This year residents of Seattle will vote for City Council candidates by geographic district. This measure, passed by voters in 2013, has brought forth forty-seven different candidates running for the nine council seats. In total, there are 62 candidates running for Seattle and King County offices.
With ballots for the August 4 primary election arriving in your mailbox this week, The Seattle Channel is launching the 2015 primary election Video Voters’ Guide.
The non-partisan video guide offers candidates on the primary ballot up to two minutes to issue a prepared statement that outlines the key planks of their platform. The segments are unedited and published online and broadcast on local television. In all, the guide features video statements from 62 candidates for Seattle and King County elected offices. Only positions where three or more candidates filed will appear on the primary ballot.
The Video Voters’ Guide is available on Seattle Channel’s website at www.seattlechannel.org/elections. For easy reference, the candidate statements are organized by race.
“The Video Voters’ Guide is a unique and valuable public resource. It allows voters to hear directly from the candidates in a noncommercial, unmoderated and unedited environment,” said John Giamberso, Seattle Channel’s general manager. “Working with our partners, we’re pleased to provide this comprehensive set of candidate statements which offers another vantage point for voters. The guide brings to life the candidates and the issues in a convenient format.”
The Video Voters’ Guide features candidates who will appear on the primary ballot for Seattle City Council and Seattle School Board. Seven City Council members will be elected by district, with two others elected citywide. That means city voters will vote for three City Council members: one to represent the district they live in and two to represent the city at large.
The guide also features candidates who will appear on the primary ballot for seats on the Port of Seattle Commission and director of the King County Department of Elections.
The Video Voters’ Guide is also airing on Seattle Channel cable channel 21 and King County TV cable channel 22.
The two-minute video statements from candidates running for Seattle City Council are also featured in Seattle CityClub’s Living Voters Guide (www.livingvotersguide.org), a non-partisan, community-generated online voters’ guide that offers a space for online discussion.
Primary ballots must be postmarked or returned to a ballot drop box by 8 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Before the Nov. 3 general election, a revised version of the Video Voters’ Guide will be available. The revised guide will feature candidates appearing on the November general election ballot and statements regarding ballot issues.
The Video Voters’ Guide is a project of Seattle Channel, Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission and King County TV.
Seattle Channel is a local TV station that reflects, informs and inspires the community it serves. Seattle Channel presents programs on cable television – channel 21 on Comcast (321 HD) and Wave (721 HD) – and via the Internet to help residents connect with their city. Programming includes series and special features highlighting the diverse civic and cultural landscape of the Pacific Northwest’s premier city.