Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce, Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy, just spent more than $307,000 - C is for Crank

[Jim Street]

Some campaign updates as the August 6 primary (and the narrowing of the Seattle City Council elections from dozens of candidates to just 14) approaches…

1. As I reported on Twitter last weekend, the political action committee for the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce, Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy, just spent more than $307,000 on mail, canvassing, literature, and direct mail for its endorsed candidates in all seven city council races.

But the bulk of the money—$260,350—went to three candidates: Lisa Herbold challenger Phillip Tavel, who ran for the same position in 2015 and didn’t make it through the primary ($77,750); former Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce leader Egan Orion, who’s challenging Kshama Sawant ($107,400); and Seattle Police Department  crime prevention coordinator Mark Solomon, who’s running for the seat being vacated by Bruce Harrell, where community organizer Tammy Morales is the presumed frontrunner ($75,200).

The Chamber’s PAC is spending smaller amounts of money on the other five candidates the group endorsed in June: former Tim Burgess aide Alex Pedersen, running in Northeast Seattle’s District 4; Debora Juarez, the incumbent in North Seattle’s District 5; ex-council member Heidi Wills and physician Jay Fathi, both running for Northwest Seattle’s District 6; and former Seattle police chief Jim Pugel and commercial real estate consultant Michael George,  running to represent downtown, Queen Anne, and Magnolia in District 7.