This was the official Filing Week for candidates who want to be on the August 3rd primary ballot in King County (and the November 2nd general election if they make the top two). The deadline has passed; here are the highlights:

SEATTLE MAYOR: Jenny Durkan, remember, decided not to run for re-election. 15 people filed this week to run, including West Seattleite Lorena González, president of the City Council:

Jessyn Farrell
Bobby Tucker
Bruce Harrell
Arthur K. Langlie
Omari Tahir-Garrett
Colleen Echohawk
Don L. Rivers
Henry C. Dennison
M. Lorena González
Andrew Grant Houston
Lance Randall
Casey Sixkiller
Clinton Bliss
James Donaldson
Stan Lippmann

KING COUNTY EXECUTIVE: West Seattleite Dow Constantine is seeking a fourth term; West Seattleite Joe Nguyen, the 34th District’s state senator, is one of four challengers.

Bill Hirt
Joe Nguyen
Goodspaceguy
Dow Constantine
Johnathon Crines

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL POSITION 8: West Seattleite Teresa Mosqueda is the incumbent, and has drawn 10 challengers:

Kate Martin
Kenneth Wilson
Teresa Mosqueda
Jordan Elizabeth Fisher
Paul Felipe Glumaz
Alex Tsimerman
Brian Fahey
Jesse James
George Freeman
Alexander White
Bobby Lindsey Miller

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL POSITION 9: This citywide seat is the one González is leaving to run for mayor. West Seattleite Brianna Thomas is among the seven contenders:

Corey Eichner
Sara Nelson
Rebecca L. Williamson
Nikkita Oliver
Xtian Gunther
Lindsay McHaffie
Brianna K. Thomas

CITY ATTORNEY: Incumbent Pete Holmes has two challengers:

Pete Holmes
Nicole Thomas-Kennedy
Ann Davison

Other positions you’ll see on the ballot include three Seattle Port Commission seats, each with the incumbent plus one challenger. See those lists, and links to more information about all the candidates, by going here. The list won’t be finalized until after the Monday deadline for filers to change their mind and withdraw.

Though we’ve been hearing from, and about, candidates for months, nobody’s officially on the ballot until they formally file to run – and the official Filing Week starts tomorrow. Here’s the reminder from King County Elections:

Candidates looking to run for office this year will have the opportunity to put their name on the ballot during the upcoming filing week of May 17 through May 21, 2021.

King County Elections is strongly encouraging all candidates to file online. Online filing opens at 9 am on May 17 and is open 24 hours a day until 4 pm on May 21.

In-person assistance will be available for those who need it at King County Elections Headquarters in Renton. Those who do come in person will be required to wear a face covering that covers their nose and mouth. One can be provided, if needed. Candidates in need of assistance can also call 206-296-1565.

As the COVID-19 situation continues in our community, we will not be accommodating large groups or photo opportunities inside the facility.

Candidates can also file by mail. Mailed filings must be received no later than 4:30 pm on May 21, regardless of postmark.

The final deadline to withdraw one’s name from the ballot is 4:30 pm on Monday, May 24.

An updated list of candidate filings will be posted by noon and by 6 p.m. each day until the filing week ends. The list will be finalized following the withdrawal deadline.

There are many offices subject to election this year, including county and city level offices, school boards, and special purpose districts. You can find the complete list of offices subject to election in King County on our website here.

Candidates can sign up for notifications by email or text to get alerts about deadlines and other candidate-related information. Candidates looking for more information, please visit our website or call 206-296-1565.

In advance of filing week, candidates and ballot-measure advocates/opponents have registered campaigns with entities such as the city Ethics and Election Commission – see those lists here – and state Public Disclosure Commission – see those lists here.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

After coasting to re-election twice, King County Executive Dow Constantine has a fight ahead in his bid for a fourth term.

As of today, it’s a battle of two West Seattleites.

This morning, two days after this year’s legislative session wrapped up, State Sen. Joe Nguyen announced that he’s running for county executive. Nothing personal, he says – saying that he even volunteered for Constantine’s first campaign in 2009 – but Nguyen says it’s time for a change. Without using the exact words, his pitch is that while the incumbent is the past, he is the future – and the person to fight for the future of even the youngest King County residents, his three small children among them.

We spoke with Nguyen before this morning’s announcement.

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The State Legislature has just adjourned for the year. Two of the bills getting the most post-session buzz have West Seattle sponsors – Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon was lead sponsor on the clean-fuels bill, HB 1091; Sen. Joe Nguyen was a co-sponsor of the capital-gains tax, SB 5096. Both bills have gone to the governor’s desk. If you have questions about those bills or others passed – or not passed – by state legislators, the 34th District Democrats are presenting a Town Hall this Sunday (May 2nd) with Sen. Nguyen, Rep. Fitzgibbon, and Rep. Eileen Cody, online at.1 pm. Also scheduled to join them is our area’s U.S. House rep – also a West Seattle resident – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. You can send questions in advance via this link; no RSVP required for the event itself – here’s that link.

Four city councilmembers have a new-but-not-new idea for spending $20 in car-tab taxes.

First, the backstory: The city used to charge $80 for the Transportation Benefit District. Then after the last election, that dropped to $20, but the city has authority to add another $20 and is doing so starting in July. In November, three councilmembers including West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold proposed spending the money on bridge maintenance. But instead, a council majority had SDOT come up with a different plan, which only spent 24 percent on bridges; you might recall the community survey about it last month.

Now that plan is going to the council (here are its toplines). Four councilmembers, including the three who originally proposed bridge spending, are bringing back that idea. The four say that while the SDOT plan is fine for this year, starting next year they’d rather use the fee’s $7 million revenue to finance $100 million in bond money, with three-quarters of that going toward bridges. (While the councilmembers’ news release mentions the West Seattle Bridge, spending for that project isn’t specified in their proposed amendment, which you can read here. They instead would direct SDOT to come up with a bridge-spending plan. This will all play out before the Transportation and Utilities Committee starting this Wednesday (agenda here).

This Thursday, the West Seattle Democratic Women invite you to learn about two hot topics from their guest speaker. Here’s the announcement:

In honor of Women’s History Month, for its meeting on Thursday, March 25th, the West Seattle Democratic Women have invited Alison McCaffree from the League of Women Voters of Washington to present the history of the Equal Right Amendment and current efforts to get it passed. She will also tell us about Speak Up Schools in Washington State, a program created to inspire people to testify in front of the Washington State Redistricting Commission which will draw the lines for our legislative districts this year. Why do we care about these issues? How do they impact us? To join us on Zoom for this interactive and engaging presentation, email Mary Fisher at maryfisher1@comcast.net by 11 a.m. Thursday for the Zoom link. Speaker begins at 7 p.m, after we share positive news of the month in a pre-meeting discussion starting at 6:30 p.m.

The 15th candidate to enter the race for Seattle mayor is Jessyn Farrell. This is her second mayoral campaign – she finished fourth in the August 2017 primary. Farrell is a former state legislator (2013-2017) who is senior vice president of Civic Ventures, described in her campaign announcement as “a public policy incubator,” and has also been executive director of the Transportation Choices Coalition. She vows to “establish a new standard for successful, thriving cities” with priorities including “making housing more affordable and establishing universal birth-to 5-childcare.” Her website says she’s seeking community collaboration to develop a full policy platform. Farrell is a Northeast Seattle resident. The primary to narrow the race to two candidates is August 2nd; the lineup will be finalized in May.

Adding his name today to what’s now a 14-candidate list in the Seattle mayor’s race is someone who once, albeit briefly, held the title: Former City Councilmember Bruce Harrell. He was council president when then-mayor Ed Murray resigned in 2017, but declined to keep the interim mayoral position, so the council appointed another member, Tim Burgess, to serve the two months until the next election. Harrell then decided not to run for council re-election in 2019. His campaign announcement today is in the form of an “open letter” to Seattle residents. It tells his personal story as well as laying out a wide-ranging platform including business assistance, affordable health care, job creation, arts/culture/nightlife revitalization, public/private partnership to address homelessness, addressing structural racism and police bias, and more. His few days as mayor in 2017 were marked by issuance of four executive orders, as we reported here. This isn’t his first run for mayor – he ran in 2013, finishing fourth in a primary field of nine. This year’s primary is August 2nd; the candidate lineup will be finalized in May.

For everyone who suggests the solution to a problem is to elect new leadership, there’s someone else who points out that many elected positions don’t draw many candidates. That’s true. (Just one example – both of our area’s State House representatives ran for re-election unopposed last year.) If you are interested in finding out what it takes to run for an elected position, King County Elections has just announced workshops. From the WSB inbox:

King County Elections will host four virtual Candidate Workshops in an effort to empower potential candidates to take the leap and run for office.

Tuesday, March 16, 6 p.m. – 8p.m.
Thursday, April 1, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 17, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Thursday, April 29, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Virtual meeting over Zoom webinar – click here or visit bit.ly/kingworkshops to choose a date and register.

The workshops will be held to demystify the process by empowering potential candidates with key information they need to file their candidacy. This year there are over 330 local, nonpartisan offices up for election.

“We know that one of the key reasons people don’t vote in local elections is because they don’t see candidates on the ballot who look like them or represent their community,” said Director of Elections Julie Wise. “These workshops are an opportunity for less experienced or first-time candidates to get information and ask questions directly from the team that will ultimately help them through the filing process.”

The workshops will cover a range of topics including the elections calendar, online candidate filing, filing fee petitions, ballot order, local voters’ pamphlet filing, and more.

“Running for office takes a tremendous amount of courage and even the most technical parts of the process can be intimidating. We want to make to make things as easy as possible,” said Wise.

The workshops will be in preparation for the candidate filing period this year, Monday, May 17 through the following Friday, May 21. All Declarations of Candidacy must be received by King County Elections before the close of business on Friday, regardless of postmark.

Less than two weeks after kicking off his City Council Position 8 candidacy with a citywide tour including a West Seattle Junction stop, Mike McQuaid has withdrawn. We noticed it on the city elections website this afternoon and confirmed it with a campaign spokesperson. The Seattle Times reported last Friday that McQuaid had been charged with assault and harassment in 2015 after, according to a police report, he threatened and threw a rock at a man working on a landscaping project outside his South Lake Union condo building. The Times report says the charge resulted in a “deferred prosecution” agreement and a dismissal in 2018. McQuaid’s withdrawal leaves West Seattle-residing incumbent Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda alone in the Position 8 race for now; filings won’t be finalized until May.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The first West Seattleite to declare she’s running for City Council citywide Position 9 has campaigned for a council spot before.

Back in 2015, Brianna Thomas finished fourth in a field of nine during the first-ever District 1 primary election.

At the time, she had a resumé of political and community organizing. Since then, she’s learned about City Council work from the inside, as chief of staff for Council President Lorena González, whose run for mayor is opening the position Thomas is seeking.

We talked with Thomas by phone at midday today, a few hours after her campaign was announced.

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RSVP today if you are interested in this event with the West Seattle Democratic Women tomorrow:

February 25th via Zoom:

The West Seattle Democratic Women are offering a rare opportunity to hear a presentation by Reverend Harriett Walden, founder of Mothers for Police Accountability, member of Seattle’s Community Police Commission, and a well-respected community leader for her compassionate approach to challenging issues. The presentation begins at 11:45; pre-meeting discussion and short business meeting start at 11 a.m. To join us, email maryfisher1@comcast.net by 5 p.m. Wednesday [today]. There will be time set aside for questions.

(Photo via seattle.gov.)

As reported here Wednesday, South Lake Union community activist Mike McQuaid is the second candidate to declare he’s running for Seattle City Council citywide Position 8. He is the first to make a campaign stop in West Seattle. As part of a citywide post-announcement tour today, he stopped at Husky Deli in The Junction:

His campaign announcement didn’t address one major topic that has been on the City Council’s front burner in various ways during the past year – crime and public safety. So we asked about his views on that.

Council Position 8 is one of four citywide positions that’ll be on your ballot in August and November – along with Council Position 9, Mayor, and City Attorney.

City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda has her first challenger for citywide Position 8: South Lake Union community advocate and business owner Mike McQuaid announced today that he’s running, and planning a citywide campaign tour tomorrow, including a West Seattle stop. The campaign news release describes McQuaid as “a fourth-generation Seattleite who served as elected member, president and transportation chair of the South Lake Union Community Council from 2010 – 19 during a period of significant growth and revitalization” and says he “has also served in a number of volunteer civic leadership capacities including a mayoral appointment to the Seattle Sister Cities Coordinating Council and a leadership role in the then Key Arena – Redevelopment Community Advisory Group.” The announcement cites pandemic recovery and neighborhood-business resiliency among his priorities and says the candidate is “passionate about Seattle’s parks, transportation infrastructure and neighborhoods.” McQuaid’s campaign stops in all seven council districts tomorrow will include a visit to Husky Deli in The Junction between 1:30 and 2 pm.