And They’re In: Who’s Filed to Run in This Year’s Local Elections

If you like how the city and county are being run, you’ll probably be pleased over this year’s choices. When filing closed last week, voters received a look at candidates for this year’s local elections; none appeared far from the mainstream. Ballots will be sent July 18 for the Aug. 5 primary.

Seattle voters will decide finalists in five seats: mayor, city attorney and three city races. The mayoral choices are likely to attract the most interest. Mayor Bruce Harrell is running, this time for a second term. If successful Harrell would be Seattle’s first two-term mayor since Greg Nickels left in 2010.

In the mayoral race, Harrell is facing a field of 10 contenders. Most of Harrell’s opponents are ill-funded and inexperienced with a few exceptions. Those exceptions include Katie Wilson, who heads the Transit Riders Union. An outspoken advocate for renter’s rights, she has attracted several hundred backers and a respectable war chest. Also showing signs of life is Ry Armstrong, an actor and artist, who has been active in labor causes. Armstrong who identifies as gender queer worked with a PAC that backed Alexis Rinck over Tanya Woo. If elected, Armstrong wants to focus on mandatory housing for the unsheltered.

One surprising eleventh-hour entry into the mayoral campaign is Joe Mallahan, a name from the city’s recent past. The former T-Mobile executive ran for mayor in 2009. He managed to squeak past incumbent mayor Greg Nickels in that year’s primary. But then Mallahan lost narrowly to Sierra Club activist Mike McGinn.

Mallahan will be remembered for his reputation as “an idea man” at T-Mobile, a position that enabled him to put $230,000 into his own campaign. An Everett native, he had acquired the political bug early, interning for Rep. Al Swift and then Sen. Slade Gorton. It will be interesting – déjà vu, anyone? — to hear his rekindled views 16 years later.

However, it’s the city attorney race that figures to be the most hotly contested in the Seattle primary. The incumbent, Ann Davison had been a surprise winner in 2021 defeating a defund-the-police opponent despite once running as a Republican. Davison will do battle this time with three well-funded challengers: poverty law attorney Rory O’Sullivan; defense lawyer Nathan Rouse and Erika Evans, a federal prosecutor.

Hottest of the council races will be the Position 9 at-large seat defended by Council President Sara Nelson. Nelson has drawn four opponents, with Dionne Foster, executive director of Progress Alliance of Washington, best funded. Foster’s campaign broke records, gathering 400 signatures and 400 donations in its first week. Foster had worked in the Harrell administration as a policy analyst for Seattle Public Utilities. Meanwhile, Nelson has amassed a healthy campaign treasury, more than triple the amount Foster has raised.

Alexis Mercedes Rinck, incumbent in position 8 (an at-large seat), has drawn four opponents. But so far none of her challengers has mounted a serious campaign.

With Marc Solomon, appointed to the District 2 seat not running, that race has attracted four candidates with Eddie Lin and Adonnis Ducksworth leading in fundraising. Ducksworth worked in Mayor Harrell’s office as the transportation policy and operations manager, while Lin has been serving as assistant in the city attorney’s office.

Attracting most attention in King County is the race for the County Executive, a position vacant since 16-year incumbent Dow Constantine left to lead Sound Transit. Two well-funded councilmembers Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay are leading with King County Assessor John Wilson lagging slightly behind. Balducci, the former Bellevue mayor, is a long-time Sound Transit board member who has pushed to extend the line, whereas Zahilay, who served in the Obama administration, has been advocating for more affordable housing. Wilson is known for his work with the state legislature, gaining property tax breaks for seniors and veterans.

Five of the nine seats on the King County Council will also be decided in this year’s elections with most not hotly contested. Rod Dembowski in District 1 is running unopposed, while District 9’s Reagan Dunn has only drawn one opponent and District 7’s Peter Von Reichbauer only two. In District 3, Incumbent Sarah Perry will face Rob Wotton, a Snoqualmie city councilmember.

Most attention-grabbing is the race for District 5. De’Sean Quinn was appointed to fill the vacancy when Dave Upthegrove resigned to become state land commissioner. But with Quinn not running, voters will choose from seven candidates: Stephanie Fain, Kim-Khanh Van, Peter Kwon, Ryan McIrvin, Ahmad Corner and Angela Henderson.

This year’s local elections, if not exactly ground-breaking, will nevertheless determine where this region is headed, either staying the course or exploring new directions.