Updated after most recent vote count on Nov. 15, 3:38 pm.
Incumbent Dave Upthegrove will hold on to his King County Council position for District 5 against challenger Shukri Olow.
Upthegrove had 63.93% (25,547 votes)
Olow received 34.75% (13,888 votes).
Voter turnout so far was 32.39% of registered voters with 43,288 votes counted.
Olow is a community organizer who has served on several boards, including Kent Youth and Family Services, Kent YMCA, One America Votes and the Somali Health Board. She got her undergraduate and master’s degree at Seattle University where she studied Public Affairs and Public Administration. She currently works for the county as a Youth Development Lead for the Best Starts for Kids program.
Her stated priorities include: building affordable housing as a human right, and increasing tenant protections to prevent housing instability and displacement that she believes disproportionately burdens households of color and low-income families; bending the legal system toward justice by investing in alternatives to incarceration through a public health response to social safety; investing in public health and human services to provide mental health and trauma-informed care to our communities reeling from the COVID-19 crisis; and supporting small businesses overlooked by federal and local pandemic assistance to fully recover from the economic downturn.
“If elected, it will not just be my voice on the King County Council. It will be yours. It will be the voices of all residents looking to be heard and valued by our democracy,” she said via written statement.
Her endorsements include King County Democrats, Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund, SEIU 775, 925, & 1199NW, OneAmerica Votes, Alliance for Gun Responsibility, The Urbanist, Transit Riders Union; Elected leaders, including State Representatives Debra Entenman, David Hackney, Jamila Taylor and Kirsten Harris-Talley, Burien Deputy Mayor Krystal Marx, Tukwila City Councilmember Cynthia Delostrinos Johnson, Highline School Board Director Fa’izah Bradford, among others.
Upthegrove is the incumbent, and a former 33rd District State Representative.
Some of his stated political priorities include public safety, economic recovery following the pandemic as well as accountability and transparency within government.
“The solutions to homelessness, public safety and our economy aren’t going to come from Seattle,” Upthegrove said via written statement. “They will come from those of us here in South King County working together to solve problems. These are serious times, and I will use my experience and proven leadership to fight for our community and deliver results. Nobody will work harder for South King County. I would be honored to earn your vote.”
His endorsements include: King County Democrats, King County Labor Council, Sierra Club, Teachers (WEA), Nurses (SEIU 1199), Firefighters (IAFF), Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Congressman Adam Smith, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Senators Karen Keiser and Bob Hasegawa, Representatives David Hackney, Tina Orwall, Pat Sullivan, Sharon Tomiko-Santos, and Joe Fitzgibbon, Renton Mayor Armando Pavone, Renton City Council President Ruth Perez, Renton Councilmember Ed Prince, Kent City Councilmembers Satwinder Kaur and Brenda Fincher, and other local and state leaders.
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