Article update: On January 3rd, 2022, Lynne Robinson was reelected as Mayor and Jared Nieuwenhuis as Deputy Mayor of Bellevue.
It’s been nearly two months since Election Day delivered a mixed bag of results for regional progressives, and energy has since shifted from lookbacks and post-mortems to planning for policy wins given the new political landscape. An uncustomary December recall election in Seattle certainly threw a curveball in this process for many, but with all that behind us and the year drawing to a close, eyes are firmly aimed towards the future. With all three incumbents having won reelection in Bellevue, the city’s residents are faced with a largely similar political landscape to the one of November 1st; however, there’s still one important vote left that will have significant impacts on the city’s trajectory over the next two years.
Unlike Seattle, which has a mayor-council government, Bellevue employs a council-manager structure. In this form of government, residents do not directly elect their mayor; instead, they vote solely for councilmembers, who in turn appoint a city manager that acts as the chief executive. The positions of “mayor” and “deputy mayor” still exist in Bellevue, but these roles are filled through a vote amongst the seven-member Council every two years — and the next vote is scheduled for Monday’s City Council meeting.
