1. After first term state representative Brady Walkinshaw (D-43, Capitol Hill) announced yesterday that he’s running for U.S. congress[1] against longtime incumbent U.S. representative Jim McDermott (D-WA, 7), McDermott took to Facebook, writing:
We live in the greatest democracy in the world, and that means that every two years voters in the seventh district have the opportunity to have their voice heard and elect the person they wish to represent them in Washington D.C. I have long believed that voters should have a choice and I welcome any candidate who wishes to put forward their ideas to the voters. In the coming months, I look forward to discussing the issues most pressing to my constituents. I remain focused on continuing to fight for working families, veterans, seniors and students across the seventh district.
-Jim
2. King County council Joe McDermott aide Shannon Braddock called to congratulate city council Nick Licata aide Lisa Herbold in the District One (West Seattle) city council race yesterday after King County Elections did its recount in the close contest.
There was no change in the tally after the recount, according Herbold consultant Dean Nielsen, leaving Herbold the evident victor.
Herbold held a 39 vote lead in the original count out of the nearly 25,000 votes cast. Yesterday’s recount reportedly changed one of the 164 write in votes to a non-vote. (That’s right, there were 164 write-in votes in a race that was decided by 39 votes.)
King County will announce the official results on Monday.
3. Just in time for its big meeting this morning where they’ll be unveiling potential light rail routes for Sound Transit Three, the agency released its latest ridership figures yesterday for the current line (Sound Transit One A?) between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac.
The numbers pretty much rock. Light rail ridership was up 15.2 percent compared to October 2014, featuring a 17.8 percent increase in average weekday ridership. Meanwhile, overall, light rail ridership was up 6.2 percent compared to last year.
Sound Transit’s upbeat figures[2] also note a system wide increase in ridership (that includes Sounder, ST buses, and Tacoma Link.)
References
- ^ announced yesterday that he’s running for U.S. congress (www.seattlemet.com)
- ^ Sound Transit’s upbeat figures (www.soundtransit.org)
