Results are in: What do this year's elections mean for 2024?

Washington state elections are a lesson in patience. A week after the general election, results are just shaping up for most of the major races.

And those results can help with determining what policy and politics will look like in Seattle and across the state.

Seattle City Council takes a new direction

Seattle's City Council will have five new faces joining the ranks — none of which have held an elected position before.

"That's going to be a humongous learning curve," said political consultant Crystal Fincher. In a time when the city is facing a looming budget deficit, and needs to make decisions on subjects including what to do with the JumpStart tax, addressing public safety, and revitalizing downtown, Fincher said that new council members could slow things down.

"It really is a lot to digest — just starting to understand how to legislate."

King County Council could see a changing of the guard

"If you believe that crime and public safety generally is the big issue... That is the county that controls our criminal justice system," explained Chris Vance, a former King County Council member, and former chair of the Washington State Republican Party.

Vance pointed out that if someone is arrested in Seattle, it's King County employees who are involved in the jail and court system, as well as county social services. And that, Vance said, is the reason more people should be paying attention to the County Council. There will be two new faces on the council: Current City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda will represent the county's 8th District, and Jorge Baron will represent the 4th District.

Vance said it's just the beginning of more turnover we'll see at the County Council, as more members retire in the years to come. It's a sign that the generational leadership may be changing, Vance added.

Citizens' initiatives pass measures for housing and pay increases

Residents in Bellingham and Tacoma voted in favor of citizens' initiatives this year. In Tacoma, that was Initiative Measure No. 1, a sweeping tenants right measure. In Bellingham, there were two initiatives on the ballot: one increasing minimum wage within the city, and the other establishing a rental relocation assistance program for tenants.

"We're seeing the success of initiatives on the local scale that aren't necessarily being generated from moneyed interest groups," said Fincher, the political consultant. "They're responses to what residents are seeing not being handled by their local government — taking it in their own hands, and really moving things forward."

The beginning of a progressive wave — outside of Seattle

South Seattle Emerald Publisher and Seattle Times Columnist Marcus Harrison Green said that progressive wins with citizens' initiatives and County Council seats point to a bigger change in the area: demographics.

"Politics many times are a lagging indicator of socioeconomic trends," he said. Harrison Green pointed out that working class people, who are often also progressive, are moving out of Seattle and into nearby cities, like Kent or Tukwila.

"I think you'll see the King County Council in years hence become a bit more left-leaning than the City Council of Seattle."