An image from a since deleted Suarez social media post

And it doesn’t endorse her opponent, either.

While the race for the open seat to represent Capitol Hill and the 43rd District in Olympia mirrors the national battle of extreme polarization over social issues and public safety, the final days of the race have taken on parochial dimensions that even have the Seattle Police Department saying enough already.

Heading into the weekend in a now deleted social media post, candidate Andrea Suarez complained about stickers on street signs in Wallingford and accused opponent Shaun Scott of wanting to “abolish the police” in a message tagging the Seattle Police Department and the Seattle Police Officers Guild union and thanking them for their endorsement.

SPD was not amused.

“The Seattle Police Department is an apolitical organization,” SPD posted in reply to the soon to be deleted Suarez post. “We have not and will never endorse one political candidate/party over another.”

Suarez has been endorsed by the SPOG union and its head Mike Solan who in September called Suarez “a real choice when it comes to public safety” though the group doesn’t release details of its endorsement process.

The Suarez social media gaffe was the latest twist in the final stages of the campaign to help lead the 43rd. CHS reported on the Scott and Suarez campaigns squaring off in the final weeks with outreach at the farmers market — and with Suarez’s aggressive use of campaign signs placed in the public right of way.

Scott has the support of Frank Chopp, the Washington political legend and housing champion whose retirement opened the seat. A lobbyist with the Statewide Poverty Action Network who narrowly lost a 2019 race to represent the University District on the Seattle City Council, Scott has focused his campaign on continuing to respond to the issues that drove the Black Lives Matters protests, and the responses to the COVID-19 crisis that forged progressive policies including the creation of a public social housing developer in Seattle.

Suarez gained notoriety through the We Heart Seattle organization she started as a neighborhood clean-up and homelessness volunteer group, growing the role into her full-time job as “a bleeding heart bean counter” shining a light on what she says is bloated government spending and waste. She has touted her connections to Republicans and conservative organizations while also maintaining that she is a big “D” candidate. The political message can be challenging. The Suarez campaign felt the most important message to display on its yard signs was, simply, “ANDREA SUAREZ — DEMOCRAT.” Her campaign is endorsed by the Seattle Times.

As for SPD, the department tweeted that it does not condone stickering on street signs be it pro or anti police — “placing stickers on signs is illegal and can make traffic worse,” SPD says. The department’s social media account didn’t take a position on the ongoing debate about Suarez’s campaign signs on parking strips and traffic circles.

But there is one position SPD does feel strongly about.

“We do, however, endorse remembering to vote this Tuesday,” @seattlepd said.

For those looking for a calmer spirit headed into Election Day, Capitol Hill’s St. Mark’s is hosting a United We Stand: Interreligious Prayer Vigil Monday night.

The election is Tuesday, November 5th. Get your ballot to a King County Elections drop box by 8 PM. “On the cusp of the exercise of our most essential civil right, we ask you to embrace this moment of contemplation and connection, as we affirm the principles that transcend our differences, and the common cause that will bind the wounds of this great nation,” organizers write.

You can find all CHS Election 2024 coverage here.

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