This post was filed by Emily Knudsen.
City Attorney Tom Carr’s party at Christo’s on Alki started off slow. The room was sparse until about 7:45; then it filled up, mostly with older couples, until a couple of preteens showed up to gorge on the free pizza. The murmurs of the crowd sounded mostly chipper and light-hearted. One group was discussing the fall of the Mariners. (I miss Randy Johnson, too.)
The channel of choice was ESPN until after the 8:00 hour. But the results shown on NWCN didn’t arrive before Carr himself interrupted the chatter. He announced that he had lost—and “lost big.” The results: 61 to 38 (as of 8:45) . Carr kept his speech brief. “We had a good campaign… we’ve done great things these last eight years.” Although, “the voters didn’t see it the way we did…the city will survive.” After noting that “that’s the way democracy works” he graciously thanked his supporters and commanded everyone to “Enjoy the pizza” and added “we should all have a beer.”
The crowd seemed surprised but not all that devastated by the news. Most stuck around to continue with the drinking and eating fest, as directed, and turned their attention the returns streaming across the TV screen. A quick cheer spurted out as Constantine’s evident victory was displayed. Meanwhile, Carr made his way throughout the room to say thank you and his supporters shared their disappointment with him.
