From the 43rd District Democrats

The 43rd District Democrats’ annual Ballots & Bubbly straw poll on Tuesday saw some heated contests.

The event offered an opportunity for voters and candidates to mingle casually over champagne, soda, and snacks, plus a straw poll to express preferences in those city council and county council races inside the district’s borders.

Each person attending was given seven tickets for straw-poll voting, with additional tickets for sale. For some candidates, supporters dug deep into their pockets to strongly express their choice.

Contests ranged from sedate to red-hot; winning vote totals ranging from 8 to 1,088 votes

County Councilmember Joe McDermott, not facing strong opposition, took all eight votes cast in that race, after the disqualification of two pieces of paper labeled “Russia” cast for perennial candidate Goodspaceguy.

County council incumbents Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Larry Gossett prevailed over their challengers; Kohl-Welles drawing 295 to Abigail Doerr’s 129, and Gossett scoring 276 to Girmay Zahilay’s 56

City council District 7, which has only a small portion of the 43rd, also drew few votes; Andrew Lewis won handily with 60 votes over second-place finisher Michael George, with 8

Several of the fourteen candidates in city council District 6 drew no votes at all; the decisive winner was Jay Fathi with 457 over Melissa Hall’s 192.

City Council District 4 saw the closest race of the evening, with Ethan Hunter drawing 109 votes to pass contenders Emily Myers at 90, Alex Pederson with 86, and Shaun Scott with 85.

The fierce contest of the evening was in city council District 3, where supporters of Egan Orion and Derek DeWolf got in a heated bidding war, stuffing fistfuls of tickets in each ballot box until the final score was Orion’s 1,088 to DeWolf’s 990. Far behind the paid-vote frenzy was Kshama Sawant with a Socialist low-cost 99 votes.

“It’s all in good fun, and the important part of the evening was that everyone had a great time, voters and candidates connecting in a friendly atmosphere while supporting the work of the 43rd. We encourage everyone to attend our endorsements meeting on June 18 to support their favorite candidates” commented 43rd District Democrats Chair Scott Alspach.

The 43rd’s endorsements meeting will be on Tuesday, June 18th at Kane Hall, UW campus. Candidates for nonpartisan office will be eligible for the 43rd’s endorsement regardless of declared party affiliation. In order to vote at the endorsements meeting, prospective members must join the 43rd by June 8th.

The 43rd District Democrat host candidate forums, panels on local issues, and events like Ballots & Bubbly; and promote voter registration and get-out-the-vote canvassing. The 43rd’s next event is a forum for District 4 city council candidates on Saturday, June 8, 12:30 at The Husky Union building, UW campus.

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