SEATTLE (AP) — Mayor Paul Schell, whose four years in office were tarnished by riots and the departure of Boeing's headquarters for Chicago, fell short in his bid for a second term with a third-place finish in the mayoral primary.
Schell is the first Seattle mayor to lose a re-election bid in 45 years.
With 97 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday, King County Council member Greg Nickels had 21,715 votes, or 34 percent. City Attorney Mark Sidran had 20,647 votes, or 33 percent, and Schell had 13,803 votes, or 22 percent. Nine other candidates trailed the top three finishers.
By getting the two highest vote totals, Sidran and Nickels advanced to the general election Nov. 6. Schell, Nickels and Sidran are all Democrats in this liberal city of 563,000.