News roundup: Morning after primary
A quick hit of the news after the first round of ballots dropped. See current results and all of our coverage at our elections page.
Money is flowing in the race for Kshama Sawant's seat on the Seattle City Council
Nearly $1 million has been raised by candidates in that race, in direct donations and through the city's democracy vouchers program.
Sawant has raised the most by far of any City Council candidate. She said she'll need it to fend off business-backed spending aimed at defeating her.
Thousands of dollars have come in from outside spending targeting Sawant.
Sawant supporter Nikkita Oliver says she actually takes some consolation from that outside spending.
She says it signals that progressive policies for more equitable development in Seattle are having an impact.
“Otherwise they wouldn’t be investing so much money in trying to get rid of one person. So while it bothers me, it also encourages me that our movements are starting to drive things forward," Oliver said.
A good night for Dan Strauss in Seattle City Council District 6
He's leading the most crowded council race: 13 candidates in all.
Heidi Wills said she's feeling pretty good about second place. Wills is trying to rejoin the City Council after losing a re-election bid in 2003. She lost that race after a campaign finance scandal.
King County's big parks levy is headed toward passage
Two-thirds of voters are approving the levy that would raise $810 million over six years. It would cost the owner of a median-valued home $91 a year.
The levy is to pay to replace 14 ball fields, maintain trails and public parks, and more.
Confident lead in Port of Seattle race
Independent Fred Felleman currently has 70% of the vote. Last time around in 2016 he held off eight other candidates. This year it was a three-way race.
Felleman said the Port is the most important organization no one's heard of: "It's not just building docks or expanding airplanes," he said. "It's really to create opportunities."
Produced for the web by Kara McDermott.
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Gil Aegerter
Gil edits feature pieces and helps guide staff reporters through their stories. He previously served as interim digital director and online managing editor at KUOW. Before that he spent seven years with NBCNews.com, where he was variously a senior editor, editor-producer and features editor. He also worked 25 years as a newspaper editor in Anchorage, Alaska, San Diego, Wilmington, N.C., and Seattle. He also was a freelance researcher for NBC Olympics for the Games in Atlanta; Sydney, Australia; Salt Lake City; Athens; and Torino, Italy. He is a graduate of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, with a degree in photojournalism.
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Kate Walters
Reporter
Kate Walters is a reporter covering Covid-19 and the many ways the pandemic has impacted our lives. She's covered personal experiences of community members, state and local policies, affects on the healthcare system, and more. In the past, Kate has reported on homelessness for KUOW, as well as general assignment stories ranging from city hall politics to sea stars.
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