2001 Seattle mayoral election

2001 Seattle mayoral election

←  1997 November 6, 2001 2005  →

Nominee Greg Nickels Mark Sidran Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 86,403 83,245 Percentage 50.15% 48.32%

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

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.
9. 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.
10. "2001 Year-End Election Report" (PDF). Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission. 2001. Retrieved July 29, 2025.