Tag Archives: 43rd district

43rd District Democrats endorse ‘Tax the Rich’ upstart over ‘Millionaire Tax’ veteran state senator

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Last week’s 43rd candidates forum at First Baptist

The core political organization of Washington’s 43rd District representing a swath centered from Capitol Hill to the University District threw its support behind the “Tax the Rich,” worker-focused upstart and turned on its most experienced leader Tuesday night.

The 43rd District Democrats voted to endorse labor leader Hannah Sabio-Howell in the meeting over State Sen. Jamie Pedersen, the current Majority Leader in the Washington State Senate, an architect of the Millionaires Tax, and a veteran lawmaker who has been part of 43rd District leadership for twenty years.

Tuesday’s vote followed a 43rd candidates forum last week on First Hill. The 43rd’s incumbents for the state House of Representatives have the support of district Dems with housing champion Rep. Nicole Macri facing a long-shot challenger and Rep. Shaun Scott’s time at the forum turned into a Q&A session as the Democratic socialist is running unopposed.

Sabio-Howell and Pedersen’s debate, on the other hand, drew spirited attention with cheers and a few whistles along the way.

“I’m running for state senate here in the 43rd Legislative District because I believe in a Washington where we could build our lives affordably,” Sabio-Howell said at one point. “The crisis of affordability is something that hasn’t been addressed by status quo leadership.” Continue reading →

Up for reelection in 2026, housing champ Rep. Macri holding town hall as she draws young challenger

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State Rep. Nicole Macri will hold a town hall Tuesday night to update her 43rd District constituents on the latest legislative session including passage of the state’s new income tax on high-earning households and her work in Olympia as she sets out her run for reelection.

What: Community Town Hall with Rep. Nicole Macri

When: Tuesday, April 21

  • 5:30 PM: Doors open
  • 6:00 PM: Doors close / Town Hall begins
  • 7:00 PM: Town Hall Q&A concludes

“I’m especially proud that we passed the Millionaires Tax, one of the most significant tax reform policies in our state’s history,” Macri’s announcement for the event reads. “It’s an important step toward a fairer tax system that asks the wealthiest Washingtonians to contribute more so we can invest in schools, health care, housing, and the services our communities rely on.”

Macri’s solo town hall event comes as the 43rd District leader representing areas including Capitol Hill and the University District will navigate a bit of a political minefield this summer. Her fellow state Rep. Shaun Scott is backing the challenger to her sibling 43rd Sen. Jamie Pedersen. Continue reading →

43rd District political fight: A First Hill ‘tax the rich’ labor leader is taking on a Capitol Hill architect of the Millionaires Tax — Here’s why

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The 43rd

(Image: Hannah for Washington)

A “tax the rich” labor leader from First Hill will take on arguably the most politically powerful — and experienced — resident of Capitol Hill for his seat in Olympia. After years of mostly quiet stability, a political battle is taking shape in the state’s 43rd District.

Hannah Sabio-Howell announced Monday she will run to challenge State Sen. Jamie Pedersen, the current Majority Leader in the Washington State Senate and a veteran lawmaker who has been part of 43rd District leadership for twenty years.

The announcement comes as Pedersen is set to have led legislators to approve a new Millionaires Tax in the state that would impose a 9.9% levy on household earnings above $1 million per year and be Washington’s first-ever income tax. It is a tax progressive leaders like 43rd District Rep. Shaun Scott and Sabio–Howell in her role at labor advocacy group Working Washington have fought for.

Still, Sabio-Howell says she believes the 43rd District needs a “fighter” who will act with urgency to address the affordability crisis. While acknowledging Pedersen’s 20-year legacy including marriage equality, and the capital gains tax, Sabio-Howell says Pedersen’s approach is too slow for the current pace of change and too influenced by corporate interests.

“Washington State could be the best place in the nation to build a life, but right now, particularly in the 43rd District, people can’t afford it,” Sabio–Howell tells CHS. “Our affordability crisis needs to be addressed with urgency. Decades of lawmaking have let the biggest, wealthiest corporations set the agenda. I honor the work Senator Pedersen has done over his 20 years in office on marriage equality and overcoming Tim Eyman’s tax initiatives. But the pace of change over those two decades has been a little too slow for what we deserve and need right now. We need a fighter for our shared vision.”

Pedersen says the fight has already been underway. Continue reading →

43rd Rep. Scott holding ‘Tax the Rich’ town hall on First Hill

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Rep. Shaun Scott is holding a town hall on First Hill this weekend as his office prepares for the legislative session ahead.

The 43rd District representative says the “Tax The Rich”-themed town hall will be “a great opportunity for community members to gather, get loud, and voice their support for progressive revenue before the January 2026 legislative session.”

The town hall comes amid calls for more belt-tightening after Gov. Bob Ferguson’s previous budget depended on spending cuts and new taxes to reach a balance. The storms of financial uncertainty and Trump administration threats have further clouded forecasts. Continue reading →

With August 5th primary election looming, 43rd Dems go ‘hybrid’ for July meeting

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The 43rd District Democrats will mark a first this month that should make it easier to take part in its sessions connecting area Democratic leaders and political candidates to the neighborhoods they serve. The group’s July meeting will be its first ever hybrid event allowing both in-person and virtual participation:

Join us on July 15th from 7-9pm for our HYBRID July General meeting! That’s right, you can join us in person at the Erickson Theater (1524 Harvard Ave) or join us on Zoom. Hear from State Attorney General Nick Brown, get the latest on the upcoming primary with Erica Barnett, Sandeep Kaushik and David Hyde as they record an episode of the Seattle Nice Podcast, ask questions and connect with your 43rd electeds, and meet many of our endorsed candidates and hear about ways to get involved in their campaigns.

The visit to the neighborhood with a meeting at Harvard Ave’s Erickson Theater will also include a chance to sit in — or tune in — on a live recording of the Seattle Nice podcast from Erica Barnett, Sandeep Kaushik and David Hyde.

You can learn more and register for Tuesday night’s meeting here.

CHS reported earlier on the group’s endorsements for the upcoming August primary. Ballots will be arriving soon for the August 5th vote.

 
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Scott and Rinck holding ‘Crisis Care Center Townhall’ on Capitol Hill

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The proposed Broadway site

There have been few public updates on the King County Department of Community and Human Services plan to open a mental health Crisis Care Center at Broadway and Union but two Seattle political leaders are collaborating on an event next week on Capitol Hill to raise support for the project.

“7/7 @ 7PM is our chance to lift every voice in support of a behavioral health crisis center that will help the Capitol Hill community and its people,” reads the social media post from Rep. Shaun Scott. “Come ready to have a good time at Vermillion with community leaders who support an inclusive Seattle.”

The Crisis Care Center Townhall will take place Monday night at the 11th Ave art bar and will include Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, according to the flyer.

We have inquiries out to Scott and Rinck to learn more. King County DCHS is also listed as part of the event as is comedian Brett Hamil.

“Drinks + Comedy + Civics,” the pitch reads. Continue reading →

43rd District Democrats endorse upstarts and progressives in Seattle’s 2025 election races

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With reporting by Hannah Saunders

Seattle’s political 2025 season is shaped as a battle of incumbents vs. upstart challengers with divides along the center-leaning leaders who currently hold the offices — and want to stay — and candidates who say they will bring a more progressive vision to City Hall.

This week’s 43rd District Democrats endorsement meeting for the upcoming August primary was a showcase for these challenging progressives.

“We must do better to protect Seattle communities from attacks against the Trump administration,” mayoral candidate Katie Wilson told the endorsement meeting crowd Tuesday night, criticizing incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell’s middle-of-the-road approach to housing, social services, and civil rights.

The progressive organizer who has worked with organizations like the Transit Riders Union, and helped lead minimum wage and renter rights campaigns around the region secured the 43rd’s endorsement with a strong 89 votes (82.4%) out of 108 ballots cast, triumphing over incumbent Harrell and candidates Ry Armstrong, Joe Molloy, and Joe Mallahan with her commitment to “Trump-proofing” Seattle with a multifaceted approach including addressing homelessness, affordable housing, and transportation. Continue reading →

Mapping Scott and Rinck wins across Capitol Hill, the Central District, and the ‘blue city’ of Seattle

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Maps of the neighborhood by neighborhood totals show recent political fault lines across Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Seattle held firm in the November election even as city leaders stoked rising priorities around law and order solutions to the city’s drug crisis and street disorder.

Meanwhile, anybody looking for clues about the changing political nature of “blue cities” will likely be confounded by our local results.

In the battle for Tanya Woo’s appointed citywide seat on the Seattle City Council, progressive challenger Alexis Mercedes Rinck dominated the core of the city with some of her strongest precinct showings in Capitol Hill’s renter-dominated center and on her home turf in the Central District with results approaching 75 to 80% of the vote. Continue reading →

The Seattle Police Department does not endorse Andrea Suarez

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An image from a since deleted Suarez social media post

And it doesn’t endorse her opponent, either.

While the race for the open seat to represent Capitol Hill and the 43rd District in Olympia mirrors the national battle of extreme polarization over social issues and public safety, the final days of the race have taken on parochial dimensions that even have the Seattle Police Department saying enough already.

Heading into the weekend in a now deleted social media post, candidate Andrea Suarez complained about stickers on street signs in Wallingford and accused opponent Shaun Scott of wanting to “abolish the police” in a message tagging the Seattle Police Department and the Seattle Police Officers Guild union and thanking them for their endorsement.

SPD was not amused. Continue reading →

Scott vs. Suarez — The race for the 43rd moves through the Capitol Hill Farmers Market

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Scott with campaign workers at Sunday’s farmers market

Suarez and her recovered signs

This election season’s battle for the open seat to represent the 43rd District in the Washington House of Representatives has many of the markings of modern political warfare — extreme polarization over social issues and public safety, slick attack ads with the fingerprints of political think tanks all over them, and back and forth accusations tying the opposition to larger, overarching threats to the country and Democracy as we know it.

But as the campaign draws closer to November 5th’s Election Day, the fight was playing out over the weekend with simpler battles over stolen campaign signs and the neighborhood farmers market.

Sunday, Shaun Scott and opponent Andrea Suarez told CHS that both campaigns were confident that they’d come out on top.

Scott has regularly canvassed at the Capitol Hill Farmers Market since the start of his campaign, which has amounted to about 24 visits, he said. Attending the market has allowed the candidate to talk with many voters who are more challenging to reach through traditional campaigning methods like door-knocking. When speaking with neighborhood residents, the primary concern Scott says he hears is the need to pass the rent stabilization bill, House Bill 2114, which will be re-introduced next session and would, in part, limit rent and fee increases.

CHS Election 2024

“Renters are one of the most disenfranchised groups that we have in our state, because we have a state legislature that is dominated by property holders, homeowners, landlords, and as a result, the interests of renters and working people are not reflected in our state government and it’s decisions,” Scott told CHS.

While acknowledging the skyrocketing of rental prices, Suarez holds different views on the efficacy of rental caps. Continue reading →