SEATTLE -- Ballots are starting to trickle in ahead of the August primary and campaign watchers are keeping a close eye on Seattle City Council District 3.
The neighborhoods in the district are diverse and range from the progressive Capitol Hill to the wealthy Madison Park and Broadmoor, which votes conservative by Seattle standards.
Like the district itself, the four candidates have different styles and strategies.
KING 5 caught up with Rod Hearne, formerly of Equal Rights Washington, as he was door belling on Friday.
"Have you had a chance to vote yet?" he asked a man sitting on his porch.
Hearne has made door belling his full time job for now and says he's managed to hit about 4,000 homes.
"There's nothing more authentic in my opinion than politics on the threshold of somebody's own door," said Hearne, who has said he wants to bring his "coalition-building approach to City Hall."
The ability to go "grassroots" was one of the aims behind the shift to district elections, as well as inspiring a new pool of candidates.
"I've been running around trying to get more women and young people to run and when you do that, you have to say why not yourself at some point," said Morgan Beach.
Beach, who is a women's rights activist, is not even 30 years old.
Her top issue is gender pay equity -- closing the wage gap at the city. As a millennial, she's spreading her message via social media. She even co-wrote a post with District 4 candidate Abel Pacheco titled: "5 things to know about running in your 20s."
At the top of the list is: "Say goodbye to happy hour with friends. Social time is now your campaign time."
Her race could be the toughest to win. So far, District 3 leads in campaign contributions with more than $500,000 total. Incumbent Kshama Sawant leads by a small margin with over $211,000. Pamela Banks follows with more than $205,000.
When asked about her fundraising success, Council member Sawant said, "There are a lot of people in Seattle who are sick and tired of corporate politics and influence of big business, and are willing to make sacrifices in order to make sure we have our voice, voice of the working people in Seattle."
While some have criticized her fundraising outside of city limits, Sawant referenced her victory increasing Seattle's minimum wage, an issue she campaigned on in 2013.
"The reason working people in other cities are supporting our campaign is because they are inspired by changes that we have made in Seattle; they want to see changes in their city," Sawant said.
Sawant, who received a sought-after endorsement from The Stranger is now rallying her following around what she calls "housing justice." She's started a petition at city hall to lift the ban on rent control.
Council member Sawant's biggest threat in terms of money and momentum is Urban League CEO Pamela Banks.
"I am energized by the opportunity to talk to a lot of my neighbors about what really concerns them," said Banks, whose top issues include affordability, public safety and transportation.
"A neighborhood voice really needs to be at the council. This district election process is going to allow the people from the neighborhoods to represent their neighborhoods. That's what's been missing from council."
Banks received endorsements from the Seattle Times and Chamber sponsored political action committee, CASE.
KING 5 will continue to profile big races all next week. If you would like to learn more about the candidates running in your district, see our interactive map to learn more.
