2001 Seattle mayoral election

2001 Seattle mayoral election
	November 6, 2001
Mayor before election; Paul Schell; Nonpartisan	Elected Mayor ; Greg Nickels; Nonpartisan

The 2001 Seattle mayoral election took place on November 6, 2001, to select the Mayor of Seattle, Washington. Incumbent Mayor Paul Schell ran for re-election to a second term. Schell faced criticism over his handling of the Mardi Gras riot, the relocation of Boeing's headquarters out of the city, and the 1999 WTO protests.^[1]

In the primary election, Sidran and Nickels placed first and second by a wide margin, with Sidran receiving 34 percent of the vote and Nickels receiving 33 percent. Schell placed a distant third with 22 percent of the vote, becoming the first incumbent Mayor since 1956 to lose re-election.^[2]

The general election was close, and though Nickels narrowly led Sidran on election night, the race was too close to call.^[3] Nickels ultimately defeated Sidran, winning 50 percent of the vote to Sidran's 48 percent, in what was the closest mayoral election since 1912.^[4]

Primary election

Candidates

Mark Sidran, City Attorney^[5]
Greg Nickels, County Councilman, 1997 candidate for Mayor^[6]
Paul Schell, incumbent Mayor^[7]
Charlie Chong, former City Councilman, 1997 candidate for Mayor^[8]
Scott Kennedy, businessman^[9]
Bob Hegamin, retired engineer^[9]
Omari Tahir-Garrett, community activist^[9]
Caleb Schaber, artist^[9]
Scott K. Whittemore^[9]
Richard Lee, conspiracy theorist^[9]
Piero Bugoni^[9]
Max Englerius, security consultant^[9]

Results

Primary election results^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Mark Sidran	39,506	33.80%
	Nonpartisan	Greg Nickels	39,098	33.46%
	Nonpartisan	Paul Schell (inc.)	25,392	21.73%
	Nonpartisan	Charlie Chong	8,162	6.98%
	Nonpartisan	Scott Kennedy	2,279	1.95%
	Nonpartisan	Bob Hegamin	502	0.43%
	Nonpartisan	Omari Tahir-Garrett	487	0.42%
	Nonpartisan	Caleb Schaber	479	0.41%
	Nonpartisan	Scott K. Whittemore	353	0.30%
	Nonpartisan	Richard Lee	281	0.24%
	Nonpartisan	Piero Bugoni	219	0.19%
	Nonpartisan	Max Englerius	107	0.09%
	Write-in		297	0.25%
Total votes			116,865	100.00%

General election

Results

2001 Seattle mayoral election^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Greg Nickels	86,403	50.15%
	Nonpartisan	Mark Sidran	83,245	48.32%
Total votes			188,097	100.00%

References

^ Johnson, Gene (September 13, 2001). "WTO riots haunt mayor's re-election bid". The Columbian. Vancouver, Washington. p. C11. Retrieved July 30, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Next mayor faces traffic, Boeing woes". The Daily News. Longview, Washington. August 2, 2001. p. B4. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Murakami, Kery (November 7, 2001). "Nickels leads Sidran -- too close to call". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on November 8, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
^ Murakami, Kery; Le, Phuong Cat (November 16, 2001). "Nickels is new Seattle mayor". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on November 18, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
^ Porterfield, Elaine (September 7, 2001). "Sidran promises 'big-city leadership' for Seattle". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on September 10, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
^ Murakami, Kery (September 10, 2001). "Nickels: A passion for politics, a puzzle to voters". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on September 19, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
^ "Seattle mayor to run for a second term". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. February 15, 2001. p. B4. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Barber, Mike (September 19, 2001). "Populist Chong taps anti-elitist sentiment". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on September 19, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Murakami, Kery (September 14, 2001). "Seattle Mayor: They also serve who sit and don't debate". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on September 19, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "2001 Year-End Election Report" (PDF). Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission. 2001. Retrieved July 29, 2025.

[1] Johnson, Gene (September 13, 2001). "WTO riots haunt mayor's re-election bid". The Columbian. Vancouver, Washington. p. C11. Retrieved July 30, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Next mayor faces traffic, Boeing woes". The Daily News. Longview, Washington. August 2, 2001. p. B4. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] Murakami, Kery (November 7, 2001). "Nickels leads Sidran -- too close to call". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on November 8, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.

[4] Murakami, Kery; Le, Phuong Cat (November 16, 2001). "Nickels is new Seattle mayor". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on November 18, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.

[5] Porterfield, Elaine (September 7, 2001). "Sidran promises 'big-city leadership' for Seattle". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on September 10, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.

[6] Murakami, Kery (September 10, 2001). "Nickels: A passion for politics, a puzzle to voters". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on September 19, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.

[7] "Seattle mayor to run for a second term". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. February 15, 2001. p. B4. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] Barber, Mike (September 19, 2001). "Populist Chong taps anti-elitist sentiment". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on September 19, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.

[seven_unknowns-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Murakami, Kery (September 14, 2001). "Seattle Mayor: They also serve who sit and don't debate". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington. Archived from the original on September 19, 2001. Retrieved July 31, 2025.

[election_results-10] "2001 Year-End Election Report" (PDF). Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission. 2001. Retrieved July 29, 2025.

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