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Progressive challenger Katie Wilson now leads incumbent Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell by a razor-thin 91-vote margin after another batch of votes were counted Monday. Wilson appears well-positioned to pull off a dramatic comeback from a deficit of more than 11,000 votes in early results.

On the whole, there were bright spots for urbanist candidates all around the region, with major gains seen in Burien, Redmond, and Tacoma. There was also some backsliding in places like Sammamish and Bainbridge Island.

"It's never been more important to have a movement mayor," Seattle mayoral candidate Katie Wilson told supporters Sunday. Multiple speakers portrayed Wilson as a bottom-up, people-powered coalition-builder, who stands in sharp contrast to incumbent Bruce Harrell, who they see as a top-down establishment leader lacking vision for the city.

The Urbanist Elections Committee is excited to announce our 2025 general election endorsements, which span the region from Tacoma to Everett. Be sure to vote by November 4.

Since voters approved West Seattle and Ballard Link in 2016, the two projects have been caught in a perfect storm of factors that led to the eye-popping cost estimates that we have today. While the path forward looks bleak, there are signs that Sound Transit is learning from its mistakes.

Reductions in the size of proposed growth centers and new tree retention rules that could stifle homebuilding were among the dozens of Seattle growth plan amendments approved this week. Council rejected moves to make the plan bolder in a number of areas, fretting over the risk of legal appeals.

Costs are going up on all Sound Transit 3 projects, with West Seattle Link now expected to cost up to $7.9 billion, Everett Link $7.7 billion, and Ballard Link more than $20 billion. Sound Transit has been able to identify cost-saving opportunities in Everett, but Seattle is in a tough position.

Work to close the 20-25% funding gap announced Thursday will likely have far-reaching implications on everything from system expansion projects to how Sound Transit delivers current service. The coming months will likely see assumptions long thought settled back on the table.