Tag Archives: politics

With Sound Transit CEO vote Thursday, Constantine to deliver final ‘State of the County’ address

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Constantine after cutting the ribbon to open Capitol Hill Station in 2016

King County Executive Dow Constantine will deliver his final State of the County address Wednesday as he prepares to take a new job — leading Sound Transit.

Constantine has led the county since 2009 through years of unprecedented economic and population growth. Constantine also led King County as it struggled with the pandemic and the unrest of the Black Lives Matter movement. He announced late last year he would not seek reelection but pledged to continue “critical work of transit and transportation, climate action, behavioral health, affordable housing, arts and culture.”

King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, with a growing roster of key endorsements, has been seen as the favorite in the race to replace him.

Constantine, who serves as chair of the Sound Transit board, has been tabbed as the next CEO to lead the $3.1 billion public transit agency. Continue reading →

‘Home, health, and hope’: Longtime 43rd District leader and housing advocate Chopp dies — UPDATE

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Chopp at the 2014 debut of 12th Ave Arts

Democratic State Rep. Frank Chopp who helped lead the 43rd District including Capitol Hill for three decades from 1995 to 2025 has died.

Chopp was 71.

“The 43rd District Democrats are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our former Representative, Frank Chopp,” the 43rd District Democrats group said in a statement. “Frank served the 43rd and the people of our State with honor for 30 years, and played a critical role in the betterment of our community.”

Remembered for his help funding the development of affordable buildings across the region, Chopp was a focused housing champion.

“The best approach is to build equity, to own it,” Chopp told CHS as he mounted one of his reelection battles in 2014. “The key is to capture any public land that is available for affordable buildings.”

Lika many of his later races, the 2014 election was an easy win for Chopp as he easily defeated an inexperienced Socialist Alternative candidate. Two years prior, he handily dispatched the protege’s mentor Kshama Sawant. Sawant would turn her political focus to Seattle. Continue reading →

Seattle vote on $45M Democracy Voucher program renewal planned for August primary

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(Image: City of Seattle)

Mayor Bruce Harrell will be collecting Democracy Vouchers this year as he mounts his reelection campaign.

This week, his office put forward legislation to renew the program first approved by voters in 2015 in hopes of helping to dampen the power of large campaign donors in the city’s politics.

CHS reported here on 2025’s place as a big year for the future of the program. In 2025, the program will support the widest field yet with candidates in the race for Seattle Mayor, City Attorney, and City Council Positions 2, 8, and 9 all eligible for the funding program.

Later this year, voters will also be asked to renew the program. The proposal from Harrell’s office would expand the program with a $45 million property tax over 10 years, “costing the median assessed value Seattle homeowner about $12.20 a year,” according to Harrell’s announcement.

The original $3 million a year program was estimated to cost the typical homeowner around $8 a year. Continue reading →

KUOW details Mayor Bruce Harrell’s 1996 gun arrest

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From the KUOW report

As he campaigns for reelection, Mayor Bruce Harrell has a gun problem.

KUOW reported new details this week from a 1996 incident  where the then 37-year-old lawyer working in Nebraska pulled a gun on a man and a woman in a dispute over a parking spot at an Iowa casino.

“We was like, ‘What the hell is going on?!” the woman, who was eight months pregnant at the time, told KUOW recalling the incident 30 years later. “It scared us.”

KUOW broke the story on Harrell’s 1996 arrest in February but the new reporting provides perspective from the couple on other end of the dispute and details how the case was dismissed and never addressed as Harrell rose at City Hall as a member of the city council and then Seattle’s mayor. Continue reading →

Seattle City Council to choose finalists for D2 seat from among South Seattle second chances, city employees, and community leaders

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Solomon made an unsuccessful run for the seat six years ago

The Seattle City Council will spend Friday afternoon picking finalists to fill the open District 2 seat from a field of 20 candidates.

For many on the list, their most obvious qualification is living in South Seattle. Others are seeking to take the next step in careers that have been filled with public service and city employment.

The Friday 2 PM session will include current council members nominating potential finalists from the field and making a case for including them in the final decision which will come next week after a public forum featuring the selected candidates.

Applicants include Chukundi Salisbury who talked with CHS in 2023 about the Black Legacy Homeowners group organizing to protect and grow their presence in the Central District and across the Seattle-Tacoma region, former Capitol Hill Community Council leader Hong Chhuor, Randy Engstrom, former director of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, and Seattle Police Department community crime prevention coordinator Mark Solomon who was a finalist in last year’s appointment process to fill a citywide seat on the council. The Seattle Times endorsed Solomon in his unsuccessful 2019 run for the D2 seat. Continue reading →

‘Not just political theater’ — Nelson launches reelection campaign for Seattle City Council

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(Image: Re-elect Sara Nelson)

The two most powerful voices in Seattle City Hall are off to early starts defending their offices.

Last week, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced he will seek a second term, launching his reelection campaign with themes around “common values,” “public safety solutions,” and “proven leadership to stand up for our values.”

This week, Seattle City Council president and at-large representative Sara Nelson said she, too, will seek reelection with an “it’s happening” announcement.

Calling herself the “commonsense champion,” Nelson said her re-election campaign will continue her role as the leader on “pragmatic, compassionate solutions to Seattle’s toughest challenges.” Continue reading →

Zahilay launches bid to become ‘the first millennial, immigrant, or refugee’ King County Exec

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(Image: Girmay for King County)

Girmay Zahilay is beginning his run to lead King County with a major head start — the endorsements of the next wave of state Democratic leaders.

Zahilay, who has represented Capitol Hill, the Central District, and nearby neighborhoods from the University District to Skyway on the King County Council since 2020, has launched his campaign in the 2025 race for King County Executive with endorsements from newly elected Governor Bob Ferguson, and Attorney General-elect Nick Brown.

Zahilay also starts the race with the backing of several major labor groups including UFCW 3000.

“King County gave me the tools to climb the ladder of opportunity. Now, I’m running to make sure that ladder is available to everyone.” Zahilay said in his announcement. Continue reading →

Rinck sworn-in, Morales steps down, as new Seattle City Council progressive core quickly crumbles — UPDATE

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Alexis Mercedes Rinck’s swearing-in ceremony (Image: City of Seattle)

Rinck, left, and Morales were hoped to be a team inside Seattle City Hall (Image: Tammy Morales)

Just as the Seattle City Council seemed lined up for a progressive push with Tuesday’s swearing in of newly elected citywide representative Alexis Mercedes Rinck, its most liberal veteran lawmaker is resigning citing damaging political battles inside Seattle City Hall and the toll the fight is taking on her mental and physical health.

“For the last 11 months, this Council has eroded our checks and balances as a Legislative department and undermined my work as a policymaker,” Tammy Morales said in Wednesday’s announcement.

“This role has caused my mental and physical well-being to deteriorate, and this is an unfortunate reality for many women in particular who serve in public office,” Morales said.

Morales has represented South Seattle’s District 2 on the council since 2020 and wasn’t slated to face a reelection battle for years. Her full announcement is below. Her resignation effective is effective January 6th, the first Monday of the new year.

The resignation is overshadowing Tuesday’s ceremony to swear in the council’s newest member. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill’s Pedersen is new Majority Leader in the Washington State Senate

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Capitol Hill’s Sen. Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) will be the new Majority Leader in the Washington State Senate.

State Democrats elected Pedersen to the post Monday. Pedersen joined the Senate representing the 43rd District including Capitol Hill in 2013. He was first elected to the State House of Representatives in 2006.

Pedersen is set to lead a Democratic caucus that is positioned to gain another seat from November’s election. Continue reading →

Scott vs. Suarez — The race for the 43rd moves through the Capitol Hill Farmers Market

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Scott with campaign workers at Sunday’s farmers market

Suarez and her recovered signs

This election season’s battle for the open seat to represent the 43rd District in the Washington House of Representatives has many of the markings of modern political warfare — extreme polarization over social issues and public safety, slick attack ads with the fingerprints of political think tanks all over them, and back and forth accusations tying the opposition to larger, overarching threats to the country and Democracy as we know it.

But as the campaign draws closer to November 5th’s Election Day, the fight was playing out over the weekend with simpler battles over stolen campaign signs and the neighborhood farmers market.

Sunday, Shaun Scott and opponent Andrea Suarez told CHS that both campaigns were confident that they’d come out on top.

Scott has regularly canvassed at the Capitol Hill Farmers Market since the start of his campaign, which has amounted to about 24 visits, he said. Attending the market has allowed the candidate to talk with many voters who are more challenging to reach through traditional campaigning methods like door-knocking. When speaking with neighborhood residents, the primary concern Scott says he hears is the need to pass the rent stabilization bill, House Bill 2114, which will be re-introduced next session and would, in part, limit rent and fee increases.

CHS Election 2024

“Renters are one of the most disenfranchised groups that we have in our state, because we have a state legislature that is dominated by property holders, homeowners, landlords, and as a result, the interests of renters and working people are not reflected in our state government and it’s decisions,” Scott told CHS.

While acknowledging the skyrocketing of rental prices, Suarez holds different views on the efficacy of rental caps. Continue reading →