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Good evening, friends and enemies!
If you are reading this before 8 pm and you have not voted, then stop what you're doing, read this explainer, and act accordingly. Then hurry back here!
For the rest of you: Welcome to The Stranger's 2023 general election night party coverage!!!
Tonight, the lightly stoned and certainly starving members of the Stranger Election Control Board have fanned out across the city to corner candidates, chat up parents, shakedown political operatives, and review snack platters at every crammed, sweaty little election night party that would have us. From now until like 10 pm or so, we'll give you all the gossip, election results, hot takes, and cold cut assessments that you can handle.
The King County Elections department expects to drop the first batch of election results around 8:15 pm. Once that happens, we'll begin to learn the answers to the following questions:
- Did a bunch of Trump donors and real estate moguls successfully buy themselves a city council to pair with the Mayor they bought in 2021?
- Will Dan Strauss become king of the council???
- Will Teresa Mosqueda and Jorge Barón make history as the King County Council's first Latino members?
- Are we on track to electing a functional school board, or nah?
- Will Seattle approve the housing levy renewal, showing that we stand ready to spend a fraction of the amount of money we need to spend to end the housing crisis?
Seatbelts, everybody. And keep your eyes glued to SLOG.
DRINKING UNION WINE, EATING UNION CAKE
9:52 PM
We could hear Stranger-endorsed Seattle City Council Member Teresa Mosqueda practically beaming through the phone when she answered the SECB’s call from the group party at the Westin. The union staff had just delivered a surprise cake, and she was sipping a union-made cabernet sauvignon from Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery as we chatted—all a nod to the union support that may help her over the finish line.
The mood felt festive not only because Mosqueda led her challenger, Burien Mayor Sophia Aragon, by a point—a lead that will almost certainly grow in the coming days—but because both she and former Northwest Immigrant Rights Project executive director Jorge Barón are on the cusp of making history as the first Latina and Latino elected to the King County Council.
Barón leads Assistant Attorney General Sarah Reyneveld by 13 points. Since later votes lean leftward, he’ll almost certainly extend that lead. But Barón had something Mosqueda didn’t have—an endorsement from the Seattle Times.
Though he recognizes the “important milestone” of very likely becoming the first Latino ever elected to the County Council, he said for him the large lead was also about "creating pathways so the governance structures in the County and across the state better reflect the communities they’re serving."
If elected, he’s “excited” to dive into the implementation of the newly passed crisis care center levy. And if Mosqueda maintains her lead, then her first order of business will be looking at budget investments for public health, and her second order of business will be adding more King County water taxis to “our friends on Vashon Island.”
But first things first: UNION CAKE.
NOT CONCEDING BUT EXHALING
9:27 PM
“I’m exhaling,” ChrisTiana ObeySumner said when they called the SECB to chat about the first batch of election results, which showed her trailing to former King County Superior Court Judge Cathy Moore by more than 40 points.
The policy wonk and equity consultant said they felt proud of their showing after so many considered their campaign unviable, and after enduring “an almost $200,000 smear campaign” from Independent Expenditure committees that backed Moore. “We put in 250%. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters,” they said.
Despite Moore’s rather large lead, ObeySumner isn’t ready to throw in the towel quite yet—“there’s always a miracle that could happen”—but they’re realistic about their slim chances. As a Buddhist, they believe their entire life’s mission is “to work toward the liberation from suffering of all sentient beings,” and they’ll continue to do that wherever they go next. “If the universe says not now, then I accept that and I’m grateful for that. We will see what happens,” they said.
CHEERS AND TEARS AT MORALES'S PARTY
9:10 PM
Our computer seems to be the first device at Baja Bistro to load the election results. Morales leans over our shoulder to see her challenger, Tanya Woo, leading by nine points—54% to 45%—with about half the votes still left to count. After Morales walked away, preparing to speak, the people behind us asked us to scroll through the results of other progressive candidates lagging far behind their challengers.
“I really want to thank all of Seattle’s very progressive voters who wait for the last minute to vote,” she said with a megaphone a little loud for an indoor space.
She told the crowd that election night can be a little “anticlimactic,” and stressed that early returns are very different from what returns will look like. She was confident that returns will sway in their direction with subsequent ballot drops, and told supporters that District 2 cannot be bought—despite the influx of cash from real estate groups and landlords into the race.
“Why do I think that?” she asked.
“Because it's the truth,” a man yelled from behind Morales.
Despite the results, the Morales supporters cheered during her speech, although a few holding campaign signs behind her had watery eyes.
Morales teared up thanking her husband for filling the gaps at home over the past year, and her kids for all the missed basketball games and dance recitals.
“This community is looking for real solutions for this city,” she said. “That is the job of the next Seattle City Council.
DISTRICT 1'S MAREN COSTA WAS ROB-BED (PROBABLY) BY OPPONENT ROB SAKA
9:01 PM
Dang, Maren Costa’s party really filled out! We counted 65 people by 7:45 pm, and there were only like eight or nine people, um, not that long before. Sorry. We have had a wine. What an eleventh-hour turnaround, though! And isn’t that just so Seattle for everyone to show up 45 minutes late?
At 7:50 pm, we got our much-hyped announcement, preceded by 10 minutes of thank-yous from Costa. That was nice! Along with her volunteers, of course, she thanked Mosqueda and Jayapal. “You have undoubtedly moved the needle in this race,” Costa said.
To kick off her pre-ballot drop speech, she announced, “I only want to be the labor candidate; I NEVER want to be the bought-by-billionaires candidate.” Supporters wooped and cheered. “Our community needs us, and our world needs us,” she went on, “so we will start right there, working together to make District 1 and our city one of the best places to live, where we can thrive.” Costa is a natural enemy of climate change and unaffordable housing in Seattle, FWIW, and she closed her speech by announcing the city is ready for change, leading the crowd in a chorus of “We are ready!”
For change, we assume. Not climate change, though. Another kind.
Things turned gloomy after the ballot drop, though, with Costa reeling in just under 41% to centrist military lawyer Rob Saka's 59%, five percentage points behind the 46% that campaign manager Kyler Parris had publicly predicted. Parris lamented a “terrible voter turnout,” but he reminded the crowd: “We know that the most progressive candidate always gets the later swing in the ballot.”
He then quizzed the crowd on when they actually voted, and not a small number of people waited until the last fucking second, e.g., today. “So that’s the progressive swing we’re looking for.” By press time, though, it looks like it's pretty much over.
Meanwhile, Parris attempted to cheer things up by telling the crowd “We knocked on over 30,000 doors!" and letting them know that, regardless of the election results, the city will live to hear the name of Maren Costa again. Parris later pulled us aside to double down on this: "Maren's too good at this to not run in another election and win."
Crowd chattiness diminished, and we wandered back to the snack zone. Man, those brioche burger sliders were actually really good. Do they maybe have lamb in them? That would be kind of Australian! We think they had lamb in them.
Back at the bar, a friendly man saw us picking up our free drink ticket, which we had momentarily dropped on the floor not because we were drunk, we’re not sure why, things just happen sometimes, and we made a joke about how we were glad it didn’t get yoinked off the counter because that would have been the tackiest thing in the world, to have to ask for another drink ticket for a party we’re crashing in the first place—and he just handed us HIS drink ticket. “No, seriously!” he insisted. “It’s all yours!” Oh, no, it’s cool, that's not what we were asking, but then he just walked away, so we kept it.
Another glass of house red kept the party goin’. Hoping for more of that eleventh-hour power for Costa in the days to come, but yeahhhhh.
THE MOOD IS SUBDUED, RON DAVIS GIVES A SERMON, MIKE O'BRIEN INSTALLS HEAT PUMPS NOW
8:53 PM
The mood after the ballot drop? We wouldn't say it's, as the kids might say, jumpin'. Davis came out with 44% of the vote. Everyone, all clad in their jackets because it's fucking COLD at Magnuson Brewing, gathered around while Davis hopped on a chair and gave "a sermon."
There was a lot of preamble, some God stuff, some very respectable "this is important to me but it really doesn't have to matter to you" stuff, but the main takeaway was Davis is thankful for the band of people who carried him through this campaign ("I owe each of you a canvas Trader Joe's bag," he said) and the results are not great.
"The results are exactly what we expected: ambiguous," Davis said. "This district is an uphill battle and it usually goes to the Seattle Times candidate."
Before the drop, Davis's campaign coordinator, Diego, said if the vote was as low as 44% then that would be cause for concern, then "we'd be down to the wire."
Still, the campaign is hopeful. He signed off his sermon by saying, "We have some ballots to count and a city to fix."
Davis hugged a green-plaid-clad former Council Member Mike O'Brien. Shaggy-haired and grinning, O'Brien told us he's been out of the politics game for a year now and installs heat pumps for a living.
"I sent him a note saying, 'No matter what happens tonight, you've run an amazing campaign,'" O'Brien said.
When he hugged Davis, we think he said something in his ear that sounded a lot like, "You're what democracy needs."
Our fingers are basically falling off now and the Lockheed Martin guy just came up to us and asked if we wanted to exchange numbers. We need to leave STAT.
Everyone—us included—is wearing their jackets. It's cold and hard to move around in this tiny event space that is—we have to reiterate—OUTSIDE.
Campaign coordinator Diego set the expectations ahead of the ballot drop. According to Diego, 32% of District 4 voted ahead of Election Day. Diego said he was hoping for a big bump on Election Day.
"People in Seattle vote really, really, really late. It's a cultural thing," Diego said. "We also do our taxes the latest."
That mythic waterfall of late votes could carry Davis to victory.
"If we see Ron get between 47 to 50% we're feeling really, really good. If it's 46 to 47% there's wiggle room, we're optimistic. If it's 45 to 46% it'll be a nail-biter and we're all going to be sitting here refreshing. Below 45% and we're down to the wire."
LEWIS COUNTING ON LATE VOTE TO SAVE HIM
8:51 PM
Andrew Lewis said he expected to be down tonight; late voters love him more than the early birds. But right now Bob Kettle has captured 56% of the vote to Lewis’s 44%. Still, Lewis said to the crowd of people gathered, “the late vote breaks progressive.” Only a portion of the vote is in right now, Lewis said. (Quick mid-speech update, Lewis teared up about how he met his wife, Laura Lewis, and how even if he loses tonight he’d do it again because he met her through his first campaign.)
We asked Lewis before the results came in what he’d do if he lost. He said he’d accomplished a lot and took a lot of pride in what he’s done on the Council. He said people could expect to see him around in the civic arena of Seattle.
Barbara Oakrock of the 36th Democrats worked on Lewis’s first campaign and said if he loses tonight it will be a great loss and the result of a “political misunderstanding.” People don’t understand what it's going to take to recover from the pandemic, Oakrock said. She acknowledged that Lewis came back after starting down in his first campaign, and pointed out the traffic jams around the ballot boxes tonight. Becka Johnson Poppe, former candidate for the King County Council, said she’s also optimistic for the future for the progressive candidates. Still, the murmurs around this party register as concerned.
PROGRESSIVE WIPEOUT ON CITY COUNCIL
8:40 PM
Welp! It really is looking like a bunch of Trump donors and real estate moguls successfully bought themselves a city council to pair with the Mayor they bought in 2021. In District 1, Maren Costa is down 18 points. In District 2, Seattle City Council Member Tammy Morales is down nine points. In District 3, Alex Hudson is down 17 points. In District 4, Ron Davis trails by 11 points. In District 5, ChrisTiana ObeySumner trails by more than 40 points. In District 6, Dan Strauss is down two points. In District 7, incumbent Seattle City Council Member Andrew Lewis is down 12 points. From our vantage, Strauss will likely make it out alive, and Morales MIGHT be able to come back, Lewis MIGHT squeak out a victory, but otherwise, the progressive slate is toast. What happened? Turnout in the 2019 general election hit 49%. King County Elections estimates 40% turnout for this year.
HUDSON STILL HOPEFUL FOR CHANGE
8:35 PM
A computer hacker-type showed the SECB some sneaky results early. We do not understand his methods but we respect the hustle. He coaxed us through the initial shock, psychological damage, and sense of impending doom, but the SECB knew. We knew how bad it was and we watched everyone drink and laugh and live in complete ignorance.
A fan of the blog stood by us, looking at the results over our shoulder. "Oh fuck!" he said. "Really?" He collected himself and with a long drawn-out sigh. "I wasn't gonna drink tonight, but now I need to."
The SECB and our new hacker friend waited for minutes on end for someone—anyone—to react to the news. Maybe someone could soothe our disturbed souls.
Still, Alex returned triumphantly to her supporters.
"Obviously tonight, the results are all like whatever," she said. With less than half the votes counted, she said it's not worth dwelling on.
She entered the race because she knew there was "something better" possible. Better than paying half our paycheck in rent, better than our buses being late, better than people sleeping outside. She's still hopeful she'll deliver that.
THE RESULTS ARE IN
8:22 PM
Check them out here. Snap analysis forthcoming.
WE BECAME TV STARS AT MORALES'S PARTY
8:07 PM
Tammy Morales’s party at Baja Bistro started at 7:30 pm. Like Magnuson Brewery, it does not have wifi, but it's a lot warmer and smells delicious. We forgot how many cable channels there were. The bartender must have flicked through hundreds of cable channels to find Fox 13. Suddenly, we are on the screen. The restaurant cheers. We can see our shadowy figure at the bar writing this sentence!
Campaign staff are seated on barstools on a long table near the front door. The bartender places a glass of water behind our laptop screen and we nearly send an unseen candle rocketing across the room when we reach for it. Morales’s campaign manager Kelsey Hamlin greets us at the bar. We asked how it’s going and she said “It’s going.” For election night, the atmosphere is relaxed.
Tammy Morales is here, looking confident and making her rounds from table to table to speak with her supporters. The incumbent for District 2, Morales led her challenger Tammy Woo by more than 10 points in the primary (52 to 42.5).
She’s The Stranger’s pick for the seat because (as she put it during our SECB meeting) she’s the only candidate in the race. Morales is also the most left-leaning remaining incumbent and Seattle’s savior on tenant's rights.
LEWIS EXPECTS HE'LL BE DOWN
8:05 PM
We caught up with Andrew Lewis for a second after talking to his dad. He says he fully expects to be down tonight, but he’ll ultimately win.
That's what happened in 2019, too. He was down by a point on election night but ultimately won by 6 points.
We. Shall. See.
WE THINK WE MIGHT HAVE JUST GOTTEN HIT ON AT RON DAVIS'S PARTY
7:52 PM
Wow, a lot is happening. Ron is here. He’s bald and beaming. He’s feeling good about the vote. One of his children said that Ron might have been late to his own party because he was getting a massage, but we did not confirm this with anyone who is old enough to drive.
While we were milling around waiting to talk to Ron, we were approached by a very kind operations engineer (we think this was the title but there is no way to know) from Lockheed Martin. He likes skiing, snowboarding, and doing calisthenics in the gym. We liked him just fine, but our conversation lasted longer than we expected. Were we being hit on? By a sexy urbanist at the ultimate Urbanist Daddy’s campaign party? We are CHARMED. Though, we really had to excuse ourselves to take a picture of the food (loaded tots, saucy wings, salad) and the snacks (an assortment of Whole Foods-y bites for the kids). Also, it turned out this Lockheed Martin guy knew our cousin.
“I’m feeling optimistic, excited, and ready for it all to be over,” Davis said. He’s anticipating an initial drop that won’t be super in his favor. We don’t blame him. We saw the hoards of late voters ourselves. His campaign staffers saw a lot of the same stuff.
There are a bunch of kids running around and a bunch of just-out-of-college campaign staff/volunteers networking. A car alarm is going off. This party is lit!
MORALES APPEARS AT LEWIS'S PARTY BEFORE HE DOES
7:51 PM
Tammy Morales showed up with a posse to steal the show at Andrew Lewis’s election night watch party. Stunning in red, Morales planned to make the rounds to all the election parties around town tonight. “I’m late for my own party,” she confided before bopping over to take some photos with Laura Lewis, A. Lewis’s incredibly interesting wife. An assistant attorney general, L. Lewis showed up early to the Here Today Brewing + Kitchen to welcome her husband’s supporters. As soon as we made a joke about the missing council member she stayed on message. He’s still getting out the vote, she says. We’re starting a rumor he Lyft drives people to the ballots. Honestly, Lewis’s stand-ins continue to do wonders for our opinion of him.
Take his dad, Steve Lewis, what a guy. S. Lewis sent his son through all the alternative Seattle schools, Salmon Bay K-8 (called something else back in the day) and then the Center School. “Alternative schools, that was breaking new ground back in the day,” S. Lewis said. S. Lewis rocks. He said he told his sons to be whatever they wanted, just not to be like him. We disagree. We love S. Lewis and can’t wait to see this “scatterbrained” “artist” (his words) run for office.
Damn, A. Lewis just arrived. Oh my god, he tells us he was actually driving people to ballot boxes. Incredible. He also says he knocked on a total of 29,000 doors this campaign. [EDITOR'S NOTE: MAKE IT 30K, SLACKER!]
ONLY IN SEATTLE (AND ANY OTHER CITY WITH A MUSIC SCENE, PROBABLY)
7:50 PM
Polls close in minutes. MINUTES! And there is a party with live music at this Capitol Hill ballot box.
There’s a voting party happening at the Capitol Hill ballot drop box right now. Video courtesy @block_m3 who’s not covering the election tonight but can’t resist a good drum beat pic.twitter.com/eeqd9Q3Dux
— Josh Cohen (@jcohenwrites) November 8, 2023
COSTA'S GOT CROSTINI
7:42 PM
The scene's chill and neighborhoodly at Arthur’s in the Admiral Junction, where District 1’s Stranger-designated city council pick, Maren Costa, is electioning tonight. At 7 pm, setup’s a little behind skedge. “We're going to have an announcement in a few," we're told, although they’re still taping down the AV cords.
Arthur’s does Australian-adjacent sandos and drinks and so SECB’s curiosity in the snack spread was strong, although it turns out that the hors d'oeuvres aren’t identifiably Australian. Burg sliders on brioche, cauliflower and rainbow carrots with tzatziki, fries. Still delicious! The smoked trout crostini is the easy winner. Très dilly. We think there might be Vegemite in one of the fry sauces. An unnamed solo partygoer, upon trying a fry, loudly exclaimed, “Well, that’s incredible!”
The party seems to have organically concentrated itself in the bar half of the restaurant, and with drink tickets flowing in the meanwhile, it’s an easy wait. Paula Abdul, Dolly Parton, and Peter Gabriel on the aux are fine company. There’s a bright purple mocktail on the menu ("Cruel Summer") and an intense conversation at the bar about how to grow butterfly pea flowers, inspired by it. Can you grow them indoors? We say yes.
HUDSON GREETS GUESTS WITH GIRL SCOUT SALUTE
7:35 PM
A gaggle, a murder, whatever you call a group of urbanists, filled up the back room of Olmstead to await the results of Alex Hudson's election for District 3, which includes the Central District, Madison Park, and Capitol Hill. One brave member of the SECB got COVID the last time she went to Olmstead, but we will forgive Hudson's poor location choice in exchange for government secrets should she win.
Based on the photo-finish primary, attendees expect a close, close race. After taking a shot, former city council candidate Alex Cooley predicted Hudson will be behind by about 6 points (8 at most) and then she'll win by the Friday drop. "Says me, who's been in one race," Cooley said.
Hudson, who showed up 20 minutes late and greeted her guests with a Girl Scout salute, said she feels good about her chances.
"We worked our asses off and I'm a really good candidate!" Hudson said.
One of her supporters agreed and said she looked forward to seeing her serve on the council. She, in her usual charm, said "serve," but in a cool Gen X, gay way.
WE ARE LITERALLY THE FIRST ONES AT RON DAVIS'S PARTY
7:04 PM
Davis's party starts at 7 pm. We are here, at Magnuson Brewery, the jewel of northeast Seattle, but where is Davis? Where are his little urbanist children (literal children and also his supporters)? We got here, learned that Davis wasn't here, and that his party will be held on the Magnuson Brewery patio which, while covered and sufficiently heat-lamped, is still exposed to this lovely, biting breeze coming off Lake Washington. To top it all off, Magnuson Brewery doesn't have any wifi. It will be a hotspotty night for us. Wait, we hear some Davis supporters coming up the stairs. But we don't see any sign of his beautiful, bald head. We are going to go grab our coat from our car, which is parked between two Subarus. BRB.
Okay, now that we’re back two Davis helpers are here and they are just now setting up (reader, it is 7:04 pm). Some small children just ran up the stairs, saw the signs, and gasped, “Ron Davis!” We believe these are Davis’s brood. Now the children are helping put up the signs.
The patio gathering area is, well, cozy. We are settling in. Appetizers are supposedly coming. We are excited for those. And for Ron.
TOKE UP, OHIO
6:50 PM
Decision Desk HQ projects Ohio Issue 2 has passed.#DecisionMade: 9:12pm EST
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 8, 2023
Follow more results here: https://t.co/8sug2Xq9ic pic.twitter.com/kKAhIEhyXk
Many outlets are reporting that Ohio’s Issue 2, which would legalize the possession and sale of weed, will pass. In 30 days, the good people of Cleveland (who are over 21) can spark up a joint and wonder why the hell Dems aren’t running on this as a national issue. And unlike in Washington, people in Ohio will be able to grow the plant, too.
YUSEF SALAAM WINS NYC COUNCIL SEAT
6:42 PM
The Associated Press is reporting that Yusef Salaam has won a seat on the NYC city council, representing a central Harlem district.
Salaam and four other young Black and Latino men were wrongfully accused and convicted in the 1989 Central Park Five rape case. He spent nearly seven years in prison before DNA evidence overturned the convictions of all five men.
Exonerated “Central Park Five” member Yusef Salaam has won a seat on the New York City Council, more than three decades after he was wrongfully accused and convicted as a teenager in the rape case. https://t.co/EqpDiInJWs pic.twitter.com/KPjobkGFDZ
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 8, 2023
Remember when he did this when Trump was indicted? LOL.
GOOD NEWS IN VIRGINIA
6:15 PM
Dave Wasserman of Cook Political Report reports via X that "Democrats retain control of the Virginia Senate, blocking a trifecta for Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R)."
Plus! It's looking like Danica Roem will win her race for state senate and she will become Virginia's first transgender senator! Congrats!
Danica Roem's race is being called, and she will become Virginia's first transgender Senator!
— Erin Reed (@ErinInTheMorn) November 8, 2023
She was in a very hard fought race, where hecklers openly shouted transphobic slurs at her in town halls.
Anti-trans politics does not win elections.
Congratulations, Senator Roem! pic.twitter.com/Pr0TATyIey
TURNOUT LOOKIN’ LOW
6:06 PM
According to a spokesperson at King County Elections, slow returns caused them to revised down projected turnout from 45% to 40% for the general election. Turnout in the August 1 primary came in at 31%. There’s still time to turn this train around—get out there and VOTE, people!
HUDSON SUPPORTERS CHEER FOR VOTERS
5:45 PM
This just in from Hannah: Alex Hudson's supporters on Capitol Hill might try to talk to you. Beware, introverts.
These canvassers say that Hudson supports union workers, "sweet coats" like one of the people passing by was wearing and "sharing Netflix passwords." Vote before 8pm! pic.twitter.com/JhekRhCxld
— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) November 8, 2023
ABORTION APPEARS TO WIN IN OHIO
5:33 PM
I've seen enough: in a victory for the pro-choice side, Ohio Issue 1, a measure to establish a right to an abortion in the state constitution, passes.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 8, 2023
If Cook Political Report senior editor and elections analyst David Wasserman is correct, and he usually is, then voters in Ohio just enshrined the right to an abortion in the state's constitution. According to the Washington Post, the amendment grants the "treating physician the authority to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether an unborn child is viable, and grant exceptions for abortions at any stage of pregnancy to protect the health or life of the mother."
WHAT FUCKERY IS THIS?
4:30 PM
Any idea what this is, @kcelections.
— Rich Smith (@richsssmith) November 8, 2023
It’s next to the ballot drop box at Seattle Central College. pic.twitter.com/lsbTOPsZJh
There's some kind of fake USPS mail box next to the ballot box on Seattle Central College's campus. Don't put your ballot in there. Put your ballot in the big, metal, white-and-blue ballot box next to it. The SECB has tagged King County Elections on x.com about this and we will keep an eye on it.
If you're the person who built the fake mail box, then do us all a favor and go fuck yourself.
TERESA MOSQUEDA STARTS EARLY
12:30 PM
When the SECB reached Seattle City Council Member and King County Council District 8 candidate Teresa Mosqueda by phone this afternoon, she was packing up signs and materials ahead of the big hoorah tonight at The Westin, where she'll join her probable future colleagues, Girmay Zahilay, Claudia Balducci, and Jorge Barón. (We know we're jinxing it, we don't care.) That crew plans to "reclaim" the hotel lobby bar, which gave so many Democrats PTSD during the general election night party in 2016.
As for snacks, she'll nosh on the union-made fare at the bar, courtesy of Unite Here Local 8: French fries and pizza for the kids, some veg options and chicken skewers, and "hopefully some union-made Chateau Ste. Michelle wine."
Mosqueda said she's feeling "cautiously optimistic" about the results tonight, and she's got plenty of reason for that optimism. She emerged from the primary way ahead of her challenger, and she's seen a ton of support throughout her campaign. Though she didn't place a yard sign on Vashon Island herself, people told her they saw her signs everywhere there. "That's a good sign," she said, in that it means communities she hasn't represented before stand ready to support her. And unlike with other campaigns, for this one she only had to spend a couple days on the phone asking friends to chip in, rather than hours every day cold-calling names on a list. "I'm grateful for that," she said.
We here at the SECB are grateful, too. We're grateful that Mosqueda spent the afternoon battling NIMBY forces on the council, even as she prepares for a promotion to a County seat, and we're grateful that she plans to bring her family's salsa to the election party at The Westin tonight. She gave us a bottle when we interrogated her during the August primaries, and we practically guzzled it.
JORGE BARÓN IS POUNDING THE PAVEMENT
12:00 PM
At the lunch hour, the SECB called up King County Council District 4 candidate Jorge Barón and found him north of Green Lake, stuffing flyers into door jambs and trying to get out the vote. He'd spent the morning waving signs with his daughter on the Ballard Bridge in an effort to spread the good word. With endorsements from the Seattle Times, The Stranger, and several other much more venerable institutions, he should do well in his contest against Assistant Attorney General Sarah Reyneveld, but he's taking nothing for granted.
"Sarah is a good candidate and she has a lot of good connections and has worked really hard, so I’m not letting my guard down. I honestly feel really good about whatever the result might be. The only thing I feel bad about is turnout. I wish it were higher, but I’m hoping people were just procrastinating," he said. Hence the sign-waving all morning.
Later tonight, he said he planned to munch on union-made snacks at The Westin alongside Seattle City Council Member Teresa Mosqueda and King County Council Members Girmay Zahilay and Claudia Balducci. The latter two candidates are running unopposed, so he joked that they'll all be celebrating at least two wins tonight.
Regardless, Barón won't be celebrating too hard, at least not until after he gives his speech. "I’ll have a beer after the results come in and I’ve had a chance to thank the folks there," he said. Cute.
