As of 5/5/2015

Wages, affordability, and LGBTQ safety will be on the agenda Tuesday night as the candidates to lead Seattle’s newly formed City Council District 3 meet in the only planned forum focused on their campaigns before August’s top-two primary.

District 3 Candidate Forum
Tuesday, May 12th 6:30 PM
Mount Zion Baptist Church 1634 19th Ave
YOU ARE INVITED to the 43rd District Democrats’ 2015 Seattle City Council District 3 Candidate Forum on May 12, 2015 at Mount Zion Baptist Church.

Doors open at 6:00pm. You will have an opportunity to mingle with all of the candidates running for office between 6:30pm and 7:00pm; the main program begins at 7:00pm.

Come to hear more from the candidates, their positions on important issues to our legislative districts/District 3, and get to know what they stand for.

This event is free and open to the public. ASL interpretation provided. For accessibility questions or concerns, email [email protected]

Tuesday’s forum will be moderated by political journalist Josh Feit of Publicola. UPDATE: Feit will join journalist Erica Barnett of The C. is for Crank as co-moderators.

Meanwhile, another candidates forum scheduled for Monday night by the 37th District Democrats representing an area including the Central District south of Madison has been canceled.

You can find the latest CHS District 3 coverage here. Here is the up-to-date candidate slate:

District 3 Candidates

• Pamela Banks  — In race to catch Sawant, Banks kicks off Council District 3 campaign on Capitol Hill
• Morgan Beach — Council District 3 candidate Morgan Beach hosting gender pay gap event on Capitol Hill
• Lee Carter — Retired ‘neighborhood government’ advocate enters District 3 race as fourth Sawant challenger
• Rod Hearne — A Sawant challenger steps into Seattle Council District 3 ring
• Kshama Sawant — #rentcontrol: 11 things CHS heard at the Affordable Housing Town Hall

UPDATE: The 37th District Dems have put out an announcement about the cancelation of their forum that had been planned for Monday night. According to the announcement, the 37th group decided to cancel after a petition from “a significant number” of members called for Council member Sawant to be allowed to participate. Because Sawant is not a Democrat and not eligible for the group’s endorsement, the 37th had been planning to not include the Socialist Alternative candidate. Rather than hold the event — and rankle its membership, apparently — the group’s board opted to cancel the forum. The 43rd is, indeed, inviting Sawant to participate though the candidate is also not eligible for an endorsement from the Democratic organization. Here’s the announcement from the 37th:

37th Legislative District Democrats Cancel Tonight’s Candidate Forum

The Executive Board of the 37th Legislative District Democrats has canceled tonight’s Seattle City Council District 2 and District 3 Candidates Forum. Traditionally the 37th Legislative District Democrats have used candidate forums, sponsored solely by the 37th Legislative District Democrats, as an opportunity to educate our members on the positions and policies of candidates eligible for our endorsement.

Our by-laws are specific that to be eligible for endorsement a non-judicial candidate must, “…declare that they are a Democrat or have a completed KCDCC Candidate Questionnaire on file with the KCDCC declaring himself or herself a Democrat”(By-Laws Article X, Section 2). As Councilmember Sawant and Mr. Farris do not meet those requirements they were not invited.

On Friday May 8, a significant number of our members submitted a petition to include Councilmember Sawant at our Candidate Forum, while recognizing that she is ineligible for our endorsement. To include the Councilmember would mean a change in the organization’s policy and our By-Laws specifically states “…policy making authority resides in the District membership…”(By-Laws Article VII, Section 3).

As the next membership meeting was not scheduled to occur until after the Candidates Forum and there was insufficient time to call a special meeting of the membership, the Executive Board felt it necessary to cancel the Candidates Forum, and form a committee to review and recommend policy changes to the membership on who can participate at our candidate forums. This decision is the best way to respect the wishes of those members that signed the petition and still comply with our By-Laws.

David Corrado
Chair