Elections 2013: Campaign Dispatches From Around Seattle
KUOW reporters are on the ground at several campaign sites in Seattle, sending back snapshots from the scenes as the ballot countdown nears an end.8:15 p.m. School Board Candidate Sue Peters Ahead With 51 percent
Seattle School Board candidate Sue Peters is wearing her lucky blue feather boa tonight, and it appears to have paid off.
When King County released its first round of vote results, she was ahead of opponent Suzanne Dale Estey. Estey received 48 percent of the vote.
At Peters’ party, it’s a mostly middle-aged crowd milling about the room, drinking wine and cocktails. There are purple balloons, sandwiches and cured meats. It’s a festive mood.
It’s less festive at Estey’s campaign party, where there’s a sparser crowd and most of the guests appear to be drinking water.
—KUOW’s Ann Dornfeld
8:15 p.m. $15 Minimum Wage Appears To Be Passing In SeaTac This photo says it all:
8 p.m. Microbrews At Candidate Kshama Sawant’s Party
A crowd was gathering at Kshama Sawant’s party at Melrose Market on Capitol Hill, where hipsters sipped cups of Manny’s beer and supporters wore T-shirts advocating a $15 minimum wage — one of Sawant’s key messages.
A rally was underway, with speakers talking to the crowd — a mix of people of all ages (including a baby in a backpack). Asked about having a socialist candidate’s party at such an upscale venue, Sawant’s campaign manager, Ramy Khalil, said they got a good deal on the place.
—KUOW’s Amy Radil
6:30 p.m. Murray Headquarters: Working The Phones
Every so often at State Sen. Ed Murray’s campaign headquarters on Capitol Hill, cheers erupt.
That’s the sound of a phone bank volunteer who has successfully convinced a voter to head to a ballot drop box.
According to one volunteer, those calling on behalf of Murray, who is vying to be Seattle’s next mayor, are trying to engage in positive dialogue with voters. They’ll be on the phones until 8 p.m., when the ballots close.
Said Murray strategist Sandeep Kaushik: "My biggest fear is that our voters will get complacent and think that the race is already won, when it's not."
—KUOW’s David Hyde
6:30 p.m. 95 Slide: No Concession
Mayor Mike McGinn’s election night party was slow to get started at 95 Slide, a sports bar on Capitol Hill. The bar is at the heart of his opponent Sen. Ed Murray’s legislative district and down the street from Murray’s campaign headquarters.
There were mostly news reporters at the bar on Tuesday night and a few campaign staff. Most volunteers were at McGinn’s headquarters, working the phones.
McGinn’s strategist John Wyble acknowledged that the mayor is the underdog but said that McGinn has been gaining ground in recent days. Wyble said that McGinn won’t concede tonight if he comes within five percentage points of Murray.
The mayor is expected at 95 Slide shortly after King County releases its first ballot count around 8:15 p.m.
—KUOW’s Deborah Wang
