Tuesday was primary Election Day, and votes are being counted in nearly 200 races around Western Washington.
Seattle has changed to geographic City Council districts and all nine seats are up for grabs. This is a top two primary - the top two finishers will advance to run-offs in November.
One of the most closely watched races is for Seattle City Council District 3, including Capitol Hill and the Central District.
Kshama Sawant, the most progressive member of the current council, is running for a second term in District . Results on Wednesday showed her leading with 50.47 percent of the vote.
"We are not running against one individual but really the entire chamber of commerce, the political and business establishment who want to disempower the movement that we're starting to build, the movement to which we want $15 an hour, the movement to which we have already made so much headway in making affordable housing top of the Seattle agenda, so in order to win against the corporate money we need to fight," Sawant said Tuesday night.
Pamela Banks, who is CEO of the Seattle Urban League and generally viewed as more moderate than Sawant, had 34.96 percent.
"I am almost speechless and I'm never speechless," said Banks. "But I'm extremely happy and I know that we have a really good chance to win... I'm just really grateful and humble and really excited to go to round two, because that's what I look at it as we're going to round two."
Council Position 8 is one of two seats being elected citywide. Tim Burgess is the current council president and is running for a third term. Wednesday results showed him with 47.56 percent.
John Roderick, the former Long Winters rocker, is pushing for a citywide rail transit system. On Wednesday he had 15.76 percent.
Three are open seats with no incumbents on the ballot. The first district runs from West Seattle to South Park.
Early returns showed Shannon Braddock, Chief of staff for King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, with 28.23 percent.
Lisa Herbold, former legislative aide to retiring council member Nick Licata, had 28.56 percent.
District 5 includes Crown Hill, Northgate, and Lake City. Debora Juarez, a lawyer specializing is Native American issues, had 38.87 percent in early returns. Sandy Brown, a Methodist minister and gun control advocate, had 20.38 percent.
Position 9 is being elected citywide. Lorena Gonzalez, a civil rights attorney who has the endorsement of Mayor Ed Murray, her former boss, lead with 64.23 percent. Alon Bassok, an urban planner, campaigning for affordable housing and better transit, had 9.20 percent.
One council incumbent may not make it through. District 4 covers northeast Seattle, including Ravenna, Wallingford, and the U-District. Incumbent Jean Godden is running in third, but not far beyond the second spot in the run-off. Rob Johnson, an urban planner and transit advocate, is in the lead with 33.66 percent. Paralegal Michael Maddux has 23.13 percent.
District 2 covers SoDo, Beacon Hill, and the Rainier Valley. Bruce Harrell is running for a third term and leading by a wide margin. He'll be facing Tammy Morales, who runs Urban Food Link.
District 6 is in the northwest, including Blue Ridge, Ballard, and Fremont. Mike O'Brien is running for a third term on the council. He leads Catherine Weatbrook, a facilities manager for a group of non-profits and co-chairs the City Neighborhood Council.
District 7 covers Magnolia and the downtown core. Incumbent Sally Bagshaw is rolling to a big win. She'll be facing off against Deborah Zech-Artis, a small business owner.
Seattle School Board
Two seats are up on the Seattle School Board.
District 3 is an open seat. Lauren McGuire, a former management consultant who has served on PTSA boards, leads with 47.24 percent
Jill Geary, an attorney and former native law judge, had 45.77 percent.
In District 6, Leslie Harris lead with 46.74 percent and Mary McLaren had 38.69 percent.
Seattle Port Commissioner
Election results Wednesday show the Port of Seattle Commission will become more progressive. Position 5 is an open seat, currently held by Bill Bryant, who is stepping down to run for governor in 2016. Fred Felleman, an environmental activist, had 22.61 percent in early returns. Marion Yoshino, an economic development consultant, had 18.49 percent. Richard Pope was third with 16.13 percent.
For Position 2, incumbent Courtney Gregoire is winning easily with 82.46 percent. She'll be facing John Naubert, who had 7.78 percent, or Goodspaceguy, with 9.21 percent.
Bellevue City Council
Bellevue City Council Position 5 is an open seat.
Vandana Slatter, a biotech professional at Amgen who is making her second run for the council, leads with 42.74 percent. Michelle Hilhorst, vice chair of the Bellevue Planning Commission, had 36.26 percent. Sherry Grindeland, a longtime member of the Bellevue Parks Board, had 20.71 percent.
Legislative District 30
There's a special election in State House District 30, which could affect the balance of power in the state legislature.
Both candidates advance to November, with Republican Teri Hickel leading over Democratic incumbent Carol Gregory.
The Federal Way district is a swing district and if Hickel wins in November, the Democratic majority in the State House would be down to just one seat.
Snohomish County Executive
In Snohomish County, five candidates are running for County Executive. This is a partisan race and two Democrats are advancing to the run-off in November.
John Lovick is the incumbent county executive. On Wednesday he was trailing Dave Somers, chair of the county council, by just five votes. Somers has raised about twice as much money as Lovick. Somers is critical of Lovick on his handling of the budget and his management style.
Also on the list - Republican Robert Sutherland, 26.20 percent; Independent James Robert Deal, 5.27 percent; and Republican Norm Nunnally, 2.87 percent.
Among the major issues in Snohomish County, a new county courthouse that many now believe is too expensive to build.
Lovick believes the county should stay the course and try to figure out a way to get it built.
"There is always going to be uncertainty," said the incumbent. "There is always going to be something else for us to do. I believe we should build this courthouse."
Councilman Somers countered with, "Unfortunately the county's financial situation has degraded and the costs for the courthouse have risen dramatically. We simply cannot afford the current proposal. We need the Executive's office to reexamine an option that would remodel the existing courthouse."
