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The mayor of Capitol Hill: González dreams big in bid to lead Seattle — UPDATE

The candidate and her daughter Nadia (Image: Lorena for Seattle

Seattle City Council president Lorena González jumped into the open race to become the city’s next mayor Wednesday, immediately cementing her spot as the frontrunner in the contest.

“I’m running for mayor because I have a lot of hope and dreams for this city and I know that that’s what we need right now,” she said in a Tuesday afternoon interview with CHS.

This hope is a “bold and progressive agenda” that she says addresses income inequality through more living-wage jobs, strong labor standards, a vibrant and liveable city, and increased police accountability.

González was one of the seven council members who voiced support for the #defundSPD movement last summer, resulting in a 20% reduction to police spending for 2021.

She said that “time will tell” on police funding, noting that connected increases in human services and decreases in the budget of the Seattle Police Department cannot happen immediately, a pace that activists have railed against.

González called for scaling up homeless shelters, permanent supportive housing options, and homelessness outreach, while tacitly criticizing the Mayor Jenny Durkan’s approach, which has included recent sweeps of encampments at Cal Anderson Park.

“Merely moving people from one side of the street to the other side of the street is not an effective solution to addressing our homelessness problem,” González said.

Generally, González was not quick to criticize the mayor’s decisions on a range of issues, noting the benefit of hindsight that Durkan didn’t have.

 

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González has served as a citywide council member since 2015 when she became the first Latina elected to the council. In 2017, she retained her seat with over 70% of the vote. She briefly ran for state attorney general in 2019, but suspended her campaign after two weeks once it became clear incumbent Bob Ferguson would seek another term.

Before joining the council, González worked as a civil rights attorney and as legal counsel to Mayor Ed Murray.

Whoever wins the November election to head City Hall will take office with the city still grappling with the COVID-19 recovery. González says her family has seen firsthand the economic turmoil the pandemic has wrought in the city with her husband, who works in the restaurant industry, unemployed for months.

“The recovery is not going to be equitable for everyone unless we are intentional about making it equitable, particularly for those communities who are being hit the hardest by COVID,” she said, adding that she will be looking at increased rental assistance, for example.

González’s leadership and role as council president automatically vaults her into the front spot in the top-two race for the summer primary following Durkan’s announcement that she will not seek reelection after finishing her single term this year.

Six other candidates have already filed to run for mayor, according to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, including Chief Seattle Club executive director Colleen Echohawk, who would be the city’s first Native mayor, and Capitol Hill architect Andrew Grant Houston.

SEED Seattle’s interim director Lance Randall also announced his candidacy last year. William Kopatich, described as a “Top Salesman at Carter Subaru” in his Linkedin profile, has filed to enter the race, as well. More candidates are likely to come but announcements — including a possible second run from activist and lawyer Nikkita Oliver — could stretch until the May 21 filing deadline. Seattle’s other citywide council member, Teresa Mosqueda, said last month she would not be running for mayor as she mounts a defense of her seat on the council.

The 2021 campaign will also be the first time the city’s Democracy Voucher program — meant to empower a greater diversity of candidates to keep up in expensive campaigns — will be extended to include the city council races and the run for the mayor’s office.

Echohawk announced Tuesday that her campaign had so far raised more than $50,000 from over 800 contributors. She also submitted 728 signatures to meet the threshold for democracy vouchers, which will be mailed to Seattle residents next week.

The council president also plans to participate in the program (“heck yes!”) and says she plans over the next few weeks to develop a grassroots campaign focused on small-dollar donors with a strong online presence to fuel her mayoral bid in a time when conventional campaigning isn’t feasible.

UPDATE: This just in — González has her first Capitol Hill endorsement. Ani Custer of E Pike natural wine bar La Dive says she supports her bid for mayor as “an advocate of workers rights- including the rights of women and people of color” who also supports small business.

“It’s tempting to accept that someone who holds big business accountable is anti-business as a whole,” Custer writes. “I reject this assessment. Lorena understands the importance of advocating for small business and our local economy and how fundamental these businesses are in creating the community that Seattle was once so proud of.”

(Image: Lorena for Seattle)

Raven McShane, who ran the successful congressional campaign for Rep. Lauren Underwood in Illinois last year, will be González’s campaign manager.

González, who had a baby last year, said that “sleeping is probably optional” for the next few months, adding that she is following the example of her mother who returned to work only two weeks after giving birth to her.

González, tracing her ascendancy from harvesting asparagus with her migrant farmworker family in the early mornings before school in Central Washington to influential policymaker, noted the importance of representation in explaining why the city needs its first Latina mayor.

“Not only to have a woman, but a woman of color step into the mayor’s seat would be historic,” she said, “and it would be an opportunity to show my own daughter and all the other little girls out there in Seattle and across the world that it’s OK to dream big.”

You can learn more at lorenaforseattle.com.

The complete González campaign announcement is below.

FIRST GENERATION IMMIGRANT, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY
LORENA GONZÁLEZ LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN
FOR MAYOR OF SEATTLE
Seattle: Civil rights attorney and City Council President Lorena González is officially launching her campaign for Mayor of Seattle. As a Mexican-American and first generation American who grew up as a migrant farmworker, Lorena would be the first woman of color to be the city’s Mayor.
Lorena says:
“I’m running for Mayor because I have hope and dreams for this city that I love where I have chosen to raise a family, and I know the hard work it takes to bring people together to get things done.  When I first came to Seattle as a fifth grader, I was in awe of the city’s promise. Seattle was my dream. I knew – if I could ever get off those farms – that Seattle would be my city. I worked my way to law school here and am now raising our family here, because I believe in Seattle and its promise of progressive values, innovation, and diverse, vibrant communities.

We are at a critical crossroads, and now is the time for bold and progressive action that overcomes the status quo and paves the pathway to Seattle’s collective, shared prosperity.

Income inequality continues to grow. But we have the power to create living wage jobs and affordable housing.

The pandemic hit our city first and hit our economy hard. But we have the power to support our small businesses and their workers.

We are in the midst of a racial reckoning made worse by a pandemic that is ravaging our Black, brown, indigenous and other communities of color. But we have the power to show that diversity is our strength and we can transform public safety to meet this civil rights moment.

We can do this despite our differences. In this historic moment, I’m ready to be that Mayor for this City.”
Raised in poverty in Central Washington by two migrant farmworkers from Mexico,  Lorena earned her first paycheck at the age of eight as a migrant farmworker. She became a civil rights attorney after witnessing, and experiencing firsthand, the abuses suffered by her fellow migrant farm workers.
Lorena’s most high profile case – Monetti v Seattle – involved Seattle Police Department officers beating and verbally abusing a Latino man, threatening to “beat the Mexican piss” out of him. Lorena successfully settled that suit, winning $150,000 for the victim.
Lorena served as a Commissioner on the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission for four years, and as a general counsel to the Mayor of Seattle in 2014 and 2015.
For her work in and out of the courtroom, Lorena has earned multiple local and national awards, including Washington State Bar Association, Civil Rights Section: Distinguished Service Award (2010) and Champion for Children (2018, Save the Children).
Lorena has served on various local, regional and national non-profit boards, including Local Progress, Latina/o Bar Association of Washington, OneAmerica, OneAmerica Votes, and Washington State Association for Justice.
Seattle voters elected Lorena to city council in 2015 with 78.06% of a citywide vote, and they voted for her again in 2017, with a citywide vote of 71.02%. In 2020, Lorena’s fellow councilmembers elected her Council President.
By building coalitions on and off the Council, Lorena has helped make real improvements in the lives of Seattle residents, including:

  • Doubling the number of Seattle Preschool Program slots available to Seattle families with children aged 3 to 4 years old
  • Incentivizing the construction of childcare facilities in affordable housing development via the Mandatory Housing Affordability program
  • Partnering with neighborhood business associations to fund homelessness outreach resources in neighborhood commercial districts
  • Establishing rental subsidies for Seattle residents with disabilities to gain and sustain housing
  • Advancing progressive taxes on large business to fund investments in affordable housing, homelessness services and more
  • Emergency pandemic legislation to provide tenants an economic defense to eviction if non-payment of rent is related to COVID-19
  • Passing pandemic relief for small businesses and hospitality workers
  • Co-sponsoring legislation to provide a $4.00 per hour COVID hazard pay to workers at grocery stores with 500+ workers worldwide
  • Passing budget actions that shift funds from SPD to social services to better support and protect our communities
  • Passed gun safety laws requiring the safe storage of firearms and increasing penalties for failing to report a lost or stolen firearm
  • Banning foreign-influenced corporate donations to Seattle elections via campaigns or independent expenditure committees and expanded disclosure requirements for political advertising
  • Banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth

Lorena lives in West Seattle with her husband and young daughter.

 

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34 Comments
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Coco
Coco
3 years ago

No thanks. Have seen enough of her impact! Look around. Seattle is dirty and messed up. Her role on Council has hurt the city. We have had enough. Need to move in different direction as we come out of COVID. Take a walk through downtown.

epwarp
epwarp
3 years ago
Reply to  Coco

I can’t double down on the “No Thanks” strongly enough. Seattle seemed pretty reasonable ten years ago, but the policies and leadership indicated by Lorena Gonzalez are why Seattle is so filthy and dysfunctional right now. Hard to believe, but Mr. “Top Salesman at Carter Subaru” seems like the best candidate at this point.

A.Joy
A.Joy
3 years ago
Reply to  epwarp

You say Seattle was pretty reasonable ten years ago, but from where I stand it was just ignoring the needs of the many in order to please bigger pockets. Those days are hopefully coming to an end. Elitism is a sin and must be rectified. Nobody is better than anyone else based on how much or little income. It’s time you NIMBY snobs get forced to share the recourses you have been hording for yourself and passing down to your spoiled children. We all deserve a chance and your snooty “lifestyle” is no longer going to be treated as more important than a person’s basic needs. I’m so excited!

RWK
RWK
3 years ago
Reply to  Coco

I’ll join you in the “no thanks” reaction. The fact that she was an advocate of “defund police” is a deal-breaker for me. There probably needs to be some re-allocation of resources within the SPD, but the overall budget should stay the same.

CityOfVagrants
CityOfVagrants
3 years ago

Hard no. It’d be difficult to find someone worse to be mayor. I guess Sawant could always run. That’s the only way Gonzales would get my vote.

CHqueer
CHqueer
3 years ago

A proven track record of failure.

The Ghostt Of Capitol Hill
The Ghostt Of Capitol Hill
3 years ago

Awesome!

Suge White
Suge White
3 years ago

Ah hell to the no! The fact that her political career started as Ed Murray’s legal counsel should tell you everything you need to know.
Plus, I waited on her once, and she’s a terrible tipper. And her husbands a waiter/server.

CapHill worker
CapHill worker
3 years ago

The direction of the council has been terrible, how long have they been talking about cleaning up Seattle and getting the homeless real help? Her policies she has supported have been a disaster. Many times she seems over her head and does not act like a leader that needs to make the unpopular decision during council meetings.
Lorena is not the leader we need to make tough decision that await this city. Sort of like the Trump re-election, we can’t take 4 more years of this.

Come on right now
Come on right now
3 years ago

Hell naw, to the naw naw naw

McCloud
McCloud
3 years ago

Hard pass, but to be fair to Ms. Gonzalez, I wouldn’t vote for a single person in this City Council.

Martin
Martin
3 years ago

No thanks! Gonzales is not the worst choice, but nobody on the current city council is up for the position of mayor in my option. They all fell in line with the angry mob over the summer of 2020 or jumped on the bandwagon when it became politically inconvenience to stand up against the mob.

Mars Saxman
Mars Saxman
3 years ago

I’m glad to hear it and I would be happy to have her as mayor. I appreciated her support for SPD defunding last year.

ClaireWithTheHair
ClaireWithTheHair
3 years ago

She’s the prohibitive favorite, especially with Raven McShane as her career manager. But I think she will be a poor mayor. Pedersen and Juarez are the only two council members who have shown any backbone or practicality at all since the elections.

Gonzalez was on board with defunding the police, legalizing park encampments, a huge tax on businesses to kill economic growth, legalizing and promoting open-air drug use, and letting CHAZ do whatever they wanted. That kind of cowardly mindset is unfit for leadership. Take a look at San Francisco to see the end result of the road we’re headed down.

We desperately need Tim Burgess to run. All the other candidates seem to be in a race to the extremes to get the votes of professional activists. Common sense and responsible governance has been thrown completely out the window.

James T.
James T.
3 years ago

Big NO to Tim Burgess. Awful idea.

Coco
Coco
3 years ago
Reply to  James T.

Big yes. Enough with the current group. Look around!

James T
James T
3 years ago
Reply to  Coco

No thanks. Burgess is another right of center Durkan type. I want someone compassionate to the homeless and defunds the police. We need fresh blood. I’m supporting Echohawk or Oliver. The only ones who actually fight for the working class.

JCW
JCW
3 years ago
Reply to  James T

I could live with Echohawk. Oliver is a joke that would drive this city deeper into the ground than it already is.

CD Neighbor
CD Neighbor
3 years ago

Tim Burgess actually has a reasonable plan, one that if we started years ago, we wouldn’t have the gigantic mess that we do today. Gonzales is a big no…. she supports all of the foolishness that just perpetuates the problems.

Joey N
Joey N
3 years ago
Reply to  CD Neighbor

He doesn’t have a plan, he has an opinion piece with a list of concepts and no money. He had his chance and fucked it up to put us where we are now.

john
john
3 years ago

Yes to Tim, someone with a rationale mind

A.Joy
A.Joy
3 years ago

San Francisco got so bad because they continued pandering to snobbery and gentrification over the needs of it’s many more low paid workers. They had no vision for a just society, always putting bigger pockets wants for “lifestyle” over the very real need of most people. I am glad to see people fighting for social justice in our communities. Turns out most of us don’t want NIMBY neighbors and your vicious behavior of otherizing low income people as somehow o.k. because you think you actually deserve what you were lucky in getting and like a spoiled child don’t want to share. Bigger pockets don’t make better people. Class comes from behavior.

Jules James
Jules James
3 years ago

Ms. Gonzalez will be a formidable candidate, but who could only win my vote in a general election against a Sawant or Nikkita Oliver-type candidate. I’m very done with a city government that condemns its police force, abandons its shopkeepers, vilifies its landlords and illegally gives self-harming vulnerable populations free rein to our greenbelts and parks. As Council President, Ms. Gonzalez must be held accountable for the council’s actions.

James
James
3 years ago
Reply to  Jules James

Do not understand the hate for Oliver. Hard working queer black woman with a law degree and a teacher as well. Knows numbers and how to manage a budget. Kind of glad this blog doesn’t represent majority in CH…..

dre
dre
3 years ago
Reply to  James

I think it mostly has to do with ideological and radical extremist positions that Oliver takes. They have tweeted condoning property damage in Seattle neighborhoods and saying that that smashing windows is non-violent and just part of the revolution. Oliver is extremely biased and only represent a small minority of people who claim to have moral superiority because they are woke. You might be surprised how centrist Capitol Hill actually residents are…

Mimi
Mimi
3 years ago
Reply to  James

You don’t understand the hate for Oliver? Take a look at her twitter account. No sane, rational person wants her in office for anything.

RWK
RWK
3 years ago
Reply to  James

You WISH that this blog doesn’t represent the majority in Capitol Hill! I think it’s a pretty good barometer of public opinion in our neighborhood.

john
john
3 years ago

Ummm something new maybe?

CAPRES
CAPRES
3 years ago
Reply to  john

Didn’t we try ‘Something New’ with the current crop of council members??? That sure isn’t working out…..Holy cow…….

Russ
Russ
3 years ago

Unless Gonzales somehow ends up as the more rational choice no chance I’m voting for her.

CHqueer
CHqueer
3 years ago
Reply to  Russ

I think the political class is going to be surprised by the level of backlash from Seattle voters against the years of grand-standing, mismanagement and stupidity. Everyone I know (all left of center) is fed up and wants these lunatics out of office. People want results not excuses. The pendulum is swinging and it is going to be a bad year for incumbents in local elections.

Mimi
Mimi
3 years ago
Reply to  CHqueer

100 percent and I can not wait.

sasha
sasha
3 years ago
Reply to  CHqueer

Ok Qanon

TheShwartzBwithU
TheShwartzBwithU
3 years ago

Need a “None of the above” option on the ballot.