Friday briefing: gay weddings at City Hall, Seattle mayor’s race, Inslee up by 73,000 votes

Good Morning. Happy Friday.

Gay marriage in Washington: Local politicians are doing their part to make sure gay weddings can occur in our state as soon as the new law allows. Passage of Referendum 74 means gay marriages will be possible in Washington in early December. King County Executive Dow Constantine said he will take the unusual step of opening the county recorder’s office early on Dec. 6, just after midnight. Eli Sanders of The Stranger says Mayor Mike McGinn will open the grand lobby of City Hall for weddings on Dec. 9, the first day same-sex couples can get married.

Seattle City Councilmember
Tim Burgess

Guess what Tim Burgess’ big announcement might be: Publicola says Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess is planning a big post-Thanksgiving announcement. The big surprise is there is no surprise: he is planning to run for mayor in 2013. More candidates, more announcements. Game on.

From Brian M. Rosenthal: With votes now counted from more than three million voters (about 96 percent of expected turnout), Democrat Jay Inslee has increased his lead in the governor’s race to 73,002 votes (he was up by about 50,000 on election night). That margin is less than Gov. Chris Gregoire’s 194,614 vote win in 2008, but it is not the razor-thin result that many expected. Republican Rob McKenna conceded to Inslee last week. Gregoire beat Republican Dino Rossi in 2004 by a final tally of 133 votes.

Inaugural ball: If you are still pining for Washington’s inaugural ball to continue at the state Capitol this year, it’s not going to happen. Think Lacey.

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Politics Northwest is the go-to blog for politics in our region. The blog explores national, state and local political news and issues. Reporters from Washington, D.C., to Seattle City Hall to the state capital in Olympia contribute. Editors are Richard Wagoner and Beth Kaiman.

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