Primary results for King County Council races

by

Venice Buhain

/ August 3, 2023

Two King County ballots on a table in their envelopes.

Two King County ballots on a table. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)

Voters have narrowed the field in King County Council elections, as results come in following Tuesday’s primary.

Jorge L. Barón and Sarah Reyneveld have significant leads in the race for County Council District 4, which covers the northwest parts of Seattle from Belltown to the city limits.

Barón, the former executive director of the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project, received about 50% of the vote. Reyneveld, an assistant attorney general for the state, received about 28%. They both lead Becka Johnson Poppe, a King County budget and policy manager, who received 19%. Incumbent Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles, who first took the seat in 2016 after more than 20 years in the state legislature, announced her retirement earlier this year.

For District 8, which covers Capitol Hill, West Seattle, Vashon and Maury islands and parts of Burien and Tukwila, Teresa Mosqueda and Sofia Aragon have significant leads over GoodSpaceGuy. Mosqueda, who is on the Seattle City Council, had about 57% of the vote, and Aragon, the mayor of Burien and executive director of the Washington Center for Nursing, had 37%. GoodSpaceGuy, a frequent candidate for elected office, received 4%. Incumbent Councilmember Joe McDermott, a former state legislator, decided not to run for re-election after 13 years on the County Council.

The top two leaders in each race will face off in the general election in November. County Council members are elected by the voters in their geographic district. The positions are nonpartisan. Also on the general election ballot will be King County Councilmembers Girmay Zahilay in District 2 and Claudia Balducci in District 6. Zahilay, whose district includes Skyway, southeast Seattle, Central District, the University District, Laurelhurst and Ravenna, and Balducci, whose district includes Redmond, parts of Kirkland, north Bellevue and Mercer Island, drew no challengers.

Updated at 4:15 p.m. Aug. 3, 2023 to reflect the latest vote count from King County.

Correction: an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the year that King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles took her council seat.

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WA House Republicans select new leader: Drew Stokesbary

by

Joseph O'Sullivan

/ April 25

Washington state House Republicans have selected Rep. Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, to become their minority leader.

First elected in 2014 from the 31st Legislative District, Stokesbary is the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, which deals with spending and budget matters. He takes over from Rep. J.T. Wilcox, a Republican from Yelm who announced on Sunday he would step down from leadership.

“As a lifelong Washingtonian, I know the incredible potential of our state, but too many of our challenges have been exacerbated by single-party control," said Stokesbary in prepared remarks. "I'm proud that House Republicans are fighting for real solutions to the critical issues affecting our state, including public safety, student performance and tax relief.

In addition, Rep. Mike Steele, R-Chelan, was selected deputy Republican leader. First elected in 2016, he takes over the position from longtime Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda. Steele is currently the ranking Republican on the House Capital Budget Committee.

Democrats currently control the House 58-40.