Seventy candidates filed to run for the November 5 general election in Seattle, Washington. Seven of the nine city council seats and four of the city’s seven school board seats are on the ballot. A primary is scheduled for August 6. The filing deadline for this election was May 17.

 

 

Three of the seven city council incumbents whose seats are up for election filed to run for another term. In District 1, incumbent Lisa Herbold faces two challengers. District 3 incumbent Kshama Sawant and District 5 incumbent Debora Juarez face five challengers each. The open District 2, 4, 6, and 7 seats attracted between seven and 14 candidates each, for a total of 56 candidates running for city council in 2019. In 2015, 37 candidates filed to run for the same seats on the ballot.

 

A total of 14 candidates are running for Seattle school board seats in 2019. Leslie Harris is the only incumbent running for re-election. She faces two challengers for the District 6 seat on the board. Three candidates each are running for the open District 2 and 3 seats, and five candidates campaigning for the open District 1 seat. When these same seats were last up for election in 2015, 11 candidates filed to run.

 

Seattle is the largest city in Washington and the 21st-largest city in the U.S. by population. Seattle Public Schools served 54,215 students during the 2016-2017 school year.