Photos by West Smith

Last night, candidates for city office piled onto the stage at Neumos to show off their hidden talents, answer policy questions, and lip synch for your vote. This year, the Washington Bus and The Stranger‘s candidate forum was Dungeons & Dragons themed, with drag dungeon mistress Aleksa Manila leading the adventure (with outfit changes, of course!).

We learned a lot about the candidates in this year’s primary: that Seattle City Council District 2 candidate Adonis Ducksworth might be a Cool Guy Skateboarder, but he’s not down to get silly; that D2 candidate Eddie Lin can juggle and walk on his hands; that Katie Wilson used to busk at Pike Place; and that City Attorney Erika Evans always knows the assignment. We also learned just how far D2 candidate Jamie Fackler will go for a bit. He didn’t officially make it onstage last night because his campaign hadn’t reached the fundraising threshold when event invitations went out, but he still showed up outside dressed as Shrek with a rented donkey and a large bag of onions, and even jumped on stage with City Attorney candidate Rory O’Sullivan (uninvited) to try to hype his performance. 

In the green room, one candidate said, “I think we’re all processing our Stranger endorsements in these performances.” During the policy section, D2 candidate Jeanie Chunn changed into a stunning green, leafy dress, a shout-out to The Stranger saying she was too “green” in our endorsement. We called Wilson’s TikToks “deeply awkward” (which we stand by), and she said it “hurt a little bit, but now I feel like I have a reputation to uphold,” so she decided “to showcase a talent that’s even more deeply awkward.” 

With less than two weeks to the primary, the candidates showed up, and showed us what they were about. Rinck won best dressed, Evans and Chunn won the most “inspiration points,” and Evans won the best overall performance. Now let’s see how they do at the ballot box.

This donkey’s name is Momie, from Sweet Ass Donkey Rentals. 
City Attorney candidate Rory O’Sullivan played “With a Little Help From My Friends,” by the Beatles.
Meet VoteBot. Not to be confused with SaraNelsonBot, and PinkPonyBot. 
Aleksa Manila kept all of the adventurers in line. 
The Stranger has said that Seattle would vote for a rock over Sara Nelson. So for her talent, City Council Position 9 candidate Dionne Foster came out as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, challenged an audience member to Rock Paper Scissors, and gave the audience rock candy. 
City Attorney candidate Erika Evans destroyed the audience with a diss track about City Attorney Ann Davison. 
Holy shit Jeanie Chunn can sing. 
Katie Wilson pulled out her old busking routine: a guitar and a harmonica. 
Eddie Lin actually walked across the stage like this. 
City Council Member Alexis Mercedes Rinck did a Bardcore cover of Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie.” 
These buds should be on council together. 
Stranger Staff Writer Nathalie Graham grilled the candidates on everything from sweeps to Saint Rat.
And Washington Bus and Stranger staff judged their answers. 
SaraNelsonBot.
Jeanie Chunn took a heroic spill off those heels, and kept lip syncing for your vote. 
Rory O’Sullivan and Ry Armstrong, blown away by Erika Evans’ prop work. 
I mean, come on.
Did we mention the audience dressed up too?
Queens of the night. 

Hannah is The Stranger's Editor-in-Chief. 

17 replies on “What You Missed at Candidate Survivor Last Night”

  6. 5 happy to hear what’s so depraved and insulting about a g-rated talent show that no one is required to view, read about, or participate in

  7. @6: G-rated talent show it tried to be I guess. Cute retort – but that’s all you think of in replying – so I won’t hold it against you.

    There’s a lot of angst and worry among the Seattle electorate as they try to elect a halfway decent city council but now are faced with the reality that these candidates disregard them as much as Trump despises his own base.

    Yes, I need to let the bee out of my bonnet I on this I guess.

  8. You just restated that you’re offended by this event only you’re transferring your feelings to the Seattle electorate. I am asking you to please explain what about this event is depraved to you?

  10. I don’t, no. Guessing no one there does either because they attended an event to highlight the candidates the stranger endorsed. Why would you expect your candidate to be flattered at an event for their opponent? It’s not personal, it’s politics.

  14. If you enjoy skyrocketing homelessness, drug addicts living outside in squalor, overdoses, human trafficking and crime, this is the perfect lineup of ‘talent’.

    Governing a city….nah. We already tried this band of village idiots. It was a disaster. Seattle barely avoided becoming Portland.

  15. Yall should have had a CHAZ/CHOP anniversary memorial reenactment skit where white lefty “armed guards” shot and murdered black teens (for BLM, natch) and then nobody got caught (just acting though, not for real, it’s just a skit, don’t get your panties into a bunch, haw haw take a joke etc)

    That would have been fucken hilarious

  16. Then yall could have got on stage after the CHOP MURDER SKIT was over and pretended to cry about it, and then pretended to force all your goofy endorsed candidates to all pretend to cry about it, like yall really super duper cared a lot, but see that’s part of the meta joke, so funny, you could call the skit “LAFF RIOT”. Acting is really just pretending, doncha know.

    Everyone on stage there missed an opportunity to create what could have been Comedy Gold.

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