King County Parks employee Jessie Israel, who's running against three-term city council incumbent Nick Licata, just put $15,000 of her own money into the race. Israel's contribution brings her roughly in line with Licata in terms of cash on hand (although Israel has raised more, around $150,000, than Licata, she has also spent more), and puts her in a position to do a big mail push before the November 3 general election. Ballots for the all-mail election will start showing up in mailboxes later this week.

Israel says she decided to spend the money because "I know this is a critical time in the election cycle, and we're making spending decisions now. Seeing that there are a lot of folks who have a lot of faith in me, I know that this race is winnable and I am in this to win." She adds, "I know that $15,000 can make a big difference."

Israel is fundraising aggressively, with several events planned in the next week alone.

Her $15,000 contribution, though significant, pales in comparison to contributions made by mayoral candidate Joe Mallahan ($232,000) and council Position 8 candidate Robert Rosencrantz ($27,000) to their own campaigns.