Over one million spent in the name of Democracy: The city gave every voter in Seattle $100 to spend on City Council campaigns this year, and it appears as if people are energetically spending it. Voters have assigned $1.2 million in Democracy Vouchers to candidates this year, with seven candidates bringing in at least $50,000 to their campaigns, according to the city’s latest data release yesterday. KUOW’s Amy Radil over at KUOW has a story that looks at two of the most heated battles over Democracy Vouchers: District 4’s matchup between Shaun Scott ($91,350 in vouchers) and Alex Pedersen ($79,100 in vouchers) as well as District 3’s matchup between Logan Bowers ($59,400 in vouchers) and Kshama Sawant ($0 in vouchers). Sawant might be Seattle’s most famous socialist, the incumbent councilmember is one of the few candidates this year to say no to the public financing program.

Cathy Tuttle has a plan: Speaking of the heated battle in District 4, nine candidates are running to replace quittin’ Rob Johnson on the City Council. Who is going to thread the needle on winning over both NIMBYs in Wallingford and students in the University District? Will it be the labor-backed Emily Myers? Or the socialist Shaun Scott? Or will it be the maybe-NIMBY Alex Pedersen? My colleague Nathalie Graham spoke with one of the longer-shot candidates, Cathy Tuttle, a policy wonk who hasn’t gained a ton of traction, but who offers some convincing ideas for what she would do if elected.

The filing deadline approaches: The deadline to file for election is just two weeks away. So far 56 people have filed for election according to the Seattle Ethics and Election Commission. Will we clear 60 candidates this year? We’ll soon find out. And while we’re talking deadlines: the primary election is on August 6, and then the top two candidates from that vote will face off in a general election on Nov. 5. We’re almost there!

Today is Seattle expansion day: On May 2, 1891, Seattle contained only 12.67 square miles, stretching from Beacon Hill to the southern end of Lake Union. But on May 3, 1891, the city more than doubled after residents voted to annex 16.94 square miles of land that included the towns of Magnolia, Wallingford, Green Lake, Brooklyn, and Ravenna, according to HistoryLink. Precisely 16 years later the city grew again, adding South Park and Columbia to Seattle on May 3, 1907. So, today we have more to celebrate than just Friday.