LOCAL NEWS
Endorsements roll in for Seattle City Council races
Jun 19, 2019, 4:56 PM
Washington state ballot drop box. (KIRO Radio/Feliks Banel)
(KIRO Radio/Feliks Banel)
The Seattle City Council primary election is just around the corner, and the endorsements are starting to roll in.
Two organizations have weighed in this week.
Candidate running for the 2019 city council primary
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CASE
The Civic Alliance for Sound Economy, aka CASE, is a political action committee sponsored by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. It can wield considerable influence given the funds it has available. Amazon donated $200,000 to CASE in April, for example.
Of the three incumbents (Debora Juarez, Kshama Sawant, Lisa Herbold), only one received CASE’s endorsement — Juarez.
They include:
- District 1: Phil Tavel
- District 2: Mark Solomon
- District 3: Egan Orion
- District 4: Alex Pedersen
- District 5: Debora Juarez
- District 6: Jay Fathi / Heidi Wills (dual endorsement)
- District 7: Jim Pugel / Michael George (dual endorsement)
District 3 candidates distinguish themselves from Sawant
Sierra Club
The Seattle branch of the Sierra Club also offered its own endorsements Wednesday morning — except for District 1, which covers West Seattle and is currently represented by Councilmember Lisa Herbold. Herbold is running for re-election.
- District 2: Tammy Morales
- District 3: Kshama Sawant
- District 4: Shaun Scott
- District 5: Debora Juarez
- District 6: Heidi Wills
- District 7: Michael George
There is some crossover between CASE and the Sierra Club — Juarez for District 5; Heidi Wills for District 6; and Michael George for District 7.
The Sierra Club states gave the candidate the thumbs up for their stances on housing, transportation, and climate change.
Other endorsements
Seattle’s Democrats have had difficulty selecting a candidate for District 3, currently held by Councilmember Kshama Sawant.
The Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports that no consensus was found during a June 18 meeting for the 43rd District Democrats. Two ballots were taken. Eventually, the field was narrowed — Sawant and Seattle Public Schools Board member Zachary DeWolf. Still, no candidate stood out enough to be selected.
The blog also reported earlier this year that the 37th District Democrats had a similar issue for District 3 — no consensus.
