Who will be the next Seattle mayor? Durkan, Moon to face off

Two mayoral candidates from the summer primary will have under 100 days to prove themselves to voters as the November general election nears on Nov. 7.

In new results released Monday, former U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan kept her place as the front-runner in the Seattle mayoral primary election with 28 percent of votes. Urban planner Cary Moon maintained her lead over attorney Nikkita Oliver, but they are now within 2,000 votes of each other.

Incumbent Seattle Mayor Ed  Murray announced in May that he would not seek re-election amid a lawsuit that claimed he sexually abused a homeless, drug-addicted teen in the 1980s. Since his announcement, the filings for mayoral candidate grew to 21, a daunting list that voters saw on their summer ballot.

>> Read about all candidates who ran in the primary here.

But only two candidates will go to the November election. After several rounds of the election commission counting mail-in ballots, results show – as of Monday – Durkan and Moon will be the two names on the November ballot.

Here’s what to know about Durkan and Moon.

Jenny Durkan

Durkan earned her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law and served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington under President Barack Obama from October 2009 through September 2014.

At her election-night party in early August, she listed some of the issues important to her campaign.

"I think that we have to address the issue of homelessness. And we have to address the issue of (housing) affordability. Too many people are being locked out of this city or displaced," she said

While Durkan and her supporters are excited about her finish, it’s better than many expected. How will she persuade the nearly 70 percent of voters who chose someone else?

“Just listen, listen as much as I talk, because this really is what the future of Seattle is -- what people want and how we get to that city that is as wonderful for the next generation as it was for me,” she said.

>> As the campaign trail continues into November, you can get alerts on big breaking news or developing stories on the mayor’s race by downloading our app here.

KIRO 7 News talked to Durkan about her solutions to homelessness and traffic.

Cary Moon

Moon is an urban planner and engineer best known for her activism against the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel. She is a member of – but currently on a leave of absence from – the board of directors of the Progress Alliance and the One Center City Advisory Board.

"This is an unusually crowded primary, with Seattle voters and candidates flooding forums, town halls, blogs and living rooms with new ideas, visions and energy towards solving the challenges facing our city," Moon said in a statement after the first round of results.

"Seattle's voters won't let the future of our city be sunk by status quo thinking and politics as usual. There is too much at stake. We look forward to the next few days of returns from King County elections."

When we talked to Moon about her campaign, she cited traffic congestion, expensive rents, and surging homelessness as some of the city's biggest challenges. Read or watch the interview here.

RELATED SEATTLE MAYORAL RACE CONTENT:

• VIDEO: Jenny Durkan interview
• VIDEO: Cary Moon interview
• VIDEO: Jessyn Farrell interview
• VIDEO: Interview with Bob Hasegawa

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