(Image: MLK Labor)
One District 3 candidate just won big-time Seattle business support. And these candidates — all of them — just failed to get the backing of the influential 43rd District Democrats. Now this D3 candidate just struck a major blow in the fight thanks to support from the county’s labor council.
MLK Labor announced Wednesday night it has given its support in the D3 primary to school board member Zachary DeWolf.
“Zach DeWolf is the candidate that best represents the working class in District 3,” MLK Labor official Nicole Grant said in a statement. “Zach has been a champion for educators and union construction workers while on the Seattle School Board. We’re ready to hit the doors in D3 to talk to our fellow union members about why Zach is the best candidate to bring about meaningful pro-worker policy in Seattle.”
The group had previously endorsed incumbent Kshama Sawant in the run-up to her 2015 victory.
It’s been a mixed week for Sawant’s 2019 campaign. DeWolf’s labor endorsement and the embrace of challenger Egan Orion by the deep-pocketed Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce show she’ll face fierce competition heading into the August primary. But Tuesday’s muddled showing by her challengers in the 43rd District endorsement session also is a sign that none of those hopefuls are pulling ahead of the pack.
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How could a Pro Charter School Anti Union Person be endorsed by the King County Labor Council? Zach DeWolf did a very poor job at his school board job. He is not pro labor not good for Seattle.
Sawant is radically pro union–there’s nothing a Marxist loves more than the power of organized labor, right?–but she’s also fiercely principled, highly vocal, and not afraid to call out union bureaucracy. She also has a vision for law enforcement that is starkly at odds with the police union (which is huge). Seeing herself as a member and a highly invested ally of labor, she gets involved, steps on toes.
Dewolf won’t get on the cross for the unions, but he probably can be counted on to stay out of the way of the labor council and provide tepid support from a distance, supporting the starts quo and not giving union bureaucracy any heat when they make concessions or protect a police officer from discipline.
Have not heard De Wolf say much of substance. Seems like a nice guy. Maybe I have missed some of his ideas. Would be interesting to hear from him about his policy ideas on labor, and the other issues in the city.
DeWolf has been AWOL, literally, from his school board duty which he is abandoning prematurely anyway. The only explanation I can conjure for an endorsement is wanting an empty suit to fill the position in name only. One need only look at DeWolf’s impressive record of NOT showing up to see he’s your guy, if you really want no one.