It's almost election day

Plus interesting research on Seattle's affordable housing mandate and some recommended reading

If that ballot’s stuck under a thick layer of campaign fliers and garden-variety junk mail, dig it out and bust out the black pen. Chances are some hot local races require your attention before tomorrow. Here’s our look at the interesting — and expensive — contests we’ve been tracking this year.

The biggest single race is the bonkers-expensive battle for the mayor’s office in Spokane. Incumbent Nadine Woodward and challenger Lisa Brown have both raised more than $500,000 directly for their campaigns. That’s enough to pay for a saturation campaign in the Lilac City on its own, but there’s more.

Independent PACs on both sides have spent nearly as much on the race, much of it on hot-button messaging against one side or the other.

Here’s why you should care about this: Local jurisdictions are often the incubators of policies that percolate up to the state level, so even if you rarely get to Spokane — or Seattle, for our EWash readers — you should pay attention.