Hey folks, the King County primary election has come and gone. It was a top-two primary, which means the two candidates with the most votes go on to the general election in November. It is an open primary, which means that you don't have separate Democratic and Republican ballots. And most of the positions are non-partisan, which means that anyone can run without being a member of the party (though for some positions they can self-declare as "prefers X party". That also means you can get two Democrats, or two Independents, or two Republicans squaring off against each other in the general.
It is ALSO an all-mail-in election, which means that we'll have a big drop of votes on election day, then smaller drops as the ballots mailed in at the last moment are counted. Often this does not move the results much, but there is always a race or two that in "hanging fire" - it's so close you can't make the call immediately. So I wait a couple days before posting here. Late ballots around here tend to shift the vote towards the lefter, bluer, more progressive end of the political spectrum.
Final vote total looks like 33% or so, which is a) about right for an off-year primary election, and b) still sucky. That all said, it was a good night for the progressive side of the coin. In Seattle Mayor's Race, the progressive candidate actually out-polled the moderate incumbent (50% to 42%). And for King County Executive, we see two progressives squaring off against each other.
Anyway, here's the local results, as of Friday night. If they change further, I'll note them in this space..
King County Proposition No. 1 Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Levy - Everyone likes parks, This was approved with 73% of the vote. In elections where 52% is called decisive and 54% is called a mandate, the Seattle Times sniffed at this result with the innocuous headline "King County Property Tax Looks to be Passing."
King County Executive This is one with two progressive Democrats in the main,. Grimay Zhailay (44%) vs Claudia Balducci (30%). Both candidates are currently on the King County Council and have similar voting records. The campaign looks like it will be cordial. Good.
King County Council District 5 - Here's where it gets interesting. On election night we have three candidates of the six candidates that are running who are viable after the first day - Stephanie Fain, Peter Kwon, and Kim Khan Van. Both Fain and Kwon would fit in the moderate/centrist slot. Fain had a LOT of mailers and endorsements, and Kwon had billboards. Real, old-fashioned billboards. As of Friday night, we're looking at 27% for Kwon, 24% for Fain, and 23% for Van, so it is likely Kwon vs. Fain in the final. This one could flip, but there are not a huge number of uncounted votes left.
City of Kent Position No. 6 - We are looking at Sharn Shoker (34%) versus Andy Song (19%). Shoker, as expected, had a very strong campaign, but it is good to see Song in there.
Kent School District No. 415 Director District No.4 - Will be Teresa Gregory (42%) versus Carolyn Wilsie-Kendall (32%)
Kent School District No. 415 Director District No.5 - Will be Laura Williams (49%) versus Jane Smith (30%), sparing use the Laura vs Laura contest in the main..
And with that the Political Desk rolls over, hits the snooze bar, and returns to slumber until sometime in October.
More later,
