All Four Progressive Burien City Council Candidates Are Toppling "Burien Proud, Burien First" in Latest Ballot Drop

From left: Burien City Council Member Nancy Tosta, candidate Jimmy Matta, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, candidate Krystal Marx, and candidate Pedro Olguin. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PRAMILA JAYAPAL CAMPAIGN

Wow. In a stunning reversal of earlier ballot drops, it now looks like all four progressive Burien City Council candidates—those who support the city's sanctuary ordinance—are toppling candidates in the conservative "Burien Proud, Burien First" camp.

The biggest news out of the latest drop is that candidate Pedro Olguin, a Teamsters leader and activist for immigrant rights, is now leading candidate Joel Manning, who has said that he would not have voted in favor of the city's sanctuary city ordinance, but would leave it in place. Between the last ballot drop and now, Olguin was down by 131 votes, and is now up over Manning by 150.

Jimmy Matta, a labor leader born to undocumented farmworker parents in Preston, Idaho, has also widened his lead over incumbent Debi Wagner, who contributed money to Respect Washington's sanctuary repeal effort. Yesterday, he edged over her lead by a slim 33 votes, and today he's up by 239.

In the other two races, Burien Proud, Burien First candidate Darla Green already conceded to incumbent Nancy Tosta, and progressive Krystal Marx is leading her opponent by more than five percent of the vote.