# 2021 Seattle City Attorney election

"none" is preferred when the title is already sufficiently detailed; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Elections in Washington :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1889
1891
1893
1895 sp
1897
1899
1903
1905
1909
1911
1914
1916
1920
1922
1928
1934
1940
1946
1952
1956
1958
1962
1964
1968
1970
1974
1976
1980
1982
1983 sp
1986
1988
1992
1994
1998
2000
2004
2006
2010
2012
2016
2018
2022
2024
2028
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1889
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1909
2nd sp
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1923
5th sp
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1947
3rd sp
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
3rd sp
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1975
3rd sp
1976
1977
7th sp
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
1st sp
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
State government
General elections
2004
2008
2010
2012
2016
2020
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1889
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
2020
2024
Secretary of State elections
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2022 sp
2024
Attorney General elections
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
State Treasurer elections
2024
State Auditor elections
2024
Commissioner of Public Lands elections
2024
State Senate elections
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2013
26th sp
2014
2016
2017
45th sp
2018
2020
2022
House of Representatives elections
2006
2008
2010
21st
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
Supreme Court elections
2004
2006
2008
2012 :
Ballot measures
1972
276
2004
872
2006
920
933
937
4223
2007
67
2008
1000
2009
71
2012
74
502
1185
1240
2016
732
2018
1631
1639
2019
976 :
Seattle
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025
City Attorney elections
2021
City Council elections
2019
2021
3rd recall
2023
Ballot measures
Sound Transit 3 :
Spokane
Mayoral elections
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
vte :
The 2021 Seattle City Attorney election was held on November 2, 2021. Incumbent City Attorney Pete Holmes sought reelection to a fourth term in office, but came third place in the officially nonpartisan August 3 primary election and failed to advance to the general election, with both Nicole Thomas-Kennedy and Ann Davison finishing ahead of Holmes in the primary. Davison defeated Thomas-Kennedy in the general election.

## Primary election
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Ann Davison (Republican), commercial lawyer, Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2020, and nominee for Seattle City Council District 5 in 2019
* Pete Holmes (Democratic), incumbent Seattle City Attorney (2010–present)
* Nicole Thomas-Kennedy (Democratic), police abolitionist, former public defender, and pro bono defense attorney

#### Withdrawn

* Steve Fortney (Democratic), former U.S. Department of Justice lawyer

### Endorsements

Statewide officeholders
* Bob Ferguson, Attorney General of Washington (2013–present) and former King County Councilmember (2004–2013)
* Hilary Franz, Washington Commissioner of Public Lands (2017–present)
* Mike Pellicciotti, Washington State Treasurer (2021–present) and former state representative (2017–2021)
State legislators
* Rebecca Saldaña, State Senator (District 37)
* Jamie Pedersen, State Senator (District 43)
* David Frockt, State Senator (District 46)
* Liz Berry, State Representative (District 36)
* Kirsten Harris-Talley, State Representative (District 37)
* Nicole Macri, State Representative (District 43)
* Roger Goodman, State Representative (District 45)
* Gerry Pollet, State Representative (District 46)
* Javier Valdez, State Representative (District 46)
* Adam Kline, former state representative (1997–2015)
Judges
* Faith Ireland, former Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court
Local officeholders
* Dow Constantine, King County Executive (2009–present), former King County Councilmember (2002–2009), former state senator (2000–2002), and former state representative (1997–2000)
* Dan Satterberg, King County Prosecuting Attorney (2007–present) (former Republican)
* Rod Dembowski, King County Councilmember (District 1)
* Jeanne Kohl-Welles, King County Councilmember (District 4)
Seattle city councilmembers
* Lisa Herbold, Seattle City Councilmember (District 1)
* Andrew J. Lewis, Seattle City Councilmember (District 7)
* Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Councilmember (District 8)
* Nick Licata, former Seattle City Councilmember (1998–2016)
Organizations
* UFCW 21
Individuals
* Lisa Daugaard, executive director of the Public Defender Association and co-founder of Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion
* Rick Steves, travel writer

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Ann Davison | Pete Holmes | Nicole Thomas-Kennedy | Other | Undecided |
| Change Research (D) | July 12–15, 2021 | 617 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 14% | 16% | 14% | 4% | 53% |

### Results

Nonpartisan primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Nicole Thomas-Kennedy | 71,367 | 36.39 |
| | Nonpartisan | Ann Davison | 64,179 | 32.72 |
| | Nonpartisan | Pete Holmes (incumbent) | 60,093 | 30.64 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 500 | 0.25 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 196,139 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Ann Davison (Republican), commercial lawyer, Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2020, and runner-up for Seattle City Council District 5 in 2019
* Nicole Thomas-Kennedy (Democratic), police abolitionist, former public defender, and pro bono defense attorney

### Debate

2021 Seattle City Attorney 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 | Ann Davison | Nicole Thomas-Kennedy |
| 1 | Oct. 7, 2021 | Seattle Channel | Brian Callanan | YouTube | P | P |

### Endorsements
#### Federal officeholders

* Daniel J. Evans, former U.S. Senator (1983–1989) and Governor of Washington (1965–1977)
Governors
* Christine Gregoire, former Governor of Washington (2005–2013) (Democrat)
* Gary Locke, former Governor of Washington (1997–2005) (Democrat)
Mayors
* Greg Nickels, former mayor of Seattle (2002–2010) (Democrat)
* Charles Royer, former mayor of Seattle (1978–1989) (Independent)
* Wesley C. Uhlman, former mayor of Seattle (1969–1978) (Democrat)
Seattle city councilmembers
* Richard Conlin, former Seattle City Councilmember (1998–2014) (Democrat)
Judges
* Bobbe Bridge, former Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court
* Phil Talmadge, former Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court (Democrat)
* Ronald Cox, former Presiding Chief Judge of the Washington Court of Appeals
* Ann Schindler, former Presiding Chief Judge of the Washington Court of Appeals
* Bruce Hilyer, former Presiding Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Laura Inveen, former Presiding Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Sharon Armstrong, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Greg Canova, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Terrence Carroll, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* John Erlick, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Deborah Fleck, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Michael Heavey, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* J. Kathleen Learned, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Barbara Linde, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Nicole MacInnes, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Barbara Mack, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* George Mattson, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Richard McDermott, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Jeffrey M. Ramsdell, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Palmer Robinson, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Carol Schapira, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Mariane Spearman, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Julie Spector, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Jay White, former Judge of the King County Superior Court
* Kimi Kondo, former Presiding Judge of the Seattle Municipal Court
* Ed McKenna, former Presiding Judge of the Seattle Municipal Court
* Judith Montgomery Hightower, former Judge of the Seattle Municipal Court
Local officeholders
* Chris Bayley, former King County Prosecuting Attorney (1971–1979)
* Mark Sidran, former Seattle City Attorney (1990–2002) (Democrat)
Organizations
* Seattle Building and Construction Trades Council
Media
* The Seattle Times
Individuals
* Scott Lindsay, former Public Safety Advisor for Seattle mayor Ed Murray and candidate for Seattle City Attorney in 2017

#### State legislators

* Rebecca Saldaña, State Senator (District 37)
* Kirsten Harris-Talley, State Representative (District 37)
Mayors
* Michael McGinn, former mayor of Seattle (2010–2013)
Seattle city councilmembers
* Tammy Morales, Seattle City Councilmember (District 2)
* Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Councilmember (District 8)
* Mike O'Brien, former Seattle City Councilmember (2010–2020)
Local officeholders
* Girmay Zahilay, King County Councilmember (District 2)
Organizations
* Fuse Washington
* IUPAT DC 5
* Joint Council of Teamsters No. 28
* Martin Luther King. Jr. County Labor Council
* Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates
* Seattle Democratic Socialists of America
* Seattle Indivisible
* SEIU 775
* SEIU 925
* SEIU 1199NW
* UFCW 21
Media
* The Stranger
* The Urbanist
* Seattle Medium
* The Daily of the University of Washington
Individuals
* Cary Moon, co-founder of the People's Waterfront Coalition and candidate for mayor in 2017

### Campaign finance

Candidate totals raised are as of filings on or before November 2, 2021, and totals spent reflect expenditures up to October 25, 2021. Independent expenditures are up-to-date as of filings on or before November 1, 2021.
| Candidate | Campaign committee | Campaign committee | Independent expenditure | Independent expenditure | References |
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | For | Against | References |
| Ann Davison | $439,216.26 | $370,194.11 | $9,930.34 | $14,000.00 | |
| Nicole Thomas-Kennedy | $428,408.98 | $348,061.48 | $1,176.29 | $425,462.86 | |

### Polling

Graphical summary
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Ann Davison | Nicole Thomas-Kennedy | Other | Undecided |
| Change Research (D) | October 12–15, 2021 | 617 (LV) | ± 4.1% | 43% | 24% | 2% | 30% |
| Strategies 360 (D) | September 13–16, 2021 | 450 (RV) | ± 4.6% | 19% | 16% | – | 65% |
| Strategies 360 (D) | September 13–16, 2021 | 287 (LV) | ± 5.8% | 26% | 19% | – | 55% |
| Elway Research | September 7–9, 2021 | 400 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 26% | 22% | 8% | 45% |

### Results

General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Ann Davison | 132,638 | 51.49 |
| | Nonpartisan | Nicole Thomas-Kennedy | 122,947 | 47.73 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 2,004 | 0.78 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 257,589 | 100.00 |