Spokane mayor
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Nadine Woodward | 19,366 | 40.28% |
| Ben Stuckart (D) | 18,353 | 38.17% |
| Shawn Poole | 6,122 | 12.73% |
| Jonathan Bingle | 3,157 | 6.57% |
| Kelly P. Cruz | 1,080 | 2.25% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
Featured Candidates
Nadine Woodward
- Age:
- 62
- City:
- Spokane, Washington
Education: Graduated from Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver, Washington, in 1980. Graduated from University of Portland in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in communications management.
Work experience: Worked as a broadcast journalist for 35 years, 28 in Spokane, first at KREM-TV and then KXLY-TV. Formerly served as honorary chair for organizations that included Spokane County Alzheimer’s Association, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Go Red for Women/American Heart Association, Anna Ogden Hall, Teen Challenge, Rescue 4 All/Inland Northwest Animal Rescue, Women Helping Women, March of Dimes, Red Cross Heroes, Children’s Miracle Network and Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital. Serves on boards for the Downtown Spokane Partnership, Visit Spokane, Greater Spokane Incorporated, the WSU Advisory Board, WorkSource Spokane and the University District Public Development Authority.
Political experience: Elected Spokane mayor in 2019.
Family: Married to Bruce Felt. Two adult children.
Political donations: Reports raising about $508,800 as of Oct. 16, with major donations from a long list of Realtors, developers, property managers, security companies and business owners. Has received financial support from police Chief Craig Meidl and former Spokane Mayor David Condon.
Ben Stuckart
- Party:
- Democratic
- Age:
- 53
- City:
- Spokane, Washington
Political experience: Served two terms as City Council president. Lost race for Spokane mayor in 2019.
Work experience: Former executive director of Communities in Schools of Spokane County. Former regional manager at TicketsWest, 2001 to 2007. Spokesman for the 2010 campaign in support of the Children’s Investment Fund initiative, which voters rejected.
Education: Graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 1990. Earned bachelor’s degree in political science from Gonzaga University in 2000 and master’s degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University in 2006.
Family: Married. Has no children.
Complete Coverage
Fuse justifies lie as way to show Woodward not being transparent
Political group that questions Nadine Woodward’s honesty had someone lie about their presidential support in an effort to get her to say she voted for Donald Trump.
As economies grow, so does homelessness in cities like Spokane, evidence suggests
Like other cities in the West, homelessness in Spokane has risen even as the economy has grown.
Realtors boost already big spending on four Spokane candidates, including Nadine Woodward
With a week to go before city elections, the money race in Spokane is gathering speed.
Tangled relationship between Spokane firefighters, Stuckart continues in mayor’s race
If $118,000 says anything, it’s that the firefighters of Spokane have a stake in this year’s municipal elections, particularly in the mayor’s race.
‘A Place of Truths’: New downtown plaza teaches Spokane tribal history, river preservation
The city of Spokane debuted A Place of Truths Plaza downtown Friday afternoon. The $25 million project features public art from indigenous artists and a wastewater tank that will keep runoff from draining into the river before it can be treated.
Stuckart backs warming center plan, while Woodward questions city’s planning
In a city election cycle that has featured homelessness as its central issue, the impact on voters of Spokane’s latest plan to address homelessness remains to be seen, as ballots have already landed in mailboxes and will be counted in less than two weeks.
Spokane plans to manage its own emergencies, drop out of county agreement
The city of Spokane will launch a new, independent office of emergency management next year, leaving Spokane County and many of the smaller area governments to manage – and pay for managing – emergencies on their own.
Ben Stuckart wants City Council to rally against car-tab initiative; Tim Eyman travels to Spokane to protest
Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart introduced a resolution on Monday that would formalize the council’s opposition to Initiative 976, which critics believe could jeopardize funding for critical transportation projects like the North Spokane Corridor.
Third-generation leader of multibillion-dollar real estate firm gives big in support of Nadine Woodward
Fritz Wolff, the scion of a multibillion-dollar real estate empire founded in Spokane Valley 70 years ago by his grandfather, is spending his personal wealth in a way not seen before in Spokane to influence city elections, throwing his weight behind conservative causes and candidates including mayoral hopeful Nadine Woodward.
Up for debate: A closer look at claims, arguments Spokane’s mayoral candidates keep making
From Border Patrol to Boise, here’s a deeper look into some of the oft-discussed topics of debate.
Spokane’s response to homelessness dominates mayoral, city council president debate Tuesday night
Whether it was Nadine Woodward and Ben Stuckart for mayor, or Breean Beggs and Cindy Wendle for City Council president, candidates for public office laid out different plans for addressing Spokane’s population living on the streets at a Pints and Politics debate downtown Tuesday.
New big contributions smash record for outside spending on Spokane elections
The race for Spokane mayor has been infused with significant cash since the beginning of the month, as outside political committees ramped up their spending power with three weeks to go before Election Day.
Rob Curley: Hearing the candidates one more time before you vote, only this time with a little more discussion and a little less debate
There have been so many dang debates in Spokane this election season that it’s hard to tell whose heads are swimming the most: the candidates’, the voters’ or the journalists’. I can’t remember if it was Steven Tyler or Ayn Rand who said that anything worth doing is worth overdoing, but judging from my phone’s musical library, a solid guess is Aerosmith. Of course, Shakespeare noted it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. Or maybe that was Bon Jovi. It doesn’t really matter.
Woodward aims to use trust amassed over broadcast career to bring about change if elected Spokane mayor
Nadine Woodward has been hesitant to bring her political views into the nonpartisan race, declining to seek the endorsement of either political party. Instead, she’s argued that the election is about trust – trust she’s earned over more than 25 years beamed into the living rooms of Spokane families. She hopes that trust will propel her to the mayor’s office, where she aims to bring about change.
Stuckart vows to stick to facts, principles that have guided his City Hall career if elected Spokane mayor
As Ben Stuckart faces November’s vote, he contends with a well-documented, eight-year record at City Hall. But he also offers a deep, hands-on background in local government in politics. Stuckart acknowledged that his nuanced views of complex issues may not fit the political moment of tweet-sized pronouncements and vague hot takes. But he said he wouldn’t change.
‘Tent cities’ concept sparks debate between Woodward, Stuckart
“One idea that I’ve seen other cities do, and that is, like a tent city that is temporary during inclement weather,” mayoral candidate Nadine Woodward said during the Greater Spokane Incorporated forum on Wednesday. On Friday, her opponent, City Council President Ben Stuckart, sharply criticized her for even considering a tent city in Spokane, calling it an “awful proposal.”
Spokane mayor’s race: Ben Stuckart softens, Nadine Woodward attacks when going head-to-head
Contrary to his style on the dais during council meetings, Ben Stuckart has largely shrugged off or declined to respond to attacks from opponent Nadine Woodward as the two vie to become Spokane’s next mayor.
Spokane city employee leading homeless shelter efforts resigns
As the city scrambles to open a new shelter and temporary warming center before winter, the man leading the effort has resigned – prompting city leaders to ask if he was asked to carry too heavy of a burden.
Spokane backs Boise’s appeal of homeless camping ruling to Supreme Court
As part of a larger effort, the city of Spokane has voiced its support of Boise in that city’s appeal of a 2018 court decision that requires cities to provide adequate shelter to the homeless in order to enforce laws against camping.
Salvation Army approved as homeless shelter operator. Next step: a building.
The Spokane City Council named the Salvation Army as the operator of the city’s next homeless shelter on Monday, but the city still has to identify a location.