Podcast | What’s at stake in Seattle’s City Council races

With 45 candidates vying for a district seat, a lot could shift this fall. Crosscut reporter Josh Cohen talks it through.

Photo of two men at a dais

Seattle city councilmembers Alex Pederson, left, and Dan Strauss attend a meeting. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

Seattle is set for a municipal election that will see big changes as dozens of candidates discuss the biggest issues the city faces.

Crosscut city reporter Josh Cohen recently spoke with campaign consultants, pollsters, pundits, and representatives of big business and labor to get a sense of what’s at stake in this election and what voters might want.


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Complicating the issues, and the search for solutions, is that the Seattle City Council could face a seismic shift: Four incumbents have announced they will not seek re-election, and a fifth, Teresa Mosqueda, is running for King County Council; if she wins, that will leave her seat open too.

For this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Sara Bernard talks with Cohen about what exactly voters might choose in November. While the Council has almost always been left-of-center, and is likely to remain so, the possibility of change leaves plenty of room for speculation.

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