Nobody getting primaried here — Democratic leaders in Capitol Hill’s state legislative district running unopposed

None the big “D” Democrats in the state’s 43rd Legislative District representing Capitol Hill and the nearby in Olympia will be primaried. And none will face a challenge from the right.

The final count of candidates registering for this summer’s August primary shows the state leaders hailing from the 43rd — Sen. Jamie Pedersen, Rep. Nicole Macri, and senior member Rep. Frank Chopp — are each running unopposed.

The area might be the power center for a nationally recognized socialist city council member but, this time around, there will not be a challenge from the left to push back on the Democratic stronghold. Continue reading

Abortion, COVID, healthcare, hate — 43rd District Democrats talk about big issues with Rep. Jayapal’s office

 

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By Hannah Saunders

A visit from the office of our federal representative in Washington D.C. with local Democratic leaders and community members was well-timed amid a growing local response to concerns over national abortion rights. It was also a sign of the times. Rep. Pramila Jayapal was unable to attend the virtual meeting of the 43rd District Democrats due to COVID-19.

Rachel Berkson, Rep. Jayapal’s Deputy Chief of Staff and District Director, attended the 43rd District Democrats general meeting last week to discuss some of the greatest issues at the federal level, and to answer questions from the 43rd Dems.

Since the Congresswoman tested positive for COVID-19 last weekend, she is quarantining in San Francisco. Berkson is based in Seattle and lives in the 34th district but grew up in the 43rd district.

Two primary issues were flagged by Berkson: the leaked Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the gun violence epidemic. Berkson described how Rep. Jayapal is very open about having had an abortion, and even led a march from the House to the Senate, where the Senate did not pass a bill to codify Roe v Wade.

“She also knows we need more progressives,” said Berkson, who explained how Rep. Jayapal is focused on maintaining the House majority. Continue reading

Welcome, Laurelhurst? No matter how state redistricting hiccup works out, likely only small changes ahead for Capitol Hill’s 43rd District

The 43rd today, left, and the commission’s approved (but not final) adjustments

For all Capitol Hill residents on the edge of their seat wondering if the neighborhood will remain at the center of the state’s 43rd Legislative District, you’re going to have to wait a bit longer. For the first time since its creation, the Washington State Redistricting Commission has failed to finalize a new set of maps for congressional and state legislative districts. The process will now go to the state Supreme Court leaving the final decision on borders determining legislative representation neighborhood by neighborhood across the state in the hands of judges.

For the 43rd, the court’s decisions are most likely to result in minor changes with the commission’s “approved” — but not final — map proposal adding southern Laurelhurst in exchange for lopping off areas around Green Lake. But some of the commission member proposals for the 43rd show just how complicated the process can get.

State law required a November 15th deadline for the commissioners to develop the new maps. The reshaping of the state’s boundaries were planned to be in place in time for the 2022 midterm elections.

Created by state constitutional amendment in the 1980’s, the commission first created maps in 1991, after the 1990 census. A different group of commissioners are appointed each time. Two people are appointed by Democrats and two by Republicans. Those four then appoint a non-voting, fifth member to act as chair.

For a map to be approved, at least three of the voting members must agree on it. The idea was to take the process out of the hands of a partisan Legislature, which in many states leads to lawmakers drawing maps that nakedly favor one party over the other. Washington’s process typically leads to the vast majority of the seats being safe for one party or the other, while a handful are competitive.

This year’s commission included former Capitol Hill state Rep. Brady Pinero Walkinshaw as one of the Democratic representatives, along with April Sims. In an on-brand move for the Republicans, their commissioners were both straight white men, Paul Graves and Joe Fain. Sarah Augustine served as chair.

You might not be surprised that some of the most disruptive changes to the Democratic stalwart 43rd District were put forward in the Republican proposals: Continue reading

What Seattle’s mayoral candidates had to say about the Chauvin verdict and police reform

The conviction of Derek Chauvin for George Floyd’s murder loomed large as mayoral candidates made their elevator pitch to local Democrats Tuesday evening.

Over the past several months, leaders from across Seattle have thrown their hats into the ring to replace Mayor Jenny Durkan, who announced in December she would not seek reelection after one term in office.

Five of the top mayoral candidates met virtually with dozens of 43rd District Democrats to make their two-minute arguments on why they are the right choice to lead the city.

Colleen Echohawk, executive director of the Chief Seattle Club, announced her campaign in January with a proposal to create a new Public Safety Department “with community-based mental health workers and neighborhood liaisons.” She said speaking hours after the Chauvin verdict was handed down was “heavy.”

“I’m certainly happy that the legal system worked today, but this is not justice,” Echohawk said. “My heart is hurting and breaking right now for George Floyd’s family, for other families who have been impacted by the brutality of the police departments around the country.”

She added she was running for mayor to bring “transformational and generational change” to the city and focused on the failure to address the homelessness crisis, work she has been on the frontline of with her organization.

Seattle City Council President Lorena González opened saying the Chauvin conviction was “welcome news, but not the panacea of justice for Black Americans,” adding “this is just the beginning.” Continue reading

43rd District legislators talk holding police accountable, taxing capital gains, and helping renters at town hall

Capitol Hill-area lawmakers talked reforming police accountability, taxing capital gains, and helping renters in a virtual town hall with constituents Saturday afternoon.

The full recording of Saturday’s online session is below.

Democratic Sen. Jamie Pedersen, the chair of his chamber’s Law and Justice Committee, said law enforcement reform and gun control were his top priorities this session in Olympia.

“We experienced first-hand the real cries of frustration of a lot of people about the police and how they have interacted with our communities,” he said, noting he lives closest to Cal Anderson Park of any 43rd District lawmaker.

He highlighted several bills moving through the Legislature that would change policing in Washington, from more stringent audits and prohibitions on chokeholds and guidelines on the use of crowd control weapons to the creation of an independent office to investigate police use of force and setting standards for when law enforcement can use force. All four of these measures have passed through the state House and are set for Thursday votes in Pedersen’s committee. Continue reading

Time for civility in the 43rd District — or time to take the gloves off? Dwarf warrior Chopp holds own in debate with Bluthulu Lascelles

A dwarf warrior vs. Bluthulu in the 43rd

Days before election results are announced — and with nearly 70% of ballots already returned in their district — state Rep. Frank Chopp and his third-party challenger Sherae Lascelles seemed to be agreeing on most policy issues in a Hillowee-flavored debate hosted by The Stranger Thursday night. The result for the online crowd Thursday night, anyhow, was a victory in the viewers poll for the incumbent Chopp — a possible prediction, he hopes, of the veteran lawmaker’s maintaining a connection with his Democratic base and resonance with at least a portion of its more progressive edges.

Both said they were in support of a head tax-like proposal for big business. Both said they wanted to enact “good cause” eviction legislation at the state level. Both said they were against fare enforcement. Both said they wanted to cap rent increases at 2%. Both said police officers were overrated and protesters demonstrating for the past 150 days were underrated.

And both said they wanted to ban high capacity magazines in guns and decriminalize sex work. Chopp said he wanted to tax capital gains at 10% and Lascelles said 5% would be a good starting point.

But they did notably diverge on one question not relating to policy that could say a lot about how they would govern if elected in the 43rd Legislative District.

Is this a time for civility in government — or is it time to take the gloves off? Continue reading

43rd District’s Chopp and Lascelles trade barbs over policing, racism, and ‘incrementalism’ in Seattle U candidates forum

With the election less than a month away and ballots set to be mailed out in just over a week, community advocate Sherae Lascelles criticized the incrementalism they see as epitomized by Rep. Frank Chopp, a Democrat who has served in Olympia since 1995, who in turn touted years of accomplishments in a virtual forum Monday evening.

When Chopp noted he supports a state income tax and laid out his past work on estate and big business taxes, Lascelles argued this past work doesn’t go far enough and called for taxes on capital gains and wealth, saying “we can’t just add the word progressive to a legislation and say that it’s actually enough.”

Lascelles, who represents the Seattle People’s Party, noted that their goals haven’t changed in the face of months of protests against police brutality and systemic racism because they see their campaign as already aligning with the movement.

“My priorities have always been with them because I am a part of them,” said Lascelles, a non-binary person of color. “I will bring the movement that impacts the municipal level and the county level to the state one. We no longer can just say the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ and do nothing and not have our actions speak as loud, if not louder, than our words.”

Chopp noted his work on the police accountability measure, Initiative 940, which passed in 2018 with 60% of the vote, but said that was only the beginning. He also called for the abolition of qualified immunity for police officers and changing collective bargaining agreements that allow law enforcement to skirt transparency. Lascelles pushed for divesting from the state Department of Corrections and reinvesting in communities of color.

“There is so much more we need to do,” Chopp said. “I will definitely actively sponsor and advocate for and push through legislation that would restrict the use of police force.”

Chopp, who served the longest tenure of any Washington House speaker from 1999-2019, described Olympia as the “most progressive Legislature in the nation,” but conceded “we’ve got to do a lot more and a lot more better things.”

“But we have a strong record of progressive legislation,” he said in an apparent attempt to pushback on Lascelles’s characterization of him as too moderate to represent the 43rd Legislative District, which includes Capitol Hill, Madison Park, and Montlake.

Lascelles, meanwhile, argued that “incrementalism kills folks” because of the difficulties disadvantaged communities face in accessing existing systems. Continue reading

43rd District forum: Chopp touts years of political experience, Lascelles calls for change of ‘political will’ in Olympia

The fundamental division of the race between state Rep. Frank Chopp and activist challenger Sherae Lascelles was brought into stark relief Thursday night during a virtual forum hosted by the 43rd District Democrats. The election is not just a referendum on policy proposals, but a question of what voters value more: a candidate in Chopp who was the longest serving House speaker in state history with extensive experience shepherding legislation or a candidate like Lascelles who has been the subject of decisions made in Olympia as a non-binary person of color.

So while there are differences between the candidates, like Lascelles bluntly calling themself an “abolitionist” while Chopp stops at saying he supports reducing police funding and funneling that money into housing and mental health services as well as independent oversight of law enforcement, the incumbent Thursday night focused on specific measures he has pushed in his 25 years in the state legislature, while Lascelles focused on how those policies affect people like them.

Thursday, Chopp called for a permanent extension of the statewide eviction moratorium implemented because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, lifting the statewide ban on rent control that has stunted local efforts to cap rent, and an increase in funding for affordable housing. Lascelles called these measures, which would face uphill battles in Olympia, a “great start.”

“We quite literally need to cancel rent and cancel mortgages,” Lascelles said on the Zoom forum to about 120 attendees. “It’s gonna hit us hard, it’s gonna hit us for a while. I’m currently living in precarity because I’m one of those individuals that without the eviction moratorium, I would be homeless again. It’s not enough to just delay the debt. That debt can cripple the entirety of someone’s future and life.” Continue reading

43rd District Dems to hold online forum in Chopp-Lascelles race

Mark you calendars for a virtual candidates forum Thursday night and a debate pitting incumbent 43rd District Rep. Frank Chopp against challenger Sherae Lascelles.

43rd Democrats Host Online Candidate Forum for State Representative Pos. 2 

(Seattle, WA) The 43rd District Democrats will host an online candidate forum on Thursday, September 10 with the general election candidates for 43rd State Representative Pos. 2: Representative Frank Chopp and Sherae Lascelles.

Event highlights:

  • Get to know the candidates ahead of the November general election and hear where they stand on important issues affecting the state and 43rd District.

  • Open to the public: All residents of Washington’s 43rd Legislative District are invited to attend, regardless of party affiliation.

  • Ask questions: Attendees will have the option to submit questions for the candidates ahead of time.

WHEN: Thursday, September 10, at 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. PT

WHERE: Online via Zoom and Facebook Live! This is a free event, but registration is required to receive the Zoom link. Please RSVP here. The form to submit questions will be included in the registration confirmation, and a link to the Zoom meeting will be sent out the day before.

ACCESSIBILITY: Please contact [email protected] if you need any assistance joining or participating in an online meeting.

CHS reported here on the August primary vote that put Democratic Party veteran Chopp into a race with the political upstart Lascelles. A member of the Seattle People’s Party, Lascelles grabbed the second slot in the “top two” primary system. You can read more about their positions and campaigns here.

Politics through a pandemic: How the race to represent Capitol Hill in Olympia is shaping up in the summer of COVID-19

(Image: Elect Jessi Murray)

Jessi Murray was ready to start door-knocking.

The candidate for the 43rd Legislative District’s Position 2, representing the areas of Capitol Hill, Madison Park, and Montlake, had ordered her nametag and was prepared for the campaign’s first day of action with canvassing in late March.

But with social distancing restrictions and stay-at-home orders quickly levied in the state to stunt the COVID-19 pandemic, Murray and the rest of the field have had to recalibrate their campaigns on the fly to unprecedented circumstances as attention has partially turned away from politics to a global pandemic that has left hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians unemployed and killed over 1,400.

Murray first pushed the kick-off a couple weeks thinking maybe “this will blow over.”

“A week later, we were like ‘This is not gonna happen.’”

Murray’s first move was a big push toward digital campaigning, with weekly town halls on Thursday nights on various topics and some text-banking. The campaign has also invested more in targeted mailing campaigns, focusing on areas where voters may be more interested in a new candidate who fashions herself as running to the left of the longtime incumbent, Rep. Frank Chopp. Continue reading