Election Day in WA: Are we about to cross the political event horizon?

Today is election day in Seattle, King County, and across Washington state. I can’t help feeling we’re about to cross the event horizon.

In physics, that’s the point around a black hole where nothing, not even light, can escape, like entering Costco on sample day. You think you’re in control, but forces beyond your comprehension are pulling you toward the frozen foods section.

Seattle seems headed toward its own political event horizon tonight.

Four years ago, voters here said enough. Enough of defunding police while crime spiked. Enough of armed militants taking over six city blocks while our mayor called it “the summer of love.” Enough of city prosecutors refusing to charge some misdemeanors because laws were suddenly … oppressive. Voters chose pragmatism over ideology.

Since then, we’ve made baby steps forward. More officers hired. Property crimes prosecuted. Public drug use is acknowledged as actually being a problem. For moderates, Mayor Harrell’s center-left approach still wasn’t enough, but at least it was a movement toward normalcy.

What will tonight’s election hold?

We keep telling ourselves we’ll be disciplined at the election Costco this time, then a new political sample station pops up and we can’t resist.

Katie Wilson and others like her on ballots across the city, county, and region: they are good people who genuinely care about this place. But if they win, and polls suggest they might, their victories would represent a complete rejection of four years of cautious governance. Their incumbent opponents could still pull it out, but the momentum feels one-directional.

This is Seattle’s equal and opposite reaction to President Trump’s return to power. The stronger his grip nationally, the further left this city swings. Voters in around here are making a statement: We are the opposite of that.

I get it. They feel Trump’s brute-force approach to governance represents everything Seattle stands against. People want their city to reflect their values of compassion and inclusion. When the country goes one way, Seattle goes the other way, harder.

But once we cross this event horizon, the incremental gains we saw over the past few years may disappear. The acknowledgment that we need a fully-staffed police department, one that’s accountable, follows the rules, and actually shows up when called. That public safety matters. That businesses need protection. That parks belong to everyone. That compassion without accountability isn’t actually compassionate.

If Wilson wins here while Zohran Mamdani takes New York City in tonight’s expected landslide, Trump gets his perfect foils: Two major American cities electing self-proclaimed socialist leaders who embrace rent control, want to reimagine policing, and believe enforcement itself perpetuates inequality. Wilson and Mamdani on the same night? That’s the kind of moment FOX News producers live for.

The pendulum in Seattle never stops in the middle. Four years ago, we swung toward moderation and pragmatism. Tonight, maybe back toward ideology.

But cross that event horizon, and gravity takes over. You don’t get to change your mind. You just get pulled toward whatever’s on the other side.

The event horizon is right there. We can see it. We know what’s on the other side because we’ve been there before. And here we go anyway, Costco sample cup in hand.

That’s the commentary for Nov. 4. Text us at (888) 973-5476 or leave a comment at MyNorthwest.

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