2021 Seattle City Council election

2021 Seattle City Council election
2 of the 9 seats on the Seattle City Council; 5 seats needed for a majority
	Composition of the Seattle City Council by political party
President of the City Council before election; Lorena González; Nonpartisan	Elected President of the City Council ; Debora Juarez; Nonpartisan

The 2021 Seattle City Council election were held on November 2, 2021. Two seats of the nine-member Seattle City Council were up for election.

Background

Four incumbent members of the Seattle City Council did not seek reelection in the 2019 election while the three other incumbents won reelection.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] Mayor Jenny Durkan announced that she would not seek reelection in the 2021 election.^[6]

The 2021 election cycle was the 3rd use of Seattle's Democracy Vouchers Program,^[7] which other cities and states have looked to replicate.^[8]

District 8

Campaign

Teresa Mosqueda, who had served on the city council since her election in 2015, announced on May 5, 2021, that she would seek reelection instead of running in the mayoral election.^[9] Kate Martin, who was also running for mayor, announced her campaign for city council on March 23.^[10] Michael McQuaid ran in the election, but withdrew after his criminal record involving multiple assaults was reported on.^[11]^[12]

Campaign finance

Bobby Lindsey, Jordan Elizabeth Fisher, Martin, Paul Glumaz, and Mosqueda are participating in the democracy voucher program.^[13]

Candidate	Campaign committee
Candidate	Raised	Spent	COH	L&D
Brian Fahey^[14]	$1,914.23	$1,914.23	$0.00	$0.00
Jordan Elizabeth Fisher^[15]	$1,751.38	$0.00	$1,751.38	$0.00
Paul Glumaz^[16]	$6,861.86	$2,797.73	$4,064.13	$0.00
Kate Martin^[17]	$5,846.25	$3,576.49	$2,269.76	$0.00
Teresa Mosqueda^[18]	$163,777.20	$47,922.85	$115,854.35	$3,090.80

Endorsements

Teresa Mosqueda

Federal officials

Pramila Jayapal, member of the United States House of Representatives from Washington's 7th congressional district^[19]

Statewide officials

Bob Ferguson, 18th attorney general of Washington^[19]

Local officials

Lorena González, member of the Seattle City Council from the 9th district^[19]

Primary election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[b]	Margin of error	Brian Fahey	Jordan Elizabeth Fisher	George Freeman	Paul Glumaz	Jesse James	Kate Martin	Bobby Lindsey Miller	Teresa Mosqueda	Alex Tsimerman	Alexander White	Kenneth Wilson	Undecided
Change Research (D)^[A]	July 12–15, 2021	617 (LV)	± 4.3%	0%	1%	0%	3%	1%	6%	3%	26%	1%	1%	1%	55%

Results

Primary election^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Teresa Mosqueda (incumbent)	113,052	59.4
	Nonpartisan	Kenneth Wilson	30,862	16.2
	Nonpartisan	Kate Martin	21,997	11.6
	Nonpartisan	Paul Glumaz	10,228	5.4
	Nonpartisan	Alexander White	2,474	1.3
	Nonpartisan	Bobby Miller	2,438	1.3
	Nonpartisan	Jesse James	2,051	1.1
	Nonpartisan	Jordan Elizabeth Fisher	1,810	1.0
	Nonpartisan	George Freeman	1,575	0.8
	Nonpartisan	Alex Tsimerman	961	0.5
	Nonpartisan	Brian Fahey	887	0.8
	Write-in		2,075	1.1
Total votes			190,410	100.0

General election

Debate

2021 Seattle City Council district 8 debate
No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan
Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn
					Teresa Mosqueda	Kenneth Wilson
1	Sep. 30, 2021	Seattle Channel	Brian Callanan	YouTube	P	P

Polling

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[b]	Margin of error	Teresa Mosqueda	Kenneth Wilson	Other	Undecided
Change Research (D)^[A]	October 12–15, 2021	617 (LV)	± 4.1%	39%	31%	3%^[c]	26%
Elway Research	September 7–9, 2021	400 (LV)	± 5.0%	33%	17%	11%	33%

Results

General election^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Teresa Mosqueda (incumbent)	149,589	59.40
	Nonpartisan	Kenneth Wilson	101,168	40.17
	Write-in		1,074	0.43
Total votes			251,831	100.00

District 9

Campaign

Lorena González, who was first elected in the 2015 election and was selected to serve as president of the city council in 2020, announced on February 3, 2021, that she would run in the mayoral election.^[22] Nikkita Oliver, who had run in the 2017 mayoral election, announced that they would run for city council on March 10.^[23] Businesswoman Sara Nelson, who had run in the 8th district in 2017,^[24] and Brianna Thomas, who worked as González's chief of staff, also ran in the election.^[25]

Campaign finance

Brianna K. Thomas, Corey Eichner, Oliver, and Xtian Gunter are participating in the democracy voucher program.^[13]

Candidate	Campaign committee
Candidate	Raised	Spent	COH	L&D
Corey Eichner^[26]	$9,680.00	$4,358.33	$5,321.67	$0.00
Claire Grant^[27]	$901.32	$427.77	$473.55	$0.00
Lindsay McHaffie^[28]	$0.00	$1,296.86	-$1,296.86	$0.00
Sara Nelson^[29]	$133,853.98	$39,223.04	$94,630.94	$5,500.00
Nikkita Oliver^[30]	$183,429.01	$55,176.40	$128,252.61	$0.00
Brianna Thomas^[31]	$86,278.01	$39,301.57	$46,976.44	$6,372.00

Endorsements

Nelson endorsements

Local officials

Richard Conlin, former member of the Seattle City Council from the 2nd position^[32]
Jan Drago, former member of the Seattle City Council from the 4th position^[32]
Jean Godden, former member of the Seattle City Council from the 1st position^[32]
Tom Rasmussen, former member of the Seattle City Council from the 5th position^[32]
Heidi Wills, former member of the Seattle City Council^[32]

Media

The Seattle Times^[33]

Individuals

Ian Eisenberg, founder of Uncle Ike's Pot Shop^[32]

Oliver endorsements

State officials

Tarra Simmons, member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 23rd district^[34]

Local officials

Tammy Morales, member of the Seattle City Council from the 2nd district^[34]
Teresa Mosqueda, member of the Seattle City Council from the 8th district^[32]
Girmay Zahilay, member of the King County Council from the 2nd district^[34]

Organizations

Seattle Democratic Socialists of America^[35]

Media

The Stranger (newspaper)^[36]
The Urbanist^[37]

Thomas endorsements

State officials
Local officials

Sally Bagshaw, former member of the Seattle City Council from the 2nd district^[34]
Lorena González, member of the Seattle City Council from the 9th district^[34]
Lisa Herbold, member of the Seattle City Council from the 1st district^[34]
Dan Strauss, member of the Seattle City Council from the 6th district^[34]

Primary election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[b]	Margin of error	Corey Eichner	Xtian Gunther	Lindsay McHaffie	Sara Nelson	Nikkita Oliver	Brianna Thomas	Rebecca Williamson	Undecided
Change Research (D)^[A]	July 12–15, 2021	617 (LV)	± 4.3%	3%	1%	0%	11%	26%	6%	0%	50%

Results

Primary election^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Nikkita Oliver	79,799	40.2
	Nonpartisan	Sara Nelson	78,388	39.5
	Nonpartisan	Brianna Thomas	26,651	13.4
	Nonpartisan	Corey Eichner	10,228	3.5
	Nonpartisan	Lindsay McHaffie	3,048	1.5
	Nonpartisan	Rebecca Williamson	1,646	0.8
	Nonpartisan	Xtian Gunther	1,409	0.7
	Write-in		637	0.3
Total votes			198,608	100.0

General election

Debate

2021 Seattle City Council district 9 debate
No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan
Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn
					Sara Nelson	Nikkita Oliver
1	Oct. 5, 2021	Seattle Channel	Brian Callanan	YouTube	P	P

Polling

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[b]	Margin of error	Sara Nelson	Nikkita Oliver	Other	Undecided
Change Research (D)^[A]	October 12–15, 2021	617 (LV)	± 4.1%	41%	37%	2%^[d]	21%
Elway Research	September 7–9, 2021	400 (LV)	± 5.0%	31%	26%	9%	34%

Results

General election^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Sara Nelson	139,336	53.84
	Nonpartisan	Nikkita Oliver	119,025	45.99
	Write-in		437	0.17
Total votes			258,798	100.00

Notes

^ Officially nonpartisan
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
^ "Would not vote" with 3%
^ "Would not vote" with 2%

Partisan clients

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d This poll was sponsored by the Northwest Progressive Institute

References

^ "Bruce Harrell third incumbent who won't seek re-election to Seattle City Council". The Seattle Times. January 8, 2019. Archived from the original on June 21, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Rob Johnson won't run for re-election in Seattle's big 2019 City Council elections". The Seattle Times. November 8, 2018. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Mike O'Brien is fourth Seattle City Council incumbent who won't run for re-election". The Seattle Times. February 13, 2019. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Sally Bagshaw won't run again for Seattle City Council in 2019". The Seattle Times. November 27, 2018. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "2019 primary results" (PDF). King County, Washington. November 5, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 4, 2020.
^ "Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan won't run for reelection". The Seattle Times. December 7, 2020. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Democracy Voucher Program - DemocracyVoucher". seattle.gov. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
^ "Democracy Policy Network".
^ "Teresa Mosqueda will run for reelection to Seattle City Council, nixing mayoral speculation". The Seattle Times. May 4, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
^ "In a first, Kate Martin launches campaigns for both Seattle mayor and council". American City Business Journals. March 25, 2021. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Seattle City Council candidate was charged with assault, harassment after 2015 confrontation". The Seattle Times. February 26, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
^ "Seattle council candidate withdraws after criminal assault exposed". KUOW-FM. March 1, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Participating Candidates". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Brian Fahey campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Jordan Elizabeth Fisher campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Paul Glumaz campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Kate Martin campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Teresa Mosqueda campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Despite larger field, Teresa Mosqueda still faces little opposition in Seattle council reelection bid". MyNorthwest. June 14, 2021. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "City elections in Seattle, Washington (2021)".
^ ^a ^b "Election Results – November 02, 2021" (PDF). King County Elections. November 2, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
^ "Seattle City Council President M. Lorena González is running for mayor". The Seattle Times. February 3, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
^ "Nikkita Oliver announces run for Seattle City Council, lays out vision for big changes". The Seattle Times. March 10, 2021. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Sara Nelson's Sobriety Changed the Way She Thinks About Homelessness, But It Hasn't Changed Her Policy Prescriptions". The Stranger. April 12, 2021. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Two new candidates, Brianna Thomas and Mike McQuaid, seek seats on Seattle Council". The Seattle Times. February 25, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Corey Eichner campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Claire Grant campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Lindsay McHaffie campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Sara Nelson campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Nikkita Oliver campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Brianna Thomas campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Funds, high-profile endorsements continue flowing into Seattle council race". MyNorthwest. June 29, 2021. Archived from the original on July 3, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
^ Seattle Times Editorial Board, "The Times recommends: Sara Nelson for Seattle City Council, at-large Position 9," Seattle Times, July 8, 2021. https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/the-times-recommends-sara-nelson-for-seattle-city-council-position-9/.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Trio of candidates maintain massive fundraising lead in race for Seattle council seat". MyNorthwest. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Our 2021 Endorsements". Seattle Democratic Socialists of America. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ Stranger Election Control Board, "The Stranger's Endorsements for the August 3, 2021 Primary Election," The Stranger, July 14, 2021, https://www.thestranger.com/news/2021/07/14/59065522/the-strangers-endorsements-for-the-august-3-2021-primary-election.
^ Elections Committee, "The Urbanist's 2021 Primary Endorsements," The Urbanist, June 28, 2021, https://www.theurbanist.org/2021/06/28/the-urbanists-2021-primary-endorsements/.

[1] Officially nonpartisan

[Key-21] Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

[24] "Would not vote" with 3%

[42] "Would not vote" with 2%

[NPI-22] This poll was sponsored by the Northwest Progressive Institute

[2] "Bruce Harrell third incumbent who won't seek re-election to Seattle City Council". The Seattle Times. January 8, 2019. Archived from the original on June 21, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[3] "Rob Johnson won't run for re-election in Seattle's big 2019 City Council elections". The Seattle Times. November 8, 2018. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[4] "Mike O'Brien is fourth Seattle City Council incumbent who won't run for re-election". The Seattle Times. February 13, 2019. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[5] "Sally Bagshaw won't run again for Seattle City Council in 2019". The Seattle Times. November 27, 2018. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[6] "2019 primary results" (PDF). King County, Washington. November 5, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 4, 2020.

[7] "Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan won't run for reelection". The Seattle Times. December 7, 2020. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[8] "Democracy Voucher Program - DemocracyVoucher". seattle.gov. Retrieved August 21, 2022.

[9] "Democracy Policy Network".

[10] "Teresa Mosqueda will run for reelection to Seattle City Council, nixing mayoral speculation". The Seattle Times. May 4, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.

[11] "In a first, Kate Martin launches campaigns for both Seattle mayor and council". American City Business Journals. March 25, 2021. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[12] "Seattle City Council candidate was charged with assault, harassment after 2015 confrontation". The Seattle Times. February 26, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.

[13] "Seattle council candidate withdraws after criminal assault exposed". KUOW-FM. March 1, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.

[Participating_Candidates-14] "Participating Candidates". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[15] "Brian Fahey campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[16] "Jordan Elizabeth Fisher campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[17] "Paul Glumaz campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[18] "Kate Martin campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[19] "Teresa Mosqueda campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[mosqueda_endorsements-20] "Despite larger field, Teresa Mosqueda still faces little opposition in Seattle council reelection bid". MyNorthwest. June 14, 2021. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[ballotpedia-23] "City elections in Seattle, Washington (2021)".

[officialgen-25] "Election Results – November 02, 2021" (PDF). King County Elections. November 2, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.

[26] "Seattle City Council President M. Lorena González is running for mayor". The Seattle Times. February 3, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.

[27] "Nikkita Oliver announces run for Seattle City Council, lays out vision for big changes". The Seattle Times. March 10, 2021. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[28] "Sara Nelson's Sobriety Changed the Way She Thinks About Homelessness, But It Hasn't Changed Her Policy Prescriptions". The Stranger. April 12, 2021. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[29] "Two new candidates, Brianna Thomas and Mike McQuaid, seek seats on Seattle Council". The Seattle Times. February 25, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[30] "Corey Eichner campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[31] "Claire Grant campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[32] "Lindsay McHaffie campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[33] "Sara Nelson campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[34] "Nikkita Oliver campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[35] "Brianna Thomas campaign finance". Seattle. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[more_endorsements-36] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Funds, high-profile endorsements continue flowing into Seattle council race". MyNorthwest. June 29, 2021. Archived from the original on July 3, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.

[37] Seattle Times Editorial Board, "The Times recommends: Sara Nelson for Seattle City Council, at-large Position 9," Seattle Times, July 8, 2021. https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/the-times-recommends-sara-nelson-for-seattle-city-council-position-9/.

[endorsements-38] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Trio of candidates maintain massive fundraising lead in race for Seattle council seat". MyNorthwest. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[39] "Our 2021 Endorsements". Seattle Democratic Socialists of America. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[40] Stranger Election Control Board, "The Stranger's Endorsements for the August 3, 2021 Primary Election," The Stranger, July 14, 2021, https://www.thestranger.com/news/2021/07/14/59065522/the-strangers-endorsements-for-the-august-3-2021-primary-election.

[41] Elections Committee, "The Urbanist's 2021 Primary Endorsements," The Urbanist, June 28, 2021, https://www.theurbanist.org/2021/06/28/the-urbanists-2021-primary-endorsements/.

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[b]

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v t e (2020 ←) 2021 United States elections (→ 2022)
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Background

District 8

Campaign

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Primary election

Polling

Results

General election

Debate

Polling

Results

District 9

Campaign

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Primary election

Polling

Results

General election

Debate

Polling

Results

See also

Notes

References