Sara Nelson leads Nikkita Oliver in high-profile race for Seattle City Council’s Position 9

In the high-profile race for position 9 of the Seattle city council, Sara Nelson had a strong lead of 21 percentage points over Nikkita Oliver among the returnees on Tuesday evening. Nelson had tallied just over 60% of the vote.

Meanwhile, incumbent Teresa Mosqueda was only 5 percentage points ahead of Kenneth Wilson in the less noticed race for 8th place, despite an enormous fundraising advantage. Mosqueda had 52% of the vote versus Wilson’s 47%.

“Wow,” said Nelson upon hearing the results of their race among fans at The Fisherman’s Restaurant & Bar. She raised a thumb up.

“After speaking to people in this city … one thing has been constant,” said Nelson. “People were fed up with the status quo and wanted change.” In particular, one wants a functioning council, even if one does not agree on solutions.

“Whoever is in that position needs to focus on bringing people together, burying the hatchet, and representing everyone in Seattle,” she added.

Oliver, who was reached by phone at Washington Hall while hanging out with close friends and completing a campaign event earlier in the day, said they could “absolutely” make up the difference after receiving 39% of the vote.

Oliver, using sie / them pronouns, said they are counting on future voters leaning to the left. Oliver would need 59% of the remaining ballots to overtake Nelson.

“I think conservative voters vote early and I think communities that are struggling with a lot of problems – housing, health care, employment, all the things that happen around the eviction moratorium – have a lot more on their minds, and we tend to to vote later,“Said Oliver. “We know statistically that these bigger drops will be more to us as we get further down.”

Council President M. Lorena González left the seat of city-wide position 9 open when she decided to run for mayor’s office. The contest was an existential choice for voters. Oliver and Nelson called for various changes at a time when Seattle is trying to recover from the pandemic, respond to demands for racial justice, and find solutions to the rise in homelessness and violent crime .

Oliver, director of a non-profit organization, lawyer and prominent anti-racism activist, advocated a policy of abolishing marginalized communities. They had 39% of Tuesday’s original vote.

A Rainier Beach resident and former mayoral candidate, Oliver, 35, advocated lifting restrictions on housing in single-family neighborhoods across Seattle. Oliver also called for new revenue to be found, such as a possible city income tax, to provide housing for the homeless while providing services such as hygiene stations for the camp residents. Oliver has also urged the police to be downgraded by 50%.

Nelson, 55, co-founder of Fremont Brewing and former advisor to former city councilor Richard Conlin, argued that the council was on the wrong track as building the leftist movement distracted it from providing basic services.

Living in Green Lake and running for a second time for the local council, Nelson promoted helping small businesses recover from the pandemic by gradually increasing density in single-family neighborhoods and eliminating homeless camps in public spaces with a phased approach. She said she wanted a plan, more accountability, and better homelessness data before committing to new income. She also refused to defuse the police.

Oliver advocated solving social problems from basic problems; Nelson said she would focus on “problems we can solve now”.

Nelson’s supporters included various small business owners, former Governor Gary Locke, and firefighters and construction unions. Many shared their dissatisfaction with the current council, particularly its failure to curb increasing homelessness and the spread of camps.

Nelson also won the support of longtime police accountability attorney Harriett Walden, who said she was concerned about the Seattle Police Department’s debt relief. An increase in shootings is hurting People of Color, Walden said, and even decreed cuts are hampering the department’s ability to deal with it.

Oliver’s supporters – including progressive US MP Pramila Jayapal, King County Councilor Girmay Zahilay, and Martin Luther King County’s Labor Council – pointed to the candidate’s work in the community and were considered by some to be closer to the needs of everyday workers and people viewed color.

On Monday afternoon, Nelson was up more than $ 140,000 in fundraising, for a total of around $ 573,900. Independent expenses for Nelson and against Oliver were about $ 500,000, while for Oliver and against Nelson they were less than $ 90,000.

The donation sums in the race for position 8 were far more one-sided, even for a city-wide seat. Mosqueda raised approximately $ 277,000; Wilson, an engineer and political freshman, about $ 98,000.

Mosqueda, 41, is the architect of the JumpStart Seattle payroll, chairs the council’s housing and budget committee, and agreed last year to demands that the police be cut by 50%, although the cuts ended up being much less.

Wilson, 51, like Nelson, hoped to endure frustration with City Hall including over warehouses, police defunding, and the closure of the broken West Seattle Bridge, which he believes should remain open while repairs are in progress. He had 47% of the vote on Tuesday.

Seattle Times staff Mike Lindblom and Sydney Brownstone, and data journalist Manuel Villa contributed to this report.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/sara-nelson-is-leading-nikkita-oliver-in-high-profile-race-for-seattle-city-councils-position-9/
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