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City elections in Seattle, Washington (August 6, 2019 primary election)
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| 2019 Seattle elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: May 17, 2019 |
| Primary election: August 6, 2019 General election: November 5, 2019 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: City council |
| Total seats up: 7 |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2019 |
The city of Seattle, Washington, held elections for city council Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 on November 5, 2019. A primary election was held on August 6, 2019. The top two candidates advanced from the August 6 primary election to the Nov. 5 general election.[1] This page covers the primary election. Click here for coverage of the general election.
Incumbents in districts 2, 4, 6, and 7 did not seek re-election. Between seven and 14 candidates filed to run for each of the four open seats. Three incumbents ran for re-election, and all three advanced from the primary election. Lisa Herbold (District 1) faced two challengers in the primary. Kshama Sawant (District 3) and Debora Juarez (District 5) each faced five.
The elections occurred a year after the repeal of the 2018 head tax proposal, which would have required businesses grossing at least $20 million to pay $275 per employee in order to fund affordable housing programs for the homeless. The city council voted to pass the head tax 9-0 in May 2018 but then repealed it by a 7-2 vote in June 2018 after running into opposition from the city’s business community, including online retailer Amazon. Sawant and Position 8 At-large Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda cast the two votes against repealing the tax. Juarez and Herbold voted with five others to repeal it.[2]
The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce opposed the head tax.[3] The Chamber's political action committee, Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy (CASE), endorsed nine candidates across the seven races and raised more than $1 million as of July 31, 2019 (including $250,000 from Amazon). It had spent $477,000 supporting endorsed candidates and opposing Herbold and Sawant through the primaries. One CASE-endorsed candidate advanced from each of the seven primary elections.
Through the primary elections, the races had seen $976,000 in total satellite spending, which was more than in the 2015 primary and general elections combined for the seven district seats.[4][5]
Positions 8 and 9 on the council, at-large seats held by Mosqueda and M. Lorena González, respectively, were not up for election until 2021.[6]
Across all seven elections, 56 candidates filed to run.[7] In 2015, 37 candidates filed for the same seven seats. This was the second election in which a voter voucher program was being used to provide public funding to campaigns. It was also the second election in recent history in which councilmembers were elected by district; from 1910 to 2013, all Seattle councilmembers were elected at large.
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Candidates and results
Click the tabs below to see results for each district.
District 1
General election
General election for Seattle City Council District 1
Incumbent Lisa Herbold defeated Phillip Tavel in the general election for Seattle City Council District 1 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lisa Herbold (Nonpartisan) | 55.7 | 20,033 |
 | Phillip Tavel (Nonpartisan)  | 43.9 | 15,787 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 139 | ||
| Total votes: 35,959 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Seattle City Council District 1
Incumbent Lisa Herbold and Phillip Tavel defeated Brendan Kolding in the primary for Seattle City Council District 1 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lisa Herbold (Nonpartisan) | 50.6 | 13,405 |
| ✔ | | Phillip Tavel (Nonpartisan) | 32.3 | 8,558 |
 | Brendan Kolding (Nonpartisan) | 16.7 | 4,435 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 85 | ||
| Total votes: 26,483 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District 2
General election
General election for Seattle City Council District 2
Tammy Morales defeated Mark Solomon in the general election for Seattle City Council District 2 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tammy Morales (Nonpartisan) | 60.5 | 16,379 |
 | Mark Solomon (Nonpartisan) | 39.1 | 10,586 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 121 | ||
| Total votes: 27,086 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Seattle City Council District 2
The following candidates ran in the primary for Seattle City Council District 2 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tammy Morales (Nonpartisan) | 50.1 | 10,630 |
| ✔ | | Mark Solomon (Nonpartisan) | 23.2 | 4,923 |
| Ari Hoffman (Nonpartisan) | 11.5 | 2,451 | ||
| Phyllis Porter (Nonpartisan) | 5.9 | 1,254 | ||
 | Chris Peguero (Nonpartisan) | 4.7 | 1,000 | |
| Omari Tahir-Garrett (Nonpartisan) | 2.9 | 607 | ||
 | Henry Dennison (Nonpartisan) | 1.4 | 304 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 61 | ||
| Total votes: 21,230 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District 3
General election
General election for Seattle City Council District 3
Incumbent Kshama Sawant defeated Egan Orion in the general election for Seattle City Council District 3 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kshama Sawant (Nonpartisan) | 51.8 | 22,263 |
 | Egan Orion (Nonpartisan) | 47.7 | 20,488 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 205 | ||
| Total votes: 42,956 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Seattle City Council District 3
The following candidates ran in the primary for Seattle City Council District 3 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kshama Sawant (Nonpartisan) | 36.7 | 12,088 |
| ✔ | | Egan Orion (Nonpartisan) | 21.5 | 7,078 |
 | Pat Murakami (Nonpartisan) | 13.0 | 4,279 | |
 | Zachary DeWolf (Nonpartisan) | 12.6 | 4,147 | |
| Ami Nguyen (Nonpartisan) | 9.2 | 3,028 | ||
 | Logan Bowers (Nonpartisan) | 6.8 | 2,250 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 59 | ||
| Total votes: 32,929 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District 4
General election
General election for Seattle City Council District 4
Alex Pedersen defeated Shaun Scott in the general election for Seattle City Council District 4 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Alex Pedersen (Nonpartisan) | 51.9 | 16,954 |
 | Shaun Scott (Nonpartisan) | 47.7 | 15,568 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 119 | ||
| Total votes: 32,641 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Seattle City Council District 4
The following candidates ran in the primary for Seattle City Council District 4 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alex Pedersen (Nonpartisan) | 40.4 | 10,447 |
| ✔ | | Shaun Scott (Nonpartisan) | 23.3 | 6,020 |
| Emily Myers (Nonpartisan) | 12.8 | 3,326 | ||
| Cathy Tuttle (Nonpartisan) | 12.8 | 3,322 | ||
 | Heidi Stuber (Nonpartisan) | 3.8 | 981 | |
| Beth Mountsier (Nonpartisan) | 2.8 | 718 | ||
| Sasha Anderson (Nonpartisan) | 1.3 | 328 | ||
| Joshua Newman (Nonpartisan) | 1.2 | 317 | ||
| Frank Krueger (Nonpartisan) | 0.9 | 237 | ||
 | Ethan Hunter (Nonpartisan) | 0.5 | 119 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 71 | ||
| Total votes: 25,886 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District 5
General election
General election for Seattle City Council District 5
Incumbent Debora Juarez defeated Ann Davison in the general election for Seattle City Council District 5 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Debora Juarez (Nonpartisan) | 60.6 | 19,532 |
 | Ann Davison (Nonpartisan) | 39.1 | 12,588 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 114 | ||
| Total votes: 32,234 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Seattle City Council District 5
The following candidates ran in the primary for Seattle City Council District 5 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Debora Juarez (Nonpartisan) | 45.1 | 11,085 |
| ✔ | | Ann Davison (Nonpartisan) | 26.7 | 6,564 |
 | John Lombard (Nonpartisan) | 13.0 | 3,201 | |
 | Tayla Mahoney (Nonpartisan) | 7.1 | 1,742 | |
| Mark Mendez (Nonpartisan) | 6.3 | 1,558 | ||
 | Alex Tsimerman (Nonpartisan) | 1.5 | 376 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 50 | ||
| Total votes: 24,576 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District 6
General election
General election for Seattle City Council District 6
Dan Strauss defeated Heidi Wills in the general election for Seattle City Council District 6 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dan Strauss (Nonpartisan) | 55.7 | 23,868 |
 | Heidi Wills (Nonpartisan) | 43.8 | 18,799 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 221 | ||
| Total votes: 42,888 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Seattle City Council District 6
The following candidates ran in the primary for Seattle City Council District 6 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dan Strauss (Nonpartisan) | 34.1 | 11,328 |
| ✔ | | Heidi Wills (Nonpartisan) | 21.2 | 7,048 |
| Sergio García (Nonpartisan) | 14.3 | 4,730 | ||
| Jay Fathi (Nonpartisan) | 13.2 | 4,367 | ||
| Kate Martin (Nonpartisan) | 3.4 | 1,137 | ||
 | Jon Lisbin (Nonpartisan) | 3.2 | 1,063 | |
| Jeremy Cook (Nonpartisan) | 2.5 | 829 | ||
| Melissa Hall (Nonpartisan) | 2.5 | 820 | ||
 | Ed Pottharst (Nonpartisan) | 1.8 | 599 | |
| John Peeples (Nonpartisan) | 1.4 | 452 | ||
| Joey Massa (Nonpartisan) | 0.9 | 299 | ||
| Terry Rice (Nonpartisan) | 0.9 | 287 | ||
| Kara Ceriello (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 146 | ||
| Bobby Miller (Nonpartisan) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 67 | ||
| Total votes: 33,172 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District 7
General election
General election for Seattle City Council District 7
Andrew Lewis defeated Jim Pugel in the general election for Seattle City Council District 7 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Andrew Lewis (Nonpartisan) | 53.0 | 18,336 |
 | Jim Pugel (Nonpartisan) | 46.6 | 16,122 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 152 | ||
| Total votes: 34,610 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Seattle City Council District 7
The following candidates ran in the primary for Seattle City Council District 7 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Andrew Lewis (Nonpartisan) | 31.7 | 8,409 |
| ✔ | | Jim Pugel (Nonpartisan) | 24.8 | 6,566 |
| Daniela Lipscomb-Eng (Nonpartisan) | 9.8 | 2,591 | ||
| Michael George (Nonpartisan) | 9.3 | 2,460 | ||
| Gene Burrus (Nonpartisan) | 5.7 | 1,501 | ||
| Jason Williams (Nonpartisan) | 5.1 | 1,347 | ||
| Don Harper (Nonpartisan) | 4.8 | 1,265 | ||
| James Donaldson (Nonpartisan) | 3.1 | 824 | ||
| Naveed Jamali (Nonpartisan) | 3.0 | 788 | ||
 | Isabelle Kerner (Nonpartisan) | 2.6 | 691 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 80 | ||
| Total votes: 26,522 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Races with incumbents seeking re-election
District 1
Incumbent Lisa Herbold was first elected in 2015, defeating Shannon Braddock by a margin of 0.2 percentage points. She faced former police lieutenant Brendan Kolding and attorney Phil Tavel in the August 6, 2019, primary election.[8]
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
For endorsement lists on campaign websites, click the following links:
| Endorsements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement | Herbold | Kolding | Tavel | |||
| Elected officials | ||||||
| U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D) | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle City Councilmember M. Lorena González | ✔ | |||||
| State Sen. Joe Nguyen | ✔ | |||||
| State Sen. Bob Hasegawa | ✔ | |||||
| State Rep. Zack Hudgins | ✔ | |||||
| State Rep. Steve Bergquist | ✔ | |||||
| State Rep. Mia Gregerson | ✔ | |||||
| State Rep. Nicole Macri | ✔ | |||||
| State Rep. Javier Valdez | ✔ | |||||
| King County Councilmember Joe McDermott | ✔ | |||||
| King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski | ✔ | |||||
| King County Councilmember Larry Gossett | ✔ | |||||
| Port Commissioner Peter Steinbrueck | ✔ | |||||
| Tukwila Councilmember De’Sean Quinn | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle School Board President Leslie Harris | ✔ | |||||
| Sewer District Commissioner Bill Tracy | ✔ | |||||
| Newspapers and editorials | ||||||
| The Stranger editorial board[9] | ✔ | |||||
| The Seattle Times editorial board | ✔ | |||||
| Unions | ||||||
| Martin Luther King County Labor Council | ✔ | |||||
| Ironworkers Local 86 | ✔ | |||||
| UNITE HERE Local 8 | ✔ | |||||
| Service Employees International Union Local 6 | ✔ | |||||
| Service Employees International Union Local 1199 | ✔ | |||||
| Laborers Local 242 | ✔ | |||||
| International Union of Painters & Allied Trades District Council 5 | ✔ | |||||
| Pier Truckers Association | ✔ | |||||
| Organizations | ||||||
| King County Democrats | ✔ | |||||
| National Women’s Political Caucus | ✔ | |||||
| King County Young Democrats | ✔ | |||||
| 11th District Democrats | ✔ | |||||
| Fuse Washington[10] | ✔ | |||||
| West Seattle Health Club | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle King County Realtors | ✔ | |||||
| Washington Technology Industry Association | ✔ | |||||
| PACs | ||||||
| Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle Hospitality For Progress | ✔ | |||||
District 3
Incumbent Kshama Sawant was first elected in 2013, when she defeated incumbent Richard Conlin by a margin of 1.8 percentage points. She faced cannabis store owner Logan Bowers, Seattle School Board member Zachary DeWolf, public defender Ami Nguyen, Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce director Egan Orion, and IT company owner Pat Murakami in the August 6, 2019, primary election.[8]
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
For endorsement lists on campaign websites, click the following links:
| Endorsements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement | Bowers | DeWolf | Murakami | Nguyen | Orion | Sawant |
| Elected officials | ||||||
| State Rep. Gerry Pollet | ✔ | |||||
| State Rep. Cindy Ryu | ✔ | |||||
| State Rep. Gael Tarleton | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle City Councilwoman M. Lorena González | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle City Councilwoman Teresa Mosqueda | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle City Councilwoman Debora Juarez | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle Port Commissioner Ryan Calkins | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle School Board President Leslie Harris | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle School Board Vice President Rick Burke | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle School Board Director Jill Geary | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle School Board director Scott Pinkham | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle School Board director Eden Mack | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle School Board director Betty Patu | ✔ | |||||
| King County Councilmember Larry Gossett | ✔ | |||||
| Individuals | ||||||
| Philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky[11] | ✔ | |||||
| Former Seattle Mayor and City Councilmember Tim Burgess | ✔ | |||||
| Unions | ||||||
| Martin Luther King County Labor Council | ✔ | |||||
| Teamsters 117 | ✔ | |||||
| Teamsters 174 | ✔ | |||||
| Teamsters 763 | ✔ | |||||
| Ironworkers Local 86 | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 32 | ✔ | |||||
| Service Employees International Union Local 775 | ✔ | |||||
| HOD Carriers and Laborers Union Local 242 | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle Education Association | ✔ | |||||
| Service Employees International Union Local 925 | ✔ | |||||
| UNITE HERE Local 8 | ✔ | |||||
| Washington Federation of State Employees Local 3488 | ✔ | |||||
| Washington Federation of State Employees Local 304 | ✔ | |||||
| Washington Federation of State Employees Local 1488 | ✔ | |||||
| International Union of Operating Engineers Local 809 | ✔ | |||||
| American Postal Workers Union - Greater Seattle Local | ✔ | |||||
| Laborers Local 1239 | ✔ | |||||
| Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 | ✔ | |||||
| United Academic Workers 4121 | ✔ | |||||
| United Academic Workers 1981 | ✔ | |||||
| Service Employees International Union Local 6 | ✔ | |||||
| Newspapers and editorials | ||||||
| The Seattle Times editorial board | ✔ | |||||
| The Stranger editorial board[9] | ✔ | |||||
| Organizations | ||||||
| King County Young Democrats | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Washington High School Democrats | ✔ | |||||
| Women of Color in Politics | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle Subway | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Downtown Seattle Association | ✔ | |||||
| King County Democrats | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Fuse Washington[10] | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Speak Out Seattle | ✔ | |||||
| Washington Technology Industry Association | ✔ | |||||
| Seattle Democratic Socialists of America | ✔ | |||||
| National Women's Political Caucus of Washington | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
| Socialist Alternative | ✔ | |||||
| PACs | ||||||
| Moms for Seattle | ✔ | |||||
| Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy | ✔ | |||||
District 5
Incumbent Debora Juarez was first elected in 2015, receiving 64 percent of the vote. She faced environmental policy consultant John Lombard, electrical administrator Tayla Mahoney, community organizer Mark Mendez, attorney Ann Davison Sattler, and former U.S. Senate and mayoral candidate Alex Tsimerman in the August 6, 2019, primary election.[8]
Campaign finance
Campaign finance data was available for the following candidates.
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Click the links below for endorsement lists from candidates' websites, where available:
| Endorsements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement | Juarez | Lombard | Davison Sattler | |||
| Elected officials | ||||||
| State Rep. Cindy Ryu | ✔ | |||||
| Mayor of Shoreline Will Hall | ✔ | |||||
| Newspapers and editorials | ||||||
| The Stranger editorial board[9] | ✔ | |||||
| The Seattle Times editorial board[12] | ✔ | |||||
| Organizations | ||||||
| Sierra Club[13] | ✔ | |||||
| National Women's Political Caucus of Washington[14] | ✔ | |||||
| Washington Technology Industry Association[15] | ✔ | |||||
| King County Democrats[16] | ✔ | |||||
| Fuse Washington[10] | ✔ | |||||
| 32nd District Democrats | ✔ | |||||
| The Duwamish Tribe | ✔ | |||||
| PACs | ||||||
| Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy[17] | ✔ | |||||
Open-seat races
Incumbents Bruce Harrell (District 2), Abel Pacheco (District 4), Mike O'Brien (District 6), and Sally Bagshaw (District 7) did not seek re-election in 2019, leaving four seats open.
- Seven candidates filed for District 2
- Ten candidates filed for District 4
- Fourteen candidates filed for District 6
- Ten candidates filed for District 7
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in one of the following races? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
District 2
District 4
|
District 6
District 7
|
Campaign finance
Campaign finance data is provided where available for candidates in each race.
District 2
District 4
District 6
District 7
Voucher program data
Eligible Seattle residents received four $25 vouchers in February. Vouchers could go to any council candidates of a voter's choosing, including those outside the voter's district. Under the program, participating candidates had a $75,000 spending limit during the primary election and a $150,000 cumulative spending limit if they went on on to the general election.[22] Candidates participating in the program could apply to be released from the spending limit if a candidate in their race exceeded $75,000 in spending or contributions or if independent expenditures on a candidate's behalf exceeded that limit.[23]
During the primary election, there were 42 active city council candidates participating in the Democracy Voucher Program, including incumbents Herbold and Juarez.[24] Sawant did not participate in the program, saying, "The Democracy Voucher program is a progressive step forward, but unfortunately it’s not designed for a race like ours where Amazon and the whole big business establishment is united against us. It does not prevent corporate PACs from overnight dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into the race to try to buy the election."[23] The five candidates challenging Sawant participated in the program and were released from the spending limit.[25]
As of August 6, 2019, spending caps had been lifted in all races except District 5.[26][24]
The following shows funds candidates received from the program through July 25, 2019. Click "Position" in the table to sort by race, and click "Total" to sort by amount of money received by each candidate.
Satellite spending
Satellite spending, commonly referred to as outside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[27][28][29]
This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, please email us.
Through the primary elections on August 6, 2019, there had been a total of $976,432 in satellite spending toward the Seattle City Council elections.
- CAPE (Civic Alliance for a Progressive Economy) had spent the following as of August 6:[30]
- District 1: $19,624 in support of Lisa Herbold
- District 1: $3,186 opposing Brendan Kolding
- District 1: $3,190 opposing Phil Tavel
- District 2: $17,782 in support of Tammy Morales
- District 2: $3,186 opposing Mark Solomon
- District 2: $3,190 opposing Ari Hoffman
- CASE (Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy) had spent $477,000 in support of endorsed Seattle City Council candidates and opposing others as of August 6, 2019:[26][31]
- District 1: $129,062 in support of Phil Tavel (distributing campaign literature, making calls and texts, canvassing, and mailers)
- District 1: $7,555 opposing Lisa Herbold (mailers)
- District 2: $121,729 in support of Mark Solomon (distributing campaign literature, making calls and texts, canvassing, and mailers)
- District 3: $156,247 in support of Egan Orion (distributing campaign literature, making calls and texts, canvassing, and mailers)
- District 3: $11,692 opposing Kshama Sawant (mailers)
- District 4: $13,017 in support of Alex Pedersen (mailers)
- District 5: $6,878 in support of Debora Juarez (mailers)
- District 6: $6,648 in support of Jay Fathi (mailers)
- District 6: $6,648 in support of Heidi Wills (mailers)
- District 7: $5,947 in support of Jim Pugel (mailers)
- District 7: $11,612 in support of Michael George (mailers)
- Moms for Seattle had spent the following on Facebook ads, digital campaign consulting, and mailers for four races as of August 6:[32]
- $33,434 in support of Pat Murakami (District 3)
- $32,766 in support of Alex Pedersen (District 4)
- $34,294 in support of Heidi Wills (District 6)
- $31,190 in support of Michael George (District 7)
- People for Seattle spent the following sums for and against candidates as of August 6:[33]
- $17,886 opposing Lisa Herbold (District 1)
- $16,738 in support of Phil Tavel (District 1)
- $20,278 in support of Mark Solomon (District 2)
- $2,717 opposing Tammy Morales (District 2)
- $15,200 in support of Egan Orion (District 3)
- $12,517 opposing Zachary DeWolf (District 3)
- $12,517 opposing Kshama Sawant (District 3)
- $18,644 in support of Alex Pedersen (District 4)
- $11,071 opposing Emily Myers (District 4)
- UNITE HERE Local 8 PAC had spent $148,629 on ads in support of Andrew Lewis for the District 7 seat through August 6.[34]
Candidate survey
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
Noteworthy events
Changes in election governance
The elections featured recent changes to the city's campaign finance system and district system.
In February 2019, eligible voters received four $25 vouchers to give to the candidate or candidates of their choosing, provided the candidate agreed to certain campaign spending limits. As of July 25, 2019, candidates had received $1.4 million from more than 56,000 returned vouchers.[35][36]
The voucher program, which was established by Measure No. 122 in 2015 and first used in 2017, was under review by the Washington Supreme Court for alleged infringements on free speech protections until July 11, 2019, when the court affirmed an earlier superior court decision dismissing the case.[37][38]
This was the second year where Seattle elected candidates to single-member districts instead of at-large districts. For the first time in 2015, the city elected seven members to single-member districts for four-year terms and two members to at-large positions for two-year terms (four-year terms for the at-large positions began after the 2017 elections). All nine seats had previously been elected at large since 1910.
The nine at-large seat structure changed to seven single-member seats/two at-large positions after city voters approved Charter Amendment 19 in 2013.
Other elections on the ballot
Ballot measures
City measure
• Proposition 1: Seattle Library Property Tax 
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of authorizing the city to levy for seven years a property tax of $0.122 per $1,000 of assessed value with annual increases of up to 1% to fund library operations, materials, and maintenance and capital improvements. |
| A no vote was a vote against authorizing the city to levy a seven-year property tax to fund library services, thereby allowing the existing library property tax to expire without a replacement. |
County measure
• Proposition 1: King County Parks and Recreation Property Tax
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of authorizing the county to levy for six years a property tax of $0.1832 per $1,000 in assessed property value to replace an expiring tax, with annual increases and with revenue for parks, recreation, open space, public pools, zoo operations, and aquarium capital improvements. |
| A no vote was a vote against authorizing the county to levy a property tax of $0.1832 per $1,000 in assessed property value for parks and recreation, thereby allowing an existing property tax levy of up to $0.1877 per $1,000 in assessed property value to expire without a replacement. |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Washington elections, 2019
Past elections
2017
City council, Position 8Incumbent Tim Burgess did not file for re-election. General electionPrimary election |
City council, Position 9General election
Primary election
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2015
| Click "show" to the right to see resuls of the 2015 Seattle City Council elections. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General election
Primary election
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About the city
- See also: Seattle, Washington
Seattle is a city in King County, Washington. As of 2010, its population was 608,660.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Seattle uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[39]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Seattle, Washington | ||
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | Washington | |
| Population | 608,660 | 6,724,540 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 83 | 66,454 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 67.3% | 75.4% |
| Black/African American | 7.3% | 3.8% |
| Asian | 15.4% | 8.5% |
| Native American | 0.5% | 1.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.3% | 0.7% |
| Other (single race) | 2.3% | 4.5% |
| Multiple | 6.9% | 5.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 6.7% | 12.7% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 94.8% | 91.3% |
| College graduation rate | 64% | 36% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $92,263 | $73,775 |
| Persons below poverty level | 11% | 10.8% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
State profile
- See also: Washington and Washington elections, 2019
Partisan data
The information in this section was current as of May 7, 2019
Presidential voting pattern
- Washington voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Congressional delegation
- Following the 2018 elections, both U.S. Senators from Washington were Democrats.
- Washington had seven Democratic and three Republican U.S. Representatives.
State executives
- Democrats held six and Republicans held two of Washington's 14 state executive offices. Elections for the other offices are nonpartisan.
- Washington's governor was Democrat Jay Inslee.
State legislature
- Democrats controlled the Washington State Senate with a 29-20 majority.
- Democrats controlled the Washington House of Representatives with a 57-41 majority.
Washington Party Control: 1992-2024
Eighteen years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R[40] | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | S | S | S | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
|
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| Demographic data for Washington | ||
|---|---|---|
| Washington | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 7,160,290 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 66,456 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 77.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 3.6% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 7.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 1.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 5.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 12% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 32.9% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $61,062 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 14.4% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Washington. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
See also
| Seattle, Washington | Washington | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ King County Elections, "Who has filed: 2019 candidate filing," accessed May 20, 2019
- ↑ Geek Wire, "Seattle repeals head tax 7-2 in dramatic reversal that leaves city divided over homeless crisis," June 12, 2018
- ↑ Seattle Times, "Seattle’s business lobby sees opportunity to unseat the City Council’s progressive majority," May 12, 2019
- ↑ Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, "Contributions to Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy Sponsored by the Seattle Chamber 2019 Election Cycle," July 31, 2019
- ↑ Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, "2015 Independent Expenditure Committees," accessed August 5, 2019
- ↑ Seattle.gov, "Find Your Council District," accessed May 20, 2019
- ↑ The Stranger, "Here’s Who’s Officially Running for Seattle City Council, Let's Place Bets on Who the Chamber Will Try to Buy with Their Amazon Gold, and More City Council Election News," May 17, 2019
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 The Seattle Times, "Meet the candidates running for City Council in 2019," accessed June 28, 2019
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 The Stranger, "The Stranger's Endorsements for the August 6, 2019, Primary Election," July 17, 2019
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 Progressive Voters Guide, "Seattle City Council," accessed July 23, 2019
- ↑ The Stranger, "Ballots Are in the Mail, Noam Chomsky Endorses Sawant, Rich Moms Love Michael George, And More City Council Election News," July 19, 2019
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 The Seattle Times, "The Seattle Times editorial board’s 2019 primary election endorsements," updated July 19, 2019
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Twitter, "Sierra Club on June 19, 2019," accessed June 26, 2019
- ↑ NWPCWA, "Our 2019 Endorsements," accessed June 28, 2019
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 Washington Technology, "2019 Seattle City Council Primary Election Endorsements," accessed July 11, 2019
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 King County Democrats, "2019 Endorsements," accessed July 15, 2019
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 King 5 News, "Seattle Chamber's political arm endorses one city council incumbent," June 19, 2019
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "The Times recommends: Mark Solomon for Seattle City Council, District 2," July 7, 2019
- ↑ The Hill, "Seattle fights preview battle between Democrats, democratic socialists," July 28, 2019
- ↑ The Stranger, "Jayapal Endorses Myers, Amazon-Backed Chamber Drops $300,000, and More City Council Election News," July 5, 2019
- ↑ Lewis for Seattle, "Endorsements," accessed July 17, 2019
- ↑ Seattle.gov, "Democracy Voucher Program, About the Program," accessed June 28, 2019
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 The Stranger, "Kshama Sawant Says She Won't Use Democracy Vouchers. Why Not?" January 24, 2019
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Seattle.gov, "Democracy Voucher Program, 2019 Participating Candidates," accessed July 30, 2019
- ↑ Seattle.gov, "Democracy Voucher Program 2019 Participating Candidates," accessed June 28, 2019
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 The Stranger, "Amazon-Funded PAC Begins Dishing Out Cash to Tilt Seattle City Council Races," July 2, 2019
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," November 6, 2015
- ↑ Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, "2019 Independent Expenditure Committees: CivicAlliance4Prog Economy," August 20, 2019
- ↑ Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, "2019 Independent Expenditure Committees: Civ Alliance (CASE)," August 20, 2019
- ↑ Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, "Disclosure Reports: Moms for Seattle," accessed August 20, 2019
- ↑ Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, "2019 Independent Expenditure Committees: People for Seattle," August 20, 2019
- ↑ Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, "UNITE HERE Local 8 PAC," accessed August 20, 2019
- ↑ Seattle Times, "In Seattle, the socialists are giving big business a run for their money — literally," May 15, 2019
- ↑ Seattle.gov, "Democracy Voucher Program Data, accessed July 5, 2019
- ↑ Seattle Times, "Washington’s Supreme Court agrees to review case against Seattle’s ‘democracy vouchers,’" December 21, 2018
- ↑ Washington Supreme Court, "Mark Fester and Sarah Pynchon v. The City of Seattle," July 11, 2019
- ↑ City of Seattle, "Elected Officials," accessed September 15, 2014
- ↑ Democrats gained full control of the state Senate after a special election on November 7, 2017.
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