We know what we want. But what’s actually going to happen on primary night 2015, when the top two candidates in all the city council races are determined and the field of 47 council hopefuls is suddenly whittled down to a field of 18?
For that, we had to consult our psychic powers (and Ouija boards, and crystal balls, and fortune cookies, and coffee mugs with deity-shaped stains). Here’s what we learned:
Seattle City Council District 1: In the district that covers West Seattle, the highest vote-getter will be Lisa Herbold, the longtime aide to retiring Seattle City Council member Nick Licata. But Shannon Braddock, beneficiary of big donations from independent expenditures, will give Herbold a run for her money. And if the north winds shift and someone happens to click two very fancy crystals together at that very moment, Braddock might actually come in first!
Seattle City Council District 2: Psychic tremors suggest that in the district covering South Seattle, incumbent Bruce Harrell will win by a lot, with challenger Tammy Morales moving through the primary with him as the second-highest vote-getter. Occupy Seattle and anti-eviction activist Josh Farris? He’ll be one-two punched by fate and karma, then disappear from the political scene for quite some time.
Seattle City Council District 3: Strong agreement from the beyond that Kshama Sawant and Pamela Banks (and Banks’s money muumuu) will be the two candidates with the most Capitol Hill + Madison Park + Montlake votes when the counting’s done. But the big question will be: Which one of them gets more votes?
If Banks has a higher vote tally, that’ll be a worrisome outcome for Sawant—especially considering that supporters of Rod “Bellevue Is Scared of Sawant So I’m Running to Replace Her” Hearne and Morgan “Not Gunning for a Socialist Revolution” Beach are likely to gravitate toward MoneyBanks in the general.
Seattle City Council District 4: Will Jean Godden even make it through the primary??? The Magic 8 Ball says, “Sigh,” which we interpret as YES. Because in this life, name recognition is more powerful than in the afterworld. We’d love it if Godden got bounced by primary voters and Michael Maddux and Rob Johnson got to duke it out in the general. But since we rarely get what we want, and since we hear a lot of close-to-the-afterworld voters are gonna turn out for Godden, we’re hoping for a Godden-Maddux outcome—and girding for Godden-Johnson.
Seattle City Council District 5: Didn’t even have to consult forces beyond our control on this one. Preacher man Sandy Brown and badass lawyer and activist Debora Juarez will make it through. (Sorry, Mercedes and Halei, please run again soon!) Next.
Seattle City Council District 6: The only question is how wide Mike O’Brien‘s margin is. That’s not a double entendre. Unless the man with the unstoppable cowlick wants it to be! (That’s not a double entendre, either. Unless he waaaaants it to be!) Also, the votes garnered by O’Brien’s NIMBY challengers could be an indication of how potent NIMBY discontent/HALA angst is this election season.
Seattle City Council District 7: Zzzzzzzzz. Wake us when Gus Hartmann concedes.
Seattle City Council Position 8: MOST INTERESTING, because the two guys vying for a chance to take on Council President Tim Burgess (who will certainly make it through the primary) are quite different. Will rocker and earnest civic gadfly John Roderick get a chance to take on King Burgess? Or will it be riled-up affordable housing advocate Jon Grant? Crystal ball is cloudy, but Wicked Witch of the West Dan Savage is hoping for Roderick, so there’s that.
Seattle City Council Position 9: Clarity among the 24 fortune cookies we devoured that Lorena González will be in the top two, with strong indications that Bill “He Who Will Not Be Ignored” Bradburd will come through with her.
