Durkan Triumphs in Seattle Mayoral Race

by Emerald Staff

With 105,587 ballots counted, and only a few thousand ballots currently outstanding according to King County Elections, it is all but guaranteed that Jenny Durkan will become Seattle's 56th mayor, and the first woman to hold the position in more than 80 years.

As of election night Tuesday, Durkan hovered around 61 percent of the vote, to her opponent, Cary Moon's 39 percent. While late ballots have yet to be counted, the gap of 22,000 assures Durkan's victory. Durkan is expected to be sworn in on November 29, a day after King County Elections certifies election results.

In an area of the city where most residents voted for someone other than either Durkan or Moon during the primary, the mood ranged from excitement to bitter disappointment.

"With her acceptance speech, Jenny Durkan showed that she heard the various communities of Seattle. She understands that Seattle will fiercely defend our core values against Trumpism while continuing to grow our city. She also heard the need to find better solutions for the underprivileged and underrepresented in Seattle. It's now up to us voters to hold her responsible for those dual missions." said Katrina Brede, a Columbia City resident.

Julie Pham, a Durkan supporter, was also thrilled by the result.

"The Seattle of today is so different from the Seattle I grew up in. Now, more than ever, we need a coalition-builder who has the vision and will to make hard decisions when the stakes are high that will ultimately benefit us all. I am excited that the voters recognized Jenny Durkan as that leader," said Pham, who works on tech access for South Seattle residents.

"To be honest I'm still having PTSD from the last election. This whole election season has left me feeling uninspired. I am disappointed that Jenny Durkan will be our next mayor, but I also wasn't inspired or excited about Cary Moon. Pretty much after Nikkita didn't make it through the primary I had the same revelation about Seattle that I did about America. In short white people don't give a shit," said South End based poet and educator Reagan Jackson.

Jackson said she hopes Tuesday's election will motivate others in the mold of Oliver to consider running for office in the near term.

Santa Filda Anigo, shared Jackson's disappointment, but found a few silver linings to the night.

"I am a bit upset about the results for Seattle races for mayor and city council but am excited by the other people chosen all around the US from refugees to transgender individuals and socialists. It has been a good night, enough to begin restoring faith in the American people," she said.

Others, expecting the outcome, turned toward the immediate future.

"I hope [Durkan] remembers she has a lot of people who voted for her in the South End. I hope she actually listens to what we have to say," said Kia Jones, who patronized Rainier Beach watering hole Jude's Old Town to catch the election results.

Jon Grant, a resident of Hillman City, met with supporters at a reception at the Hillman City Collaboratory in his run for Seattle City Council Position 8. As of 9:35pm, he was trailing challenger Teresa Mosqueda 61.5 percent to 38.5 percent.

A former director of the Tenants Union, Grant ran as a democratic socialist, with the major focus of his campaign on affordable housing. Through his run, Grant faced questions over the nature of his departure from the Tenants Union.

Grant placed special emphasis on building grassroots political support and fostered a reputation for showing up for activist events in Seattle, the recent occupation of city hall in protest of homeless sweeps being the most recent example. His opponent and future city councilmember Teresa Mosqueda has a leadership background in labor.

Addressing the gathered crowd, Grant praised the efforts of his campaign staff and said, "This is a campaign that showed the city how to make the democracy voucher program work." He reiterated his focus on housing justice and boasted his campaign had forced Mosqueda to shift to the left on embracing progressive taxation and refusing additional police spending.

He drew attention to the Housing for All Campaign as something his supporters should look to in the future for a chance to make a difference. Citing numerous supporters wearing red flannel in the audience, Grant said, "through this campaign we've established that the Democratic Socialists of America is a powerful institution."

Grant concluded his remarks by saying, "I feel just pure love for all of you. We did so much and we really moved this city in a way that hasn't been seen in a long time. So thank you for everything, and I look forward to tomorrow."

On the cusp of victory at a joint election night party with City Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez and school board candidate Zachary DeWolf, Mosqueda told supporters, "This elections shows that when we work together, commit to protecting the rights of our community and workers, when we unite instead of divide our progressive community — we win."

After her victory, Patu told the Emerald that she was, "overwhelmed with gratitude by the support and tremendous vote of confidence from my community. It is a honor and privilege to serve our students, parents, families and staff in the Seattle Public Schools and I take on this responsibility with great humility and passion. I am committed to our children and to ensuring that they are receiving an equitable education."

Zachary Dewolf beat Omar Vasquez for the School District's District 5 Director position. Eden Mack handily won the District 4 Director's seat with 85 percent of the vote.

In suspense free votes, both King County Executive Dow Constantine and 37th District State Senator Rebecca Saldana won re-election. Saldana, who represents a large swath of South Seattle and Skyway, ran unopposed. Gary Schultz, also running unopposed, won election as the Skyway Water and Sewer District Commissioner Position 1.

King County Fire Protection District 20 Proposition 1, a measure imposing a property tax to finance the maintenance and operations of local fire stations, passed with 69 percent of the vote.

Countywide, voter turnout out was less than 23 percent, a steep dip from the August primary where 40 percent of King County voters turned out.

A full list of Tuesday's election results, including for Port Commission can be found here.

Featured image by Susan Fried