where to find them). Not registered? It’s not too late – go here.

Thanks to Kathy Rawle for sending the photo and note about yet another of the two-dozen-plus events that were on our Saturday list:

(Photo by Jonathan Rawle)

At C&P Coffee today. More than a dozen action groups, and lots of people and energy.

The participating groups are on the flyer shown in our calendar listing.

Right now, many local positions are on the ballot in odd years. That could change for some King County positions, under a county-charter amendment that got county council committee approval today. The amendment would move elections for county executive, county assessor, county director of elections, and county councilmembers to even-numbered years. Supporters say that would mean higher voter turnout for those races, since even-numbered years tend to draw more voters because of higher-profile races. Opponents say this could mean the local races would get lost in the clamor over those higher-profile races. The next step for the proposal is a vote by the full County Council on June 28th; if they approve the amendment, final say would be up to King County voters this November.

Our area’s largest political group finished its pre-primary endorsements last night, but voting members didn’t have a clear choice in this year’s biggest local race, so that wound up with a dual endorsement: Two Democrats are among the three candidates seeking to succeed State House Rep. Eileen Cody, and after three rounds of voting last night, the 34th DDs had endorsed both of them, Emily Alvarado and Leah Griffin. The group’s rules reauire 60 percent approval for an endorsement, and while Griffin came close — 58% on the first ballot – that wasn’t enough. Two other contested races went to multiple ballots, both Seattle Municipal Court judgeships; Position #7 resulted in a sole endorsement for incumbent Judge Damon Shadid, while Position #3 ended up in a dual endorsement. The 34th DDs also endorsed a slate of candidates on a unanimous vote, pulling out one of those candidates – Leesa Manion, the West Seattleite running for King County Prosecutor – for a standalone vote, also a unanimous endorsement. The online meeting was attended by more than 100 people, with just under 90 voting. The primary election is Tuesday, August 2nd.

Now that the withdrawal deadline has passed, the fields are set for the August primary (same as what we reported Friday, except for one State Senate withdrawal – see the official lists here). The marquee local race in our area this time around will be for 34th District State House Position 1, from which Rep. Eileen Cody is retiring after more than a quarter-century. The first debate/forum in the race is Thursday night (May 26th), 6:30 pm online, with the 34th District Democrats and West Seattle Democratic Women hosting the two Democrats who are running, Emily Alvarado (left) and Leah Griffin (right). 34th DDs chair Carla Rogers says All are welcome to attend; register here to get the link. In addition to being a public forum, this also is a prelude to the 34th DDs’ endorsement meeting, which Rogers says is set for June 8th.

Filing Week is over and pending the withdrawal deadline on Monday, the fields are tentatively finalized for positions up for election this year. The only West Seattle (and vicinity)-specific positions on which you’ll be voting this year are in the 34th Legislative District – State Senator and two State House Representatives. Here’s who has filed:

34TH DISTRICT STATE SENATOR (no links because the incumbent is the only one with a functioning website listed)
Joe Nguyen (D, incumbent)
Amber Bennett (I)
Goodspaceguy (R)
Larry Hussey (no party preference)
Tony Mitchum (no party preference)
John Potter (R)

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE POSITION 1 (no incumbent – Rep. Eileen Cody is retiring)
Emily Alvarado (D)
Leah Griffin (D)
Jolie Lansdowne (R)

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE POSITION 2
Joe Fitzgibbon (D, incumbent)
Andrew Pilloud (R)

You’ll also be voting on King County Prosecuting Attorney (for which West Seattleite Leesa Manion and Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell remain the only candidates), U.S. Senate, U.S. House District 7, Secretary of State, and a variety of city, county, and state judgeships. Here’s the full list of who’s filed for everything. After the withdrawal deadline passes on Monday afternoon, the fields will be finalized for the August 2nd primary. First local debate/forum of the season is planned by the 34th District Democrats for State House Position 1, next Thursday (May 26th) – details to come.

If you’re interested in running for office this year, this is the week to officially file to get onto the August primary ballot in King County. The only offices specific to West Seattle (and vicinity) this year are the three state-legislative positions for the 34th District. Two days in, here’s who has filed:

State Senate – incumbent Sen. Joe Nguyen (D)

State House Position 1 (from which Rep. Eileen Cody is retiring) – Democrats Emily Alvarado and Leah Griffin, Republican Jolie Lansdowne

State House Position 2 – incumbent Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D)

You’ll also be voting for the open King County Prosecuting Attorney seat (West Seattleite Leesa Manion and Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell have filed so far), U.S. Senate and U.S. House positions, Secretary of State, and a long list of city, county, and state judgeships – none of which has more than one filer so far.

Here’s the full list of who’s filed through the end of today; anyone else interested in filing has until end of day Friday (May 20th). Want to run for something? Here’s how.

The Seattle Police Department is still losing more officers and hiring fewer than projected. So what if anything should/can be done about it? That question was at the heart of the latest SPD-staffing briefing, presented this morning to the City Council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee, chaired by West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold.

Overall, the committee was told, “the trend is not particularly good.” Here are the numbers presented by analyst Greg Doss:

We first mentioned the report last Friday, when it was released; we noted that the Southwest Precinct, which covers West Seattle and South Park, had lost more sworn staff in the past year – both in number and in percentage – than other precincts. (Our questions sent immediately to SPD and Herbold remain unanswered.) The discussion at today’s meeting didn’t get that granular. The issue became what to do about the continued staffing drop – or whether to do anything at all. That was a sharp point of disagreement between some of the councilmembers. Citywide Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (a West Seattle resident) emphasized that research has shown many of the calls handled by police could be handled by other types of responders. Yes, but, asked Councilmember Alex Pedersen, does the city have those alternative responders available today? “No,” replied Doss. Recently elected citywide Councilmember Sara Nelson, who is pushing to reinstate hiring incentives, asked, “Are we happy with the status quo? Are we fine with doing nothing? I am not.” In response to an observation that other cities are having hiring challenges too, Nelson wondered if any other cities are having trouble with departures as well as hiring.

Interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz, also present at the online meeting, said the current staffing situation is causing “wear and tear” because almost every shift needs to be “augmented” with officers on overtime just to reach minimum levels. Response times continue rising, with “priority 2” calls up to half an hour, “priority 3” calls averaging a full hour, he said.

While Nelson is proposing a resolution expressing support for hiring bonuses/incentives, Herbold is proposing a bill to offer money to cover moving expenses for officers hired from outside Seattle – and for some other types of city employees; in the ongoing discussion of the SPD staffing challenges, she has countered that other departments face critical staffing challenges too. (This document from the meeting goes into both councilmembers’ proposals, as well as data including what other cities are offering.)

Nelson continued to advocate for hiring bonuses: “If we don’t do this, what else are we going to do? … I don’t see how we’re going to get to 98 new hires this year if we’ve only had 13 so far.” She wanted to extend the discussion, but Herbold cut it off, with the item having run more than an hour – twice the allotted time – and with two other items on the agenda, including another hot topic (the PayUp proposal for app-based workers). No votes had been scheduled for today, so the discussion is likely to continue when this committee reconvenes next month.