In brief: SeaTac minimum wage vote passing by 53 votes

SEATAC, Wash. – An initiative that seeks to establish a $15 minimum wage for many workers in SeaTac is leading by 53 votes.

After Thursday’s ballot drop, the measure was passing with 2,837 yes votes compared to 2,784 no votes. That’s an improvement for proponents of the measure, which led by 19 points after Wednesday’s count. Another tally is expected to be released today.

On election night, the initiative was leading by a 261-vote margin – a decent gap in a race likely to draw maybe 6,000 total votes.

Washington has the nation’s highest state minimum wage at $9.19 an hour; the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour

Seattle socialist widens lead in race

SEATTLE – A socialist candidate is getting closer to clinching a seat on the Seattle City Council.

Thursday’s vote results show that Kshama Sawant expanded her lead over 16-year incumbent Richard Conlin to more than 1,100 votes. Her campaign hopes she gains enough votes to avoid an automatic recount, which is triggered if a candidate’s lead is less than half a percentage point of total ballots cast. She crossed that threshold Thursday.

On election night, Sawant was losing by four percentage points, but ballots counted after Election Day skewed heavily toward her.

Sawant campaigned on focused inequality issues, including supporting a $15 minimum wage and taxing the wealthy.