May 16, 2025

Candidate filings indicate that 2025 will have many important contests

With the conclusion of the candidate filing period on May 9, we are fairly confident that 2025 will be another interesting year in local politics – especially in King County where not only are many important county and city positions on the ballot, but voters will also decide eight special state legislature contests.

King County voters will be electing a new county executive for the first time since 2009 after former Executive Dow Constantine was chosen CEO of Sound Transit by a board he appointed himself as county executive. (His new position comes with a compensation package that will cost taxpayers more than $6 million.0 Eight candidates have filed for Constantine’s old “non-partisan” job.

Five of the nine King County council positions are on the 2025 ballot.

Nearly all King County communities will have at least half of their city council positions on the ballot and 14 cities (including Auburn, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, and Seattle) will be electing mayors.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is hoping to end the streak of five mayors to depart the office against their own wishes. Mayors Paul Schell, Greg Nichols, and Mike McGinn were thrown out by voters, Ed Murray resigned due to sexual allegations, and Jenny Durkan chose not to run for re-election after her disastrous handling of the violent 2020 riots. Nine candidates have filed to become the mayor of Washington’s largest city.

Recent polls indicate that Seattle voters strongly support the more practical approach of the recent city council over the more radical method used by the previous councilmembers Kshama Sawant, Lisa Herbold, and Lorena Gonzalez. Two At-Large council positions and one district-based contest (2^nd District in SE Seattle) will test if these poll numbers translate to election victories.

Along with the mayor and the two at-large council seats, city-wide voters will also be deciding who will be the city attorney for the next four years: incumbent Ann Davison or one of three challengers.

Important school board elections are also occurring in King County, including Seattle Public Schools, where four of seven seats are up for grabs. The district faces serious challenges from its policies dictated by the powerful teachers’ unions: falling test scores, declining enrollment, and a budget deficit caused by a recent teachers’ contract (obtained through an illegal strike) which could force schools to close and the elimination of student programs. The dysfunctional district continues to have leadership problems as it is currently seeking its fourth superintendent in seven years.

Eight of the nine special elections for Washington State Senate and House will take place in King County. Most of these races are due to new Washington Governor Bob Ferguson appointing members of the legislature to high-paying cabinet level positions. Much attention will be focused on the 5^th LD (SE King County) where recently appointed Victoria Hunt (after Senator Bill Ramos suddenly died in April) will be challenged by Republican Chad Magendanz, who lost the 2024 contest for the position by just a couple percentage points.

The one legislative race outside of King County will be the very hotly contested state senate race in the 26^th Legislative District which includes portions of Kitsap and Pierce counties, where Republican Representative Michelle Caldier is hoping to unseat Senator Deb Krishnadasan who was appointed to the position earlier this year

Here are the lists of candidates (with a link to their campaign website where available) running for City of Seattle, King County, and Washington State offices.