Seattle elections are nonpartisan, but some November candidates see group divide

Technically, the elections in Seattle are impartial. But sometimes they still resemble a team competition in which a group of progressive or leftist candidates compete against a group of conservative or moderate candidates.

This year, some city hall observers say the phenomenon is more evident than ever, while others say the races for mayor, councilor and city attorney should not be lumped together.

In the run-up to the November 2nd parliamentary elections, left-lane candidates tend to advocate the idea that they have common goals, such as taxing large corporations and shifting police resources to alternative strategies and social services.

These candidates are Council President M. Lorena González for the mayor’s office, incumbent Teresa Mosqueda for position 8 in the council, community organizer Nikkita Oliver for position 9 and the former public defender Nicole Thomas-Kennedy for the city attorney.

Several opponents, despite a shared interest in hiring police officers and keeping parks free from homeless camps, are more cautious about being viewed as a bloc.

Former Council President Bruce Harrell is running for mayor, civil engineer Kenneth Wilson for position 8, brewery owner Sara Nelson for position 9, and attorney Ann Davison for city attorney.

None of the eight candidates have made official lists, but political groups, trade unions, corporate groups and newsrooms are lining up.

The largest trade union confederation in the region, MLK, supports Labor, González, Mosqueda and Oliver. The corporate-backed Downtown Seattle Association, on the other hand, has posted high ratings for Harrell and Nelson.

In the August 3 primary, González won 32% of the vote and did better in constituencies with many tenants, as did Oliver and Thomas-Kennedy. Harrell won 34% and did better in the homeowner counties, as did Nelson and Davison. Mosqueda won almost every district.

The November 2nd electorate will be larger and add new voters. In a Crosscut / Elway poll of likely voters on November 2nd last week, respondents named homelessness and policing as top issues.

Shasti Conrad, chairman of the King County Democrats, prefers González, Mosqueda, Oliver and Thomas-Kennedy and calls them “system change” candidates.

“There is a growing political divide in Seattle and across the country” between more left progressives and economically conservative Democrats, Conrad said.

Former city council member David Della supports Harrell and Nelson, but does not see himself as a party member.

“You have this middle group of people who don’t identify with the progressive camp or the conservative camp,” but want a component government instead, he said.

Conrad hopes her preferred candidates will win the election so they can work together to curb housing costs and tackle climate change. Della says any race can depend on who voters trust to manage basic services and make them feel safe.

In the Crosscut / Elway poll, the main reason González supported her was her progressive philosophy, while the main reason Harrell supported was his approach to homelessness.

Team competition

In 2019, when the council’s seven district seats were up for election, independent stakeholder issues helped keep voters taking sides.

The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce’s Political Action Committee spent more than $ 2 million helping a number of candidates believed to be more business-friendly, while the unions mainly supported their opponents.

A similar picture emerges in 2021, said Nicole Grant, executive secretary-treasurer of MLK Labor, which sends the voters a mailer with a list of the supported candidates at each election. Hotel workers and supermarket unions funded a pro-González PAC in elementary school, and property managers made large donations to a pro-Harrell PAC.

“This year is definitely a slate year,” said Grant. “You can follow the money and see a clear line between business candidates and community candidates.”

While González only coordinated with her colleague Mosqueda during the election campaign, “I certainly share values” with Oliver and Thomas-Kennedy, she said.

“There are very clear divisions in terms of policing, progressive taxation and social justice” between these candidates and opponents “who are supported by the corporate interests of the status quo,” said González.

González supported incumbent city attorney Pete Holmes in the primary, not Thomas-Kennedy, who wants to stop many offense charges. But she and Thomas-Kennedy are among those who believe in “harm reduction” rather than “punishing the poor,” she said.

Mosqueda agreed after supporting González, Oliver, and Thomas-Kennedy. Seattle needs more leaders along the lines of US MP Pramila Jayapal, who chairs the Progressive Caucus of Congress, she said.

These leaders will work hard on City Hall to subsidize childcare, protect workers and tackle income inequality, Mosqueda said.

Although Oliver has not endorsed other candidates, they hope their supporters will “reconsider why they are voting for our campaign” while keeping an eye on other races.

“It would be nice to have a mayor who actually cashes the checks and supports politics,” said Oliver, who was decided by the city council to combat the city’s housing shortage.

The candidates in the left lane disagree on everything, said Thomas-Kennedy, adding, “I know my platform makes some people nervous.”

But Thomas-Kennedy hears González, Mosqueda and Oliver speak of similar goals, she said. “There is a lot of overlap,” she said.

Wilson was a political independent, he said, promising to bring a rock-solid approach to the council. Still, his positions in the police force and in homeless camps put him in a group with Harrell and Nelson, he claimed.

“I think they would like to see law enforcement on the books,” he said.

Unique matchups

Not everyone believes the “teams” are cut and dried in the November 2nd elections as every race is unique.

Although González and Oliver support the MLK labor and service unions, Harrell and Nelson also have union support. For example, the union that represents Metro bus drivers supported Harrell. The Seattle Firefighters Union has supported Nelson.

State Senator Jamie Pedersen said the mayoral contest is the “messiest chasm” because González and Harrell are politically closer than the other duels. Both are Democrats and voted in the same way for most of the time in the Council from 2016 to 2019.

“The business community decided that Bruce was the better candidate for them and the workforce made the decision that Lorena was better, but both sides may be disappointed,” said Pedersen.

Oliver is not a Democrat, which hinders their ability to garner the support of a few democratic groups besides González, Mosqueda and Thomas-Kennedy.

The city attorney race is a wild card with Thomas-Kennedy running hard to the left while Davison ran for lieutenant governor for Republican last year, Pedersen added. Some voters worried about the town hall swinging left or right could split their support on the unofficial lists, he suggested.

Monisha Harrell, who leads her uncle’s election campaign, also rejected the idea that voters would view all candidates as progressive versus conservative.

Many will judge each race separately, with certain qualities being more important to a mayor and others to a councilor, she said, arguing Bruce Harrell is appealing for “blues” voters.

Oliver and Bruce Harrell may disagree on some matters, but both are political “associations,” said Monisha Harrell. “You will find people giving Bruce Democracy Coupons and Nikkita Democracy Coupons,” she said.

By September 14, 224 of over 7,400 residents who assigned Harrell vouchers had also assigned Oliver vouchers, while 1,291 of over 9,600 residents who had assigned González vouchers had also assigned Oliver vouchers. Nelson does not use coupons.

The Seattle elections can appear partially biased because the Seattle Times editors and The Stranger typically support opposing candidates, said Monisha Harrell (the Times news division is independent from the editors).

But many races boil down to style and experience, she added, predicting Bruce Harrell’s campaign will make it through the day.

When voters ask Nelson who she supports as mayor, Harrell calls them “a better option.” But she has no interest in walking on a slate, she said.

“My campaign is enough to worry me,” said Nelson.

Davison expressed a similar attitude. The next city attorney must defend Seattle’s policies in court, be it González or Harrell, she noted.

“I stand for what I stand for,” said Davison, who has urged the city to step up law enforcement. “That should be the only thing the voters see.”

Daniel Beekmann:
206-464-2164 or dbeekman@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @dbeekman. Seattle Times reporter Daniel Beekman covers the Seattle city government and local politics.