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August 7, 2012 Seattle Primary Election
Election Results
Local Results
King County Elections
Statewide
Secretary of State
Seattle Ballot Issues
Seattle City Council
Seattle Mayor
Seattle City Attorney
There are no regularly scheduled elections for Seattle City Council, Mayor or City Attorney in 2012. The next regularly scheduled elections for City Council, Mayor and City Attorney are in 2013.
State and Federal Offices and Ballot Issues
Other Local Ballot Issues and Candidates
At King County Elections website:
Candidates on the Primary Ballot
Ballot Issues on the Primary Ballot
2013 Seattle Election
Offices on the 2013 ballot in Seattle (and the incumbent):
- Mayor (McGinn)
- City Attorney (Holmes)
- City Council Position 2 (Conlin)
- City Council Position 4 (Bagshaw)
- City Council Position 6 (Licata)
- City Council Position 8 (O'Brien)
Voter Registration, Polling Places & Absentee Ballots
King County Records & Elections administers the voting process for Seattle City Offices and City Ballot Issues. All inquiries regarding the following subjects should be directed to them:
Links are here...
King County Records and Elections
Another source of information on this subject is the Washington Secretary of State, they can be found at...
The Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission is responsible for administering Campaign Finance regulations and the Voters' Pamphlet for Seattle campaigns, not the actual voting process.
Seattle Form of Government
Seattle is a Charter City with a Mayor-Council form of government. The Mayor is directly elected by the voters and most executive departments report to the Mayor. There are nine City Councilmembers, all of whom are elected at-large. The only other elected position is the City Attorney, who is also elected at-large. The regular term of all offices is four years.
Candidates for these offices must be U.S. Citizens, registered voters in the City of Seattle at the time they file their declaration of candidacy, and able to read and write the English language.
All City office elections are non-partisan, which means the top two vote-getters in the primary election are placed on the general election ballot. This is true regardless of whether or not one candidate received a majority of the primary vote. If two people or less file declarations of candidacy for any of these offices, that office does not appear on the primary election ballot, but does appear on the general election ballot. Parties do not nominate candidates to appear on the ballot and the ballots do not identify the candidates by party. Parties can and do endorse and support certain candidates, but play no other role in nominating candidates or determining who is placed on the primary or general election ballot.
Ballot issues may appear on your ballot in the primary, general or special election. Those issues are decided in the election where they appear.
Districts, Wards and Precincts
The offices of Mayor, City Attorney and City Council are all elected at-large in Seattle, there are no districts or wards.
To see Federal and State Legislative District maps, and Voting Precinct maps:
Proposition 1
Simple Majority (RCW 84.55.050)
Proposition No. 1
Regular Tax Levy Including Seattle Public Libraries
The City of Seattle's Proposition 1 concerns supporting, maintaining and improving core Library Services.
This proposition would increase library collections, support library hours and services, update technology and maintain library facilities, as provided in Ordinance 123851. It authorizes regular property taxes above RCW 84.55 limits, allowing additional 2013 collection of up to $17,000,000 (approximately $0.15/$1,000 assessed value) and up to $122,630,099 over seven years. In 2013, total City taxes collected would not exceed $3.60 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Should this levy be approved?
Yes
No
Those in favor shall vote “Yes”; those opposed shall mark their ballots “No”.
Proposition 1
Seattle Proposition 1 approves a property tax increase totaling $122,630,099 over seven years. The levy is limited so that the City shall not levy more than $17,000,000 in the first year and the levy amount cannot grow by more than 1% per year. The taxes raised would provide funding for operations, major maintenance and capital improvements for the Seattle Public Library. Section 5 of the levy ordinance states that “Levy investments will be made in the following four categories of Library Services”:
1. Hours and Access. For example, major program elements may include supporting operating hours at the neighborhood branches and Central Library, and providing support for in-person reference services.
2. Collections. For example, major program elements may include providing variety and depth in the Library’s collections with new titles in print and other formats, increasing the size and quality of the digital collection, and making local history resources more widely available through digitization.
3. Technology. For example, major program elements may include replacements and upgrades to the Library’s public computer inventory and online resources, including user-focused improvements to the catalog and public website.
4. Maintenance. For example, major program elements may include enhanced resources to provide regular care and major maintenance, such as repair or replacement of structural elements and building systems, for the Library’s heavily-used buildings as they age, to prolong their useful life and ensure they are clean, safe and welcoming.
These major program elements are illustrative examples. The levy funds will be spent in accordance with the annual City budget process for each year of the levy. The City Librarian and Library Board shall submit to the Mayor and City Council the funding and expenditure plan that will support, maintain and improve the core library services identified in the categories above. Each year the Library Board shall adopt an annual operations plan and capital budget.
Proposition 1 would authorize the collection of more property taxes than would otherwise be allowed by the limits imposed under the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Chapter 84.55. That state law generally limits the annual increase in property tax revenue to 1% over the highest amount that the City could have received in one of the three most recent years. Proposition 1 lifts that lid on property taxes.
The taxes authorized by Proposition 1are in addition to those collected under the limits of RCW 84.55 or any other authorized levy lid lifts. In the first year of collection (2013), the additional tax rate associated with the tax increase authorized by Proposition 1 for any property owner would be approximately 15 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value. The City’s total regular property-tax rate would not exceed the state-law rate limit of $3.60 per $1,000 of assessed value. Taxes levied in 2019 for collection in 2020, and later tax levies, would be calculated as if Proposition 1 had not been passed.
Proposition 1
YES for SEATTLE LIBRARIES!
Seattle’s neighborhood and downtown libraries are a treasured resource for all of us. We must keep them, open, accessible and maintain our world class collection of materials—from archives to e-books, children’s collections to computers.
The recession, compounded by caps on revenue following Eyman tax cut initiatives, have resulted in real cuts to library hours and services. With more cuts on the horizon, we have the opportunity to step up and make an investment in our libraries with a YES vote on Seattle Proposition 1.
LET’S KEEP LIBRARIES OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE— TO ALL
All of us should have access to what the Library can offer. The Seattle Public Library system is the one public institution that is open to all people regardless of age, economic status, or social class. We can’t allow branches to close or hours to be cut. Staffing levels, maintenance, collections or technology upgrades should not fall behind more than they already have.
Without this Levy, the ability of our libraries to serve every neighborhood is in jeopardy. Another year of budget cuts could mean cuts equal to closing five branch libraries—at a time when more and more people are using our libraries.
Our libraries are an increasingly important destination for kids. With statewide education cuts and tighter funding at Seattle Schools, our libraries are needed as a safe, nurturing place to study, do school related research, or receive extra tutoring after school. Without this levy, cuts in hours and technology threaten access and services Seattle kids deserve.
NEIGHBORHOOD INVESTMENTS WORTH PROTECTING
We must maintain the whole system. In 1998, voters overwhelmingly passed a measure that funded construction of the new Downtown Main Library, four new branches, and renovated all existing Library branches. These levy funds will protect and maintain one of the finest library systems in the country.
With your vote, these funds will be put to immediate, positive use. The current policy of shutting down the entire system for one week each summer will end; hours would be added to branch libraries; and, all 26 branches and the main Library downtown will be open on Sundays.
Neighborhood libraries are a critical part of our quality of life, providing study space, meeting facilities, materials for personal and professional growth, and educational programs that build great communities.
Please join leaders and organizations throughout Seattle in support of our Libraries!
Norm Rice, former Mayor;
Eric Liu, education leader and past Library Board President;
Virginia Anderson, former Seattle Center Director
Contact Information:
www.YesSeattleLibraries.com
PO Box 21681, Seattle, WA 98111
Info@yesseattlelibraries.com
No to this tax increase. Yes to higher priority from regular funds.
To force another tax increase, the Mayor and City Council are cutting Library funding. We must reject the scare tactics and insist that the Library get more in the regular budget. The City collects almost $1 billion/year in regular revenue. It can afford to fully fund the Library, one of its smallest departments.
The Library needs full, regular funding, not this levy which moves it away from financial stability. The levy ordinance is temporary and lacks accountability. It doesn’t require increased hours, or even exclude reduced hours or closed branches. It frees the Mayor and Council to divert the Library’s regular funds to other uses.
Stop the game-playing. Let’s get started on a real solution to this manufactured crisis. Our Library is too important not to fund it fully from the regular budget.
Rick Barrett (campaigner for the Libraries for All bond issue; library cardholder since 1938)
Suzie Burke (business owner and resident; 10 library cards in the family)
Chris Leman (Treasurer, Seattle Community Council Federation)
Background: http://SavetheLibrary.wordpress.com.
Positions listed for identification purposes only.
Contact Information:
Not Submitted
Proposition 1
Stop City officials from playing games with our libraries, which need regular funding, not this temporary, unaccountable levy
A core public service that we all treasure, Seattle’s libraries are being starved by the Mayor and City Council. Revenues are increasing, but they manufactured a crisis to scare voters into approving this $122.6 million ($17 million+/year) property tax increase.
Ballot measures should be used for infrequent capital projects or for unavoidable emergencies, not for ongoing operations. Operations should be funded from the regular budget, our City’s statement of its true priorities. This levy is temporary and moves our Library away from the stable funding it had for a century.
And it’s the least accountable levy proposed to voters in years. The levy ordinance (it’s in this pamphlet) governs. Officials refused to include any commitment to maintain libraries’ regular funding (now $51 million/year); increase hours, services, and technology (didn’t even promise not to cut them); or empower an oversight committee to protect branch funding from diversion to the downtown library.
When the libraries needed reconstruction, voters rejected a similarly lax measure, forcing the Mayor and City Council to craft “Libraries for All” with accountability which this levy sorely lacks, and voters passed it in 1998. But the lesson was forgotten.
Only if we say “no” to this levy will officials produce a package that empowers the Library, not themselves. Passage encourages their cutting of its regular funds, to be diverted to purposes they’re afraid to put before the voters, like bailing out the mismanaged City pension fund’s $1 billion deficit.
People are struggling in a tough economy, and property taxes are already high, with more billions coming to the ballot for the Youth Justice Center; Medic One; Seawall; Schools; and renewal of the parks, transportation, and housing levies. Can you afford it?
To save the Library, join us in insisting on real financial security, not holding it hostage for a tax increase. Stop the Mayor and City Council from playing games with this cherished institution, and from cutting its regular funding. Reject this temporary levy, and let’s work together to ensure full Library funding in the regular budget.
Rick Barrett (campaigner for the Libraries for All bond issue; library cardholder since 1938)
Suzie Burke (business owner and resident; 10 library cards in the family)
Chris Leman (Treasurer, Seattle Community Council Federation)
Background: http://SavetheLibrary.wordpress.com.
Positions listed for identification purposes only.
Contact Information:
Not Submitted
The cuts suffered by our libraries are real-- and only getting worse.
From staffing levels to collections; routine and long term maintenance; technology upgrades and branch library hours -- we can't afford to fall behind anymore than we already have.
Libraries are an essential service, but as the City budget shrinks, every department has sacrificed-- our libraries are not exempt from revenue loss.
The impacts of these cuts are felt in every neighborhood, by kids, seniors, and families. With a Yes vote, all 26 branches and downtown will benefit: longer hours, more materials, needed safety and maintenance upgrades.
All of us should have access to our Seattle Public Libraries, an essential part of our quality of life. Please Vote Yes!
Norm Rice, former Mayor;
Eric Liu, education leader and past Library Board President;
Virginia Anderson, former Seattle Center Director
Contact Information:
www.YesSeattleLibraries.com
PO Box 21681, Seattle, WA 98111
Info@yesseattlelibraries.com
Proposition 1
Council Bill Number: 117425
Ordinance Number: 123851
AN ORDINANCE relating to regular property taxes; requesting that a special election be held concurrent with the August 7, 2012, general election for submission to the qualified electors of the City a proposition to lift the limit on regular property taxes under Chapter 84.55 RCW and authorize the City to levy additional taxes for up to seven years for the purpose of supporting, maintaining and improving core public library services; authorizing creation of a new subfund; ratifying and confirming certain prior acts; and providing for effective dates.
WHEREAS, The Seattle Public Library (Library) was established in 1890 and since that time has served as a free source of information and a community gathering place for residents of Seattle and the region; and
WHEREAS, in 1998 Seattle voters overwhelmingly supported the Libraries for All bond measure, which made Library services more accessible throughout the City by supporting the construction of four branch libraries in communities without library service, the replacement or renovation of 22 existing branches and the development of a new downtown Central Library; and
WHEREAS, the successful implementation of Libraries for All has contributed to a tremendous growth in Library usage; in 2011 the Library recorded 6,700,000 in-person patron visits system-wide, circulated over 11,000,000 items and hosted 1,500,000 public internet sessions; and
WHEREAS, the Library provides residents with access to an array of free services and programming, including computer and job search classes, tax preparation help and citizenship classes and introduces Seattle to local and world-renowned authors through author readings and book discussion groups; and
WHEREAS, the Library is an important partner in the education of Seattle's youth through crucial literacy activities for young children, homework help, programs to encourage reading over summer vacation, teen activities, partnerships with teachers and schools, and other vital services; and
WHEREAS, the Library's public computers and wireless network provide free computer and internet access for Seattle residents, and Library staff are available to helpresidents to find, evaluate and use information; and
WHEREAS, the Library's mobile services bring books and other materials to seniors and other residents who may lack the mobility to access their neighborhood branch library; and
WHEREAS, the Library has no dedicated funding source to keep operating budgets stable or keep pace with increasing maintenance costs; and
WHEREAS, about 95 percent of the Library's 2012 operating budget is supported by the City's General Fund; and
WHEREAS, the Library's 2012 capital budget is primarily supported by the City's General Fund and Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) revenues; and
WHEREAS, the City applies a 0.5 percent REET to all real estate sales transactions in Seattle, and because the amount of revenue that the City receives from REET is determined by both the volume and value of these transactions, the Library's capital budget is similarly subject to this volatility; and
WHEREAS, the weakening of the national and local economies in recent years has affected City revenues and placed significant spending pressures on the General Fund and REET; and
WHEREAS, the Library's heavy reliance on the General Fund and REET makes it particularly vulnerable to the constraints on the growth of these revenue sources; and
WHEREAS, the Library's reliance on the City's General Fund and REET places it in competition for funding with other city priorities, and
WHEREAS, as a result of constraints on the City's General Fund, the entire Library system has been closed for one week every year since 2009, Library employees have taken an unpaid furlough of one week every year since 2009, fifteen of the 26 neighborhood branch libraries are currently closed two days per week and the Library's collections budget has been cut by more than 13 percent since 2009; and
WHEREAS, the Library's capital budget has been cut by 50 percent since 2009 as a result of constraints on the City's General Fund and REET revenues; and
WHEREAS, the City's financial situation is not expected to significantly improve within the next three to four years and further reductions in General Fund support for the Library appear to be unavoidable; and
WHEREAS, the Library has already restructured to gain efficiencies, so further reductions related to the anticipated 2013 General Fund shortfall would have a significant impact on Library services; and
WHEREAS, the City Council may not increase regular property taxes by more than one percent per year without a vote of the people; and
WHEREAS, levy proceeds support library system operations in other jurisdictions, including Port Townsend, Washington, and Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon; and
WHEREAS, in response to a 2010 Statement of Legislative Intent (2010 SLI 95-1-A-1), the Library, City Council and Mayor reviewed and considered alternative funding sources that could be used to support the Library's operations; and
WHEREAS, the Library, City Council and Mayor identified a property tax levy lid lift as the revenue source that could most feasibly be used in combination with the City's General Fund and REET support; and
WHEREAS, during 2010-11 the Library developed a Strategic Plan based on an extensive public engagement process, using a series of open houses, public forums, an advisory committee and a community survey that generated nearly 33,000 responses; and
WHEREAS, in early 2012 the Library held three public forums and conducted an online survey in order to help identify and prioritize the Library services that levy proceeds could be used to support, maintain and improve; and
WHEREAS, the Library worked with the City Council and Mayor to consider the levels of funding that would be required to support, maintain and improve core Library services; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City Council and Mayor to continue to provide General Fund and REET support to the Library at 2012 service levels, adjusted proportionately based on increases or decreases to such support for comparable City departments; and
WHEREAS, the City Charter authorizes the Library Board to oversee the Library's annual operating and capital budgets; and
WHEREAS, the Library Board recognizes the need for additional revenue to support, maintain and improve core Library services, understands the current constraints on the City's General Fund and REET revenues and, therefore, supports a property tax levy lid lift that would provide the Library with a new revenue source that could be used in combination with General Fund and REET; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Findings. The City Council makes the following findings and declarations:
A. A strong Library system supports the economic, educational and cultural vitality of the City and helps to foster an informed community;
B. Libraries are anchor institutions in Seattle neighborhoods; and
C. A new dedicated and stable source of funding would diversify the Library's existing funding base. A stable source of funding, in combination with the City's General Fund and REET revenue, is needed if the Library is to continue to provide the operating hours, collections, services, technology and programs valued by Seattle residents, and preserve the recent capital investments in Library buildings that were supported by Libraries for All.
Section 2. Definitions. The following terms, when used and capitalized in this ordinance, shall have definitions stated below:
A. "City" means the City of Seattle.
B. "Library Services" means the programs, services, capital improvements and administration referred to in Section 5, with such modifications as the City Council may from time to time authorize by ordinance.
C. "Library Board" means the board of trustees of the Library, a five-member body appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council, with exclusive control of the finances of the Library under RCW Chapter 27.12.210 and sole authority to expend the Library Fund under Article XII of the Seattle City Charter, consistent with the annual appropriation of funds by the City Council.
D. "Proceeds" means that portion of regular property taxes levied and collected as authorized by voter approval pursuant to this ordinance that are above the limits on levies provided for in RCW 84.55.010, and all interest and other earnings derived from that portion of the levy.
Section 3. Levy of Regular Property Taxes -- Submittal. The City hereby submits to the qualified electors of the City a proposition as authorized by RCW 84.55.050 to exceed the levy limitation on regular property taxes contained in Chapter 84.55 RCW, as it now exists or may hereafter be amended, for property taxes levied in 2012 through 2018 for collection in 2013 through 2019, respectively, raising up to $122,630,099 in aggregate over a period of up to seven years. The proposition shall be limited so that the City shall not levy more than $17,000,000 in the first year, in addition to the maximum amount of regular property taxes it would have been limited to by RCW 84.55.010 in the absence of voter approval under this ordinance, plus other authorized lid lifts. Proceeds shall be used to provide operational and capital funding to the Library. Pursuant to RCW 84.55.050(4), the maximum regular property taxes that may be levied in 2019 for collection in 2020 and in later years shall be computed as if the levy lid in RCW 84.55.010 had not been lifted under this ordinance.
Section 4. Application of Levy Proceeds. Unless otherwise directed by ordinance, Proceeds shall be deposited in the Library Levy Fund. The Director of Finance and Administrative Services, or the Director's designee, is authorized to create subfunds or accounts within the Library Levy Fund as may be needed or appropriate to implement the purposes of this ordinance. Proceeds may be temporarily deposited or invested in such manner as may be lawful for the investment of City money, and interest and other earnings shall be used for the same purposes as the Proceeds.
Section 5. Library Services. Levy Proceeds will be used, in combination with the annual budget appropriation of City General Fund and REET to the Library, for Library Services. Levy investments will be made in the following four categories of Library Services:
A. Hours and Access. Major program elements include supporting operating hours at the neighborhood branches and Central Library, and providing support for in-person reference services.
B. Collections. Major program elements include providing variety and depth in the Library's collections with new titles in print and other formats, increasing the size and quality of the digital collection, and making local history resources more widely available through digitization.
C. Technology. Major program elements include replacements and upgrades to the Library's public computer inventory and online resources, including user-focused improvements to the catalog and public website.
D. Maintenance. Major program elements include enhanced resources to provide regular care and major maintenance, such as repair or replacement of structural elements and building systems, for the Library's heavily-used buildings as they age, to prolong their useful life and ensure they are clean, safe and welcoming.
These program elements are illustrative examples. The levy proceeds will be spent in accordance with the annual City budget process for each year of the levy. The City Librarian and Library Board shall submit to the Mayor and City Council the Library Services and funding expenditure plan that will support, maintain and improve the core Library Services identified in this section. Each year the Library Board shall adopt an annual operations plan and capital budget.
Section 6. Reporting. The City Librarian and the Library Board will submit to the City Council, Mayor and citizens of Seattle annual progress reports on the implementation of the levy and how levy Proceeds were used to restore, maintain and improve the core Library Services identified in Section 5. The report shall be due to the City Council and Mayor by no later than March 1 of calendar years 2014 through 2020.
Section 7. Election -- Ballot Title. The City Council directs that the City Clerk file this ordinance with the Director of Elections of King County, Washington, as ex officio supervisor of elections, requesting that the Director of Elections call and conduct a special election in the City in conjunction with the general election to be held on August 7, 2012, for the purpose of submitting to the qualified electors of the City the proposition set forth in this ordinance. The City Clerk is directed to certify to the King County Director of Elections the ballot title approved by the City Attorney in accordance with his responsibilities under RCW 29A.36.071. The following ballot title is submitted to the City Attorney for his consideration:
THE CITY OF SEATTLE
PROPOSITION NUMBER 1
REGULAR TAX LEVY INCLUDING SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARIES
The City of Seattle's Proposition 1 concerns supporting,
maintaining and improving core Library Services.
This proposition would increase library collections,
support library hours and services, update technology and
maintain library facilities, as provided in Ordinance ____.
It authorizes regular property taxes above RCW 84.55 limits,
allowing additional 2013 collection of up to $17,000,000
(approximately $0.15/$1,000 assessed value) and up to
$122,630,099 over seven years. In 2013, total City taxes
collected would not exceed $3.60 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Should this levy be approved?
Yes
No
Those in favor shall vote "Yes"; those opposed shall mark
their ballots "No".
Section 9. Ratification. Certification of such proposition by the City Clerk to the King County Director of Elections in accordance with law prior to the date of such election on August 7, 2012, and any other act consistent with the authority and prior to the effective date of this ordinance, are hereby ratified and confirmed.
Section 10. Severability. In the event any one or more of the provisions of this ordinance shall for any reason be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other provision of this ordinance or the levy of the taxes authorized herein, but this ordinance and the authority to levy those taxes shall be construed and enforced as if such invalid provisions had not been contained herein; and any provision which shall for any reason be held invalid shall be deemed to be in effect to the extent permitted by law.
Section 11. Those portions of this ordinance providing for the submission of a ballot proposition to the voters shall take effect and be in force immediately upon the approval by the Mayor; or if returned to the Council by the Mayor unsigned, then immediately upon its return; or if not approved and returned by the Mayor within 10 days after presentation, then on the 11th day after its presentation to the Mayor; or if vetoed by the Mayor, then immediately after its passage over his veto. All provisions of this ordinance that have not taken effect on an earlier date shall take effect and be in force 30 days from and after the Mayor's approval of this ordinance, but if this ordinance shall not be approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, such provisions shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.
Passed by the City Council the ____ day of ________________________, 2012, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of ___________________, 2012.
_________________________________
President __________of the City Council
Approved by me this ____ day of _____________________, 2012.
_________________________________
Michael McGinn, Mayor
Filed by me this ____ day of __________________________, 2012.
____________________________________
Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)