A Quick Election Round-Up

Now that all the dust has finally settled from our elections, it is time to take a look back see what the results means to us as Sonics Fans. First up we have the race for Mayor of Seattle where State Senator Ed Murray defeated Incumbent Mike McGinn. Senator Murray has said repeatedly that he is in favor of the MOU and for the returning of the Sonics back to Seattle. While the man in the office has changed it appears the vision in the office is the same. For us Sonics fans this is a good thing.

The most interesting race was the one the saw Socialist candidate Kshama Savant unseating long time incumbent Richard Conlin. Propelled by the $15 an hour initiative she has made quite a splash in local politics and has even made national headlines. The guys at SonicsGate gave her an enthusiastic endorsement. She has not officially committed endorsing the MOU and the arena plan yet. Conlin was an NO vote so on the face of it, it seems like a positive, because there is at least a chance for change. The other Council races saw no changes with Arena yes votes, with O'Brien and Bagshaw winning along with arena no vote Licata.

Countywide County Executive Dow Constantine cruised to an easy victory, which is great news for us as Sonics fans because has he has been our champion from the very beginning of this process. There was no change in any of the individual County Council races. While they all didn't vote for us the first time, by the end of the process they were all on board. So this bodes well for us Sonics faithful. One of the things we must recognize is the MOU is only a little over a year old. This means we have just slightly under 4 years to get the SODO arena done under the current MOU. We all knew when this process started it would be a marathon and not a sprint, it will take time. It will also take a new NBA Commissioner who once said "Expansion is on the table." It will also take thoughtful consideration by the elected officials who want the best for their city and county. I for one want to hold these officials to the statements they made about bringing the Sonics back. If we all work together, this can happen.