Election Redux

About 20% of the eligible voters in the 9th voted yesterday, making it about 14k people total. Of those votes, Hammond got 27%, Roach 22%, and Fortunato 16%. Heavey got 35%. So it will be Hammond versus Heavey in the main election.

All in all, things look pretty good for Hammond - he conducted himself generally like an adult, though challenges to the other two Republican campaigns could be traced back to his supporters. I can more easily see Roach and Fortunato voters coming over to his side than his voters going to Roach or Fortunato if the vote had gone the other way. Roach did very well despite the lack of official support.

Heavey, on the other hand, has her work cut out for her. Her "Attack Moderate" ads on the Repubs may have helped Hammond more than hurt him, because he looked like the most responsible. Heavey added up all the donations for all the campaigns from developers, which made Hammond look like the least of the three weevils. And a later mailing, describing the three as "career politicians" tends to cling lightly to a man that is holding his first political office. It almost seems that she is pulling this stuff out of the standard-issue playbook, and will need to get serious, in particular in farm country to the South and East of here.

In other news, the vote that probably everyone knows about is the shooting down of the "Latte Tax", with a 68% no vote. The one that few people outside of Seattle knows is a vote to shuffle marijuana busts to the bottom of the Seattle Police priority list. That one got a 59% Yes vote. Local law enforcement declares that the vote will not affect their law-enforcement procedure, and grass busts have only about 150 prosecuted cases a year (In other words, Kate noted, they ALREADY are a low priority).

More later,