# 2021 Seattle City Council election

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The 2021 Seattle City Council election were held on November 2, 2021. Two seats of the nine-member Seattle City Council were up for election.

## Background

Four incumbent members of the Seattle City Council did not seek reelection in the 2019 election while the three other incumbents won reelection. Mayor Jenny Durkan announced that she would not seek reelection in the 2021 election.
The 2021 election cycle was the 3rd use of Seattle's Democracy Vouchers Program, which other cities and states have looked to replicate.

## District 8
### Campaign

Teresa Mosqueda, who had served on the city council since her election in 2015, announced on May 5, 2021, that she would seek reelection instead of running in the mayoral election. Kate Martin, who was also running for mayor, announced her campaign for city council on March 23. Michael McQuaid ran in the election, but withdrew after his criminal record involving multiple assaults was reported on.

### Campaign finance

Bobby Lindsey, Jordan Elizabeth Fisher, Martin, Paul Glumaz, and Mosqueda are participating in the democracy voucher program.
| Candidate | Campaign committee | Campaign committee | Campaign committee | Campaign committee |
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | COH | L&D |
| Brian Fahey | $1,914.23 | $1,914.23 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Jordan Elizabeth Fisher | $1,751.38 | $0.00 | $1,751.38 | $0.00 |
| Paul Glumaz | $6,861.86 | $2,797.73 | $4,064.13 | $0.00 |
| Kate Martin | $5,846.25 | $3,576.49 | $2,269.76 | $0.00 |
| Teresa Mosqueda | $163,777.20 | $47,922.85 | $115,854.35 | $3,090.80 |

### Endorsements

Federal officials
* Pramila Jayapal, member of the United States House of Representatives from Washington's 7th congressional district
Statewide officials
* Bob Ferguson, 18th attorney general of Washington
Local officials
* Lorena González, member of the Seattle City Council from the 9th district

### Primary election
#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Brian Fahey | Jordan Elizabeth Fisher | George Freeman | Paul Glumaz | Jesse James | Kate Martin | Bobby Lindsey Miller | Teresa Mosqueda | Alex Tsimerman | Alexander White | Kenneth Wilson | Undecided |
| Change Research (D) | July 12–15, 2021 | 617 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 3% | 1% | 6% | 3% | 26% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 55% |

#### Results

Primary election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Teresa Mosqueda (incumbent) | 113,052 | 59.4 |
| | Nonpartisan | Kenneth Wilson | 30,862 | 16.2 |
| | Nonpartisan | Kate Martin | 21,997 | 11.6 |
| | Nonpartisan | Paul Glumaz | 10,228 | 5.4 |
| | Nonpartisan | Alexander White | 2,474 | 1.3 |
| | Nonpartisan | Bobby Miller | 2,438 | 1.3 |
| | Nonpartisan | Jesse James | 2,051 | 1.1 |
| | Nonpartisan | Jordan Elizabeth Fisher | 1,810 | 1.0 |
| | Nonpartisan | George Freeman | 1,575 | 0.8 |
| | Nonpartisan | Alex Tsimerman | 961 | 0.5 |
| | Nonpartisan | Brian Fahey | 887 | 0.8 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 2,075 | 1.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 190,410 | 100.0 |

### General election
#### Debate

2021 Seattle City Council district 8 debate :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Teresa Mosqueda | Kenneth Wilson |
| 1 | Sep. 30, 2021 | Seattle Channel | Brian Callanan | | P | P |

#### Polling

Graphical summary
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Teresa Mosqueda | Kenneth Wilson | Other | Undecided |
| Change Research (D) | October 12–15, 2021 | 617 (LV) | ± 4.1% | 39% | 31% | 3% | 26% |
| Elway Research | September 7–9, 2021 | 400 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 33% | 17% | 11% | 33% |

#### Results

General election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Teresa Mosqueda (incumbent) | 149,589 | 59.40 |
| | Nonpartisan | Kenneth Wilson | 101,168 | 40.17 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1,074 | 0.43 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 251,831 | 100.00 |

## District 9
### Campaign

Lorena González, who was first elected in the 2015 election and was selected to serve as president of the city council in 2020, announced on February 3, 2021, that she would run in the mayoral election. Nikkita Oliver, who had run in the 2017 mayoral election, announced that they would run for city council on March 10. Businesswoman Sara Nelson, who had run in the 8th district in 2017, and Brianna Thomas, who worked as González's chief of staff, also ran in the election.

### Campaign finance

Brianna K. Thomas, Corey Eichner, Oliver, and Xtian Gunter are participating in the democracy voucher program.
| Candidate | Campaign committee | Campaign committee | Campaign committee | Campaign committee |
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | COH | L&D |
| Corey Eichner | $9,680.00 | $4,358.33 | $5,321.67 | $0.00 |
| Claire Grant | $901.32 | $427.77 | $473.55 | $0.00 |
| Lindsay McHaffie | $0.00 | $1,296.86 | -$1,296.86 | $0.00 |
| Sara Nelson | $133,853.98 | $39,223.04 | $94,630.94 | $5,500.00 |
| Nikkita Oliver | $183,429.01 | $55,176.40 | $128,252.61 | $0.00 |
| Brianna Thomas | $86,278.01 | $39,301.57 | $46,976.44 | $6,372.00 |

### Endorsements

Local officials
* Richard Conlin, former member of the Seattle City Council from the 2nd position
* Jan Drago, former member of the Seattle City Council from the 4th position
* Jean Godden, former member of the Seattle City Council from the 1st position
* Tom Rasmussen, former member of the Seattle City Council from the 5th position
* Heidi Wills, former member of the Seattle City Council
Media
* The Seattle Times
Individuals
* Ian Eisenberg, founder of Uncle Ike's Pot Shop
State officials
* Tarra Simmons, member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 23rd district
Local officials
* Tammy Morales, member of the Seattle City Council from the 2nd district
* Teresa Mosqueda, member of the Seattle City Council from the 8th district
* Girmay Zahilay, member of the King County Council from the 2nd district
Organizations
* Seattle Democratic Socialists of America
Media
* The Stranger (newspaper)
* The Urbanist
State officials Local officials
* Sally Bagshaw, former member of the Seattle City Council from the 2nd district
* Lorena González, member of the Seattle City Council from the 9th district
* Lisa Herbold, member of the Seattle City Council from the 1st district
* Dan Strauss, member of the Seattle City Council from the 6th district

### Primary election
#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Corey Eichner | Xtian Gunther | Lindsay McHaffie | Sara Nelson | Nikkita Oliver | Brianna Thomas | Rebecca Williamson | Undecided |
| Change Research (D) | July 12–15, 2021 | 617 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 3% | 1% | 0% | 11% | 26% | 6% | 0% | 50% |

#### Results

Primary election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Nikkita Oliver | 79,799 | 40.2 |
| | Nonpartisan | Sara Nelson | 78,388 | 39.5 |
| | Nonpartisan | Brianna Thomas | 26,651 | 13.4 |
| | Nonpartisan | Corey Eichner | 10,228 | 3.5 |
| | Nonpartisan | Lindsay McHaffie | 3,048 | 1.5 |
| | Nonpartisan | Rebecca Williamson | 1,646 | 0.8 |
| | Nonpartisan | Xtian Gunther | 1,409 | 0.7 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 637 | 0.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 198,608 | 100.0 |

### General election
#### Debate

2021 Seattle City Council district 9 debate :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Sara Nelson | Nikkita Oliver |
| 1 | Oct. 5, 2021 | Seattle Channel | Brian Callanan | YouTube | P | P |

#### Polling

Graphical summary
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Sara Nelson | Nikkita Oliver | Other | Undecided |
| Change Research (D) | October 12–15, 2021 | 617 (LV) | ± 4.1% | 41% | 37% | 2% | 21% |
| Elway Research | September 7–9, 2021 | 400 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 31% | 26% | 9% | 34% |

#### Results

General election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Sara Nelson | 139,336 | 53.84 |
| | Nonpartisan | Nikkita Oliver | 119,025 | 45.99 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 437 | 0.17 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 258,798 | 100.00 |