Affordable housing champion Chopp stepping aside in the 43rd — Shaun Scott announces run

Chopp at the recent 43rd District Town Hall

(Image: Statewide Poverty Action Network)

A progressive Democrat and champion of affordable housing who held off repeated challenges from the left, Frank Chopp announced this week he will not seek reelection to the state House of Representatives and is bringing three decades representing the 43rd District in Olympia to an end.

“I’ve always been driven by the belief that everyone deserves a foundation of home, health, and hope,” Chopp said in his announcement. “These are the basic needs for economic success, for better education outcomes, for restoring lives and reaching potential. I am proud to have played a role in helping people throughout Washington gain access to services and support that help them gain independence and realize their dreams.”

Shaun Scott of the Statewide Poverty Action Network who lost his 2019 race against Alex Pedersen to represent the University District on the Seattle City Council has announced a run for the now open 43rd District seat.

Chopp’s final political race in 2022 turned out to be an anticlimax. CHS reported here on the Democratic leaders in Capitol Hill’s state legislative district running unopposed. In recent reelection races, Chopp’s biggest political battles have been fending off younger, hugely more progressive challengers in the primary including community organizer and sex worker Sherae Lascelles in 2020. Chopp was also able to make a stand against upstart Socialist Alternative candidates including his 2012 defeat of Kshama Sawant which put her on her path to a decade at Seattle City Hall.

Along the way, Chopp has faced only tepid competition from Republican challengers. Continue reading

After the race for District 3, Hudson continues advocacy work and sees hope in Seattle’s big 2024 goals: an equitable comprehensive plan and an ambitious new transportation levy

Hudson making a 2023 campaign stop before her new path with Commute Seattle (Image: @AlexHudsonforSeattle)

It is very likely the voters in the Seattle City Council’s District 3 could not go wrong in November. Though Central District born and raised Joy Hollingsworth reached a solid victory, First Hill neighborhood and transit champion Alex Hudson also would have brought a strong fight for the needs of Seattle’s core neighborhoods to City Hall.

After the election, Hudson has spent the past few months finding a new path to helping the residents of First Hill, the Central District, Capitol Hill and the entire city resting up from the long campaign, sorting out her new priorities, and moving forward in her new role as executive director at Commute Seattle.

“Running for office is an incredible experience and a grueling task,” Hudson told CHS. “I was grateful for the opportunity, especially right after the election, to take a little break—spend some time with my family, catch up on much needed sleep, unwind my brain, and thank people and reflect on the experience.”

She also snatched up the leadership position at Commute Seattle, a nonprofit that works towards making the city more walker and bicycle friendly, while centering those disproportionately impacted by transportation costs.

Hudsons calls her new role the “perfect fit”and is “still very much doing the work that I love and that I’m committed to around transportation, transit and mobility, and doing that in service of the people of the City of Seattle.”

Running for D3 has changed Hudson, she said, by helping her come to appreciate the community’s experiences and real concerns around safety. From her campaign team canvassing a total of 18,000 people during her campaign, Hudson listened to residents’ genuinely held concerns that were backed up by numerous negative experiences, and holds a well of compassion and empathy for those who are struggling in society.

“I think it has helped to crystalize so many of the values that I had walking in—that people deserve a government that works for them,” Hudson said. “People deserve to have a government that invests in opportunities that spreads that fairly, that has meaningful and specific plans for making life better here in the City of Seattle. I feel more committed to making that possible than I did before.” Continue reading

Councilmember Hollingsworth building her District 3 team — and priorities — at Seattle City Hall

(Image: City of Seattle)

In her first days at Seattle City Hall, Joy Hollingsworth is meeting with everybody who makes the building tick and assembling a core team who will staff her office and help her lead District 3 with what she says will be a dedication to transparency including office hours, newsletters, and regular community meetings after a decade of leadership under Kshama Sawant and Socialist Alternative.

It has been a mostly enjoyable start to her political career in Seattle. The newly sworn-in District 3 representative on the Seattle City Council is beginning her four-year term with honest to goodness cheering in City Hall’s chambers from a group of constituents who have felt alienated from the recent years of Seattle process. Her mandate — help save Seattle — might be a long-term political challenge, but she can’t do much wrong in these early days. Her message is the right thing at the right time during the city’s push to clean up its streets and revive its core.

“I’m still the same Joy. I’m just a kid from the Central District. What we ran on was being transparent with folks, having access,” Hollingsworth said.

That transparency and access will be built around her team. Like Mayor Bruce Harrell who endorsed her, Hollingsworth’s career as a high school and collegiate athlete colors her language and outlook. Her anecdotes include stories from the tutelage of legendary hoops coach Lenny Wilkens. She is building her team with a strong D3 bench.

Her chief of staff will be Anthony Derrick an experienced political communications expert who has handled the Seattle City Attorney’s office and worked as the press secretary under Mayor Jenny Durkan.

Another first pick was former District 3 candidate and Hashtag Cannabis owner Logan Bowers as policy director. Continue reading

From 22nd and Pine to the wraparound porches of Denny Blaine, the candidates hit the streets of District 3

Hollingsworth in Denny Blaine (Image: CHS)

Candidate Hudson meeting the residents of D3 (Image: CHS)

There are forums and meet and greets, platforms and media releases. But you can also learn a lot about a candidate by watching the way they meet a voter and ask for their support. Saturday, CHS hit the pavement around District 3 as candidates Joy Hollingsworth and Alex Hudson worked with their campaign teams to walk the neighborhoods and meet voters — and make their cases for election.

With general elections swiftly approaching, Seattle City Council candidates Joy Hollingsworth and Alex Hudson spent this past Saturday conducting door-to-door canvassing throughout District 3. Hollingsworth’s deep community roots play to one strategic advantage through her knowledge of district-wide issues and ability to relate to the community. She carried herself with confidence Saturday and didn’t shy away from introducing herself to walkers with golden retrievers passing by.

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Hudson’s personality, on the other hand, is to meet individuals at their doorsteps. She didn’t hesitate when providing information about her skills or experience. She shares why she’s passionate about running, and listens to what concerns residents hold.

Hollingsworth was born and raised in the Central District, with a background in sustainability and community work. She says she is running on improving essential city services, creating tangible goals to measure progress, and amplifying voices of residents— not as a whole district, but by each neighborhood. She spent the earlier part of her Saturday morning canvassing with MLK Labor, which hosted a door-knocking event to support labor-endorsed Seattle candidates. After, she canvassed in the Denny Blaine area and met a couple who were on their wraparound porch. Continue reading

43rd District Democrats back Hudson in Seattle City Council D3 race

Hudson at the recent labor march calling for higher wages for city workers

One of the area’s most significant political organizations has made its choice in the District 3 race for the Seattle City Council.

The 43rd District Democrats group voted last week to endorse First Hill’s Alex Hudson for the D3 seat on the city council. The group of Democratic supporters draws from the some of the most densely packed blocks in District 3 within the state legislation district that stretches from Madison across Capitol Hill to the north.

The endorsement marks a split with the 43rd’s southern cousin. The 37th District Democrats group covering D3’s Central District-area neighborhoods backed Hudson’s Central District challenger Joy Hollingsworth earlier this summer.

Hudson’s camp says the pick adds to “a string of important endorsements” and says the endorsement illustrates the candidate’s progressive bonafides.

“Hudson is a strong progressive with a long string of accomplishments in diverse policy areas and a proven track record of building coalitions and finding common ground across divides,” the press release reads. “On a broad range of issues, including housing affordability, creating parks and improving neighborhood quality of life, as well as transit and transportation, Hudson has demonstrated an impressive capacity for solving problems and delivering tangible results.” Continue reading

Mapping the Hollingsworth-Hudson primary victories in a less polarized District 3

By Andrew Hong special for CHS

This map shows the voteshares comparing only the top two candidates — and illustrates that District 3’s political divides were muddled in August 2023

While the 2023 Seattle City Council primary mirrored familiar polarized voting trends seen in Seattle — and national — politics, there was actually signs of depolarization in District 3 in August’s vote compared to the same election in 2019. In fact there was a strong correlation between precincts that went to progressive Kshama Sawant in 2019, and precincts that shifted away from the more progressive candidate in the race in 2023.

In the 2023 August primary election for Seattle City Council District 3, Joy Hollingsworth and Alex Hudson clearly prevailed as the two winners advancing to the general election to succeed Councilmember Sawant. The two winners were endorsed by The Seattle Times and The Stranger, respectively, which have become standard bearers of the centrist and progressive political lanes and primary election winners in Seattle politics.

Here is a look at how that vote fell across the district, block by block.

District 3 has a reputation for siding with progressive-endorsed candidates, with socialist incumbent Kshama Sawant winning 3 (4 if you count the recall) elections in District 3 and citywide candidates routinely performing best in District 3 out of the 7 council districts. Continue reading

‘The mayor’s candidate’ — Harrell endorses Hollingsworth in Seattle City Council District 3 race

(Image: Joy for Seattle)

Already bonded over their shared communities in the Central District, the political fortunes of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and District 3 city council candidate Joy Hollingsworth are now further intertwined.

Thursday, the first-term mayor and former city councilmember formally endorsed Hollingsworth in the race to replace Kshama Sawant at City Hall.

“Growing up in Seattle’s historically Black community, my family and the Hollingsworth family share roots and values – both of us raised by parents and grandparents committed to equity, breaking down barriers, and making this a better place for the next generation,” Harrell said in the press release from the Hollingsworth campaign, adding that he is “excited that Joy is stepping up to serve and chart her path to public service.” Continue reading

Gov. Inslee won’t seek reelection in 2024

 

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Gov. Inslee at the opening of Capitol Hill Station in 2016

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday he will not seek a fourth term to lead Washington state setting off what is expected to be a wide open race for this office in 2024.

“Serving the people as governor of Washington state has been my greatest honor,” Inslee said in a statement. “During a decade of dynamic change, we’ve made Washington a beacon for progress for the nation. I’m ready to pass the torch.”

Inslee, 72, became only the second Washington state governor to serve three consecutive terms when he was reelected in 2020. Inslee announcement comes a week after Joe Biden, 80, announced he will, indeed, seek reelection in 2024.

The race is now on for which Democrat candidate for Washington governor will join Biden on the 2024 ballot.

In his statement, Inslee highlighted the economic growth of Washington under his leadership since he took office in 2013. Continue reading

‘Like, the beauty of democracy’ — Judkins Park and cannabis community leader joins ‘conversation’ for District 3 seat on the Seattle City Council

(Image: Cooley for Council)

A pot entrepreneur and substitute teacher who has emerged as a community leader in the Judkins Park neighborhood is making a run for the District 3 seat on the Seattle City Council.

But he doesn’t see the coming campaign as a battle or a race.

“I have a different way of doing it. And we’re going to present our ideas of how to do it to our electorate, and we’re gonna let them choose,” Alex Cooley tells CHS, describing his plans for the campaign and what he hopes is an opportunity for voters in D3 to pick a new direction. “And that is truly, like, the beauty of democracy. That’s what it should be. It should not be vicious. It should not be people hating each other. I don’t want anything to do with that.”

Cooley’s proposed policies include a checklist of Seattle progressive causes including building new housing for those living unhoused and stopping sweeps, opening up more of the city to housing development, shifting more public safety funding to mental health and addiction services, and making public transit free but with a mostly middle ground approach that would build on existing efforts like increasing the JumpStart tax on large employers or limiting transition of currently single-family zoned areas to a more limited multifamily approach centered around duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes.

Most of his ideas come off as downright reasonable except for maybe the legalization of drugs — “all drugs” — that he sees as a pathway to realistically addressing issues of public safety and addiction while also creating abundant civic revenue. Continue reading

With her heart on First Hill, Hudson joins race for District 3 with a neighborhood approach to urbanist policy

With love for a home neighborhood at the core of the decision to enter the race, First Hill resident and Transportation Choices Coalition executive director Alex Hudson is running for the District 3 seat on the Seattle City Council.

“When I say that’s the vision for the City of Seattle that my leadership has produced and will continue to produce, I’m not saying that because it’s an urbanist fantasy,” Hudson says of her home turf and its almost one of a kind in Seattle mix of housing types from old mansions to affordable skyscrapers. “I’m saying that because I live in that neighborhood, and I see it, and I’ve helped to build it.”

The leader of the transit policy and advocacy organization and former head of the First Hill Improvement Association says she believes her progressive record of accomplishments in diverse policy areas and ability to build coalitions and find common ground across divides is what the district needs to rebuild hope after years of political battles under Kshama Sawant and in a city facing significant challenges in housing affordability, homelessness, public safety, and the health and vitality of small business districts.

“It is not naive to believe that Seattle’s best days are still in front of us and that there are solutions to these problems that are at our fingers,” Hudson says. “All of this stuff, it feels really hard. It feels really intractable. We can have it and we will have it if we come together, roll up our sleeves, listen to each other, and have a real solution space… we can fix these things and we’re going to.” Continue reading