Did you get your ballot today too?

Voting has begun for the August 4th primary. If you’re like many people and planning to leave your ballot unopened for a while as you decide what to do, here’s what you need to know:

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL
You have three positions to vote on – technically, no incumbents, because these are all-new seats, seven districts and two at-large:
—District 1 (this is the one we’ve been talking about the most, the first-ever West Seattle/South Park seat), with nine candidates)
—Position 8 (this is one of the two at-large City Council seats, with four candidates)
—Position 9 (the other at-large City Council seat with six candidates)

SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION
You’ll be voting on two spots
—Position 2 (three candidates, including the incumbent)
—Position 5 (nine candidates, no incumbent)

SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
You’ll be voting on one board position
–District 6 (three candidates, including the incumbent)

KING COUNTY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR
–Three candidates, no incumbent

It’s been a busy primary season, with the first City Council District 1 candidates’ forum in February, the “First Look” forum we presented at Highland Park Improvement Club on February 5th. Four candidates were in the race; two of them are among the nine on your ballot now. Others jumped in (and in some cases jumped out) after that. The final forum was this past Wednesday night at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), presented by SSC and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. While it was in the “candi-dating” format, which means no way to record it in its entirety without a small army of videographers, we did get the opening statement by all participants:

(Those statements start at 5 minutes into the video; 8 of the candidates were there.) In the past week, we also have recorded interviews with each of the nine D-1 candidates, one at a time, in case you’re interested in a “Last Look” before you cast your vote. We will publish them simultaneously at some point in the next few days, as soon as the stories to accompany them are all ready. You can also review our coverage by scrolling through our West Seattle Politics archive, here. All this assumes you didn’t cast your vote the second the ballot showed up; if not, you have 2 1/2 weeks, so no rush. But do vote – this election is historic, with the council change to 7 district reps plus 2 at-large.

Next week, King County Elections mails the ballots for the August 4th primary, and yours will include the nine candidates in the historic first-ever District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) City Council race. One forum remains before the voting begins – next Wednesday night (July 15th) at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), which is partnering with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce to present this forum, focused on business, jobs, and education issues. It’s set for the Brockey Center at SSC (6000 16th SW), and the Chamber describes it as follows:

The event will begin at 5:30 pm with a meet and greet between the candidates and the attendees of the forum. At 6 pm all candidates will have an opportunity for an opening statement, and then we will begin the next phase of the forum. This will consist of “candidating” with the attendees. After the opening statements, all candidates will be sent to a table of attendees for 8 minutes. At the end of 8 minutes, the candidates will move on to the next table of attendees. We will continue this process as time allows. There will be time allowed at the end of the “candidating” portion for all candidates to give a 30-second closing statement. We plan to conclude the event by 8 pm.

The candidates in the at-large Positions 8 and 9 races have a concurrent forum outside West Seattle but if it finishes sooner, some might drop by toward this one’s end. While there is no admission charge for the forum, the Chamber is hoping you will pre-register so it knows how many people to expect – you can do that from this page.

Two proposals today from City Councilmember Tim Burgess are described in his announcement as “part of the City’s latest effort to improve gun safety in Seattle.” One would be a tax to be charged to gun and ammunition sellers, with its proceeds “dedicated to prevention programs and research intended to reduce the burden of gun violence on Seattle residents and neighborhoods.” The other would require filing a report with SPD if a gun is lost or stolen. Read on for more:

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2:40 AM: As previewed here Monday, this week’s Wednesday night trivia at Talarico’s in The Junction featured a special guest team – some of the present-and-past City Council District 1 candidates. Trivia host Phillip Tavel – in the race himself – came up with the idea. (L-R above, that’s Tavel with Brianna Thomas, Karl Wirsing, Shannon Braddock, Tom Koch, and Chas Redmond.) Another team of community leaders jumped into the fray:

They had just walked over from the monthly Southwest District Council meeting up the street at the Senior Center (we know because we covered it – report to come later today) – from left, SWDC co-president David Whiting of the Admiral Neighborhood Association, district coordinator Kerry Wade from the Department of Neighborhoods, Cindi Barker from the Morgan Community Association, SWDC co-president Eric Iwamoto of the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council, and Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association.

But no, it wasn’t WS community trivia, at least not in the early going when we stopped by for photos. And we don’t yet have the results (checking; will add when we get them!).

Speaking of results – just two weeks until you’ll get to make your choice from among the full field of nine D-1 hopefuls … the top two advance to the November election. At least two more forums are set before then – 2 pm Saturday, July 11th, on the GreenLife Stage at West Seattle Summer Fest, and 5:30 pm Wednesday, July 15th, at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor)’s Brockey Center.

ADDED THURSDAY MORNING, 10:15 AM: The trivia results, courtesy of host Tavel:
*The candidates’ team, “The Primary Is August 4th,” placed 6th with 33 points
*The SW District Council team, “The Dark Horses,” placed 2nd with 36 1/2 points
*The night’s winners were “Jane Austen’s Super-Excellent Butt-Kicking Trivia Masters,” with 38

(WSB photo from May 18th Fauntleroy forum: L to R – Phillip Tavel, Shannon Braddock, Jody Rushmer, Brianna Thomas, Karl Wirsing, Chas Redmond, Arturo Robles, Pavel Goberman, Lisa Herbold)

If you’re looking forward to voting in the primary for the first-ever City Council District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) election – you’ll be able to do that (as well as voting on at-large Positions 8 and 9, School Board Position 6, Port Commission Positions 2 and 5, and County Elections Director) starting in a little over two weeks: King County Elections says it’s sending out the August 4th ballots two weeks from today. But you can’t vote if you’re not registered, and the deadline for getting that done is a lot sooner – July 6th, if you want to do it the easy way, registering (or updating your info) online or by postal mail. If you need to register, start here. If you want to be sure your address is correct in county records, so you get that ballot they’ll be sending, go here – that’s also where you can go right now to create your customized sample ballot, to see the races and follow candidates’ infolinks.

P.S. If you miss this deadline, you can register in person up until July 27th, but don’t procrastinate and set yourself up for the hassle – get it done now.

Special event this Wednesday night at Talarico’s in The Junction – the regular weekly trivia night, long hosted by Phillip Tavel – who happens to be a candidate for City Council District 1 – features seven of his current and former fellow candidates, comprising one of the competing teams. Tavel says those who accepted the invite are ex-candidates Tom Koch and Dave Montoure plus current candidates Karl Wirsing, Brianna Thomas, Jody Rushmer, Chas Redmond, and Shannon Braddock. If they win, their prize and his pay get donated to a local nonprofit. You’re invited, 8:30 pm Wednesday at 4718 California SW.

Voting in the first-ever Seattle City Council District 1 primary is sooner than you think. Ballots you’ll use to help narrow the field of nine candidates to two finalists will arrive in about five weeks. So it’s down to decision time, if you haven’t made your choice yet.

NEXT WEDNESDAY: 7-9 pm Wednesday (June 17th) at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, your next chance to see the D-1 candidates side by side will be presented by the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council. DNDC chair Mat McBride promises some format change-ups: “The audience will be equipped with a feedback/voting tool, and reactions to candidate statements will be displayed on screen.” Also – come early for dinner; Indian-food truck Spice on Curve will be at Youngstown. (4408 Delridge Way SW)

WHAT YOU MISSED LAST MONDAY: The Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council‘s candidate forum in the Pathfinder K-8 cafeteria used the “candi-dating” format – after introductions at the front of the room, the candidates circulated between tables. Seven of the nine candidates participated (Arturo Robles, Brianna Thomas, Chas Redmond, Jody Rushmer, Karl Wirsing, Lisa Herbold, Phillip Tavel – organizers said Pavel Goberman declined the invitation and Shannon Braddock was ill) and each table got to talk with five of them before time ran out. Since we’ve been videotaping all the D-1 forums, we had to do this one too; the format was a challenge for that, so our cameraperson picked a random table at which to record the turns. Challenging acoustics, but here’s the result:

Then we recorded the candidates answering one final question at the front of the room – they were asked what they specifically would do for Pigeon Point if elected, but the answers turned out to speak more to West Seattle-wide issues:

We also sat in at a second table without video. The questions varied from candidate to candidate, so no comparison is possible, but the questions asked by those at the table involved White Center annexation (we put that question to all candidates earlier this month), rent control and housing affordability, workers’ rights, education, transportation, weed control, and crime.

FINAL FORUM? In addition to the June 17th event mentioned at the start of this story, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce also has finalized the plan for what might be the final forum before the primary – July 15th at the Brockey Center on the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus. It’ll start with a 5:30 pm meet-and-greet, then 6 pm opening statements, followed by table-to-table “candi-dating,” and a closing statement. This will be open to all, members and non-members, no admission charge. (6000 16th SW)

In the history-making first-ever City Council District 1 campaign – three things to share today:

‘SOUTH PARK SHOWS UP’: Our video clip above is the heart of last night’s community-organized candidate forum in South Park. You’ll find full coverage, including the start of the forum – testing the candidates on what they know about SP – on our partner site The South Park News.

SEVEN QUESTIONS: The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce asked the candidates to answer seven questions. Six sent replies, and they are all now published on the Chamber’s website – scroll down the main page for a link to each question and how those six candidates replied.

VOTER REGISTRATION CARDS: Shortly after we got a news release from King County Elections about brand-new voter-registration cards, ours arrived via postal mail. The “card” (paper, not plastic) includes your voter ID number, precinct info, and the numbers of the districts in which you elect representatives – with City Council District 1 brand new on the list.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“We all knew it was coming down to this anyway, so let’s give them a dual (endorsement) and take it to the streets.”

So said former 34th District Democrats chair Ivan Weiss – with current chair Marcee Stone-Vekich declaring it “the quote of the night” – just before the group took its third vote on an endorsement in the first-ever City Council District 1 race, resulting in dual endorsement of Shannon Braddock and Lisa Herbold (L-R photos above).

The voting had started with five of the race’s nine official candidates nominated for potential endorsement on the first ballot. No one ended up with 60 percent or more – Herbold received 63 votes, Braddock 60 votes, Chas Redmond 18 votes, Brianna Thomas 9 votes, Phillip Tavel 6 votes.

That sent the top two vote-getters to a second ballot, the results of which were Braddock 77, Herbold 70. And that set up the motion and the vote for a dual endorsement.

The other big vote was an endorsement in the West Seattle/South Park Seattle School Board race, which has three candidates, two of which were nominated for potential endorsement – incumbent Marty McLaren and challenger Leslie Harris. The results:

Harris declared herself “speechless.”

10:16 PM: The meeting has just wrapped up – endorsement votes for the two at-large City Council seats were delayed because the candidates were coming from earlier meetings to the north. Both of those races also resulted in dual endorsements – for Position 8, Tim Burgess and Jon Grant; for Position 9, Bill Bradburd and Lorena Gonzalez.

ADDED 7:51 AM MONDAY: Here’s our video (and embedded above) of the heart of the meeting – the hour and a half that involved the two aforementioned votes, among other business, and that started with the endorsement of King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, who is unopposed.

Added: Video from the Position 8/9 City Council speeches.

And ahead – play-by-play from the meeting, through the final District 1 results:

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