Tag Archives: elections

Capitol Hill architect and political upstart one of first to join 2021’s wide open Seattle mayor’s race

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(Image: agh4sea.com)

A Capitol Hill architect with progressive and urbanist bona fides is launching a longshot campaign to lead the city.

Andrew Grant Houston — known as Ace — announced his campaign for Mayor of Seattle Tuesday morning:

His decision to run comes after years of advocacy for more housing at all income levels and a lack of response to the climate crisis this past September, when the Puget Sound registered the worst AQI score the region has ever seen. Andrew is a queer Black and Latino Architect, small business owner, and activist with a vision of transforming Seattle into one of the most vibrant, sustainable cities in the world: a city where no one has to sleep outside, where local businesses and culture thrive, and where orcas start to visit once again.

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State Supreme Court to decide on Sawant appeal in recall — UPDATE

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The State Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision Thursday in Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant’s appeal of the recall case against her.

UPDATE 1/8/2021 9:00 AM: Any decision in the case has not been publicly announced as of Friday morning.

UPDATE x2: The court now says there is not a timeline for issuing its opinion in the case:

The Sawant Solidarity campaign formed to help the District 3 council representative if the recall moves forward is girding for the court to rule against Sawant’s appeal.

Sawant’s legal team launched the appeal in October following a King County Superior Court judge’s decision that allowed the recall effort against the longest serving member of the council to move forward.

Sawant’s lawyers from Barnard Iglitzin & Lavitt LLP — “the Pacific Northwest’s largest union-side labor and employment law firm” — say the superior court erred in determining that the charges brought against Sawant were “legally and factually sufficient to support a recall.” Continue reading →

Popular on Capitol Hill — and possible mother of the Pike/Pine ‘superblock,’ Mosqueda says she’ll run to keep seat on City Council — not join race for mayor

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(Image: City of Seattle)

After leading Seattle through a sometimes fractious effort to begin the process of redirecting the city’s budget from policing to social and community spending in the midst of a summer of Black Lives Matter protests, citywide City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda announced Wednesday she will seek to retain her seat at City Hall in November’s election ending speculation of a possible run for mayor.

“As we turn the page on a tumultuous period for our City and nation, we need leaders who can bring people together to solve complex problems,” Mosqueda said in her announcement sent to media Wednesday morning. “My team and I have led on major policy initiatives, and delivered impactful change by creating diverse coalitions. There are many challenges ahead as we leave the COVID-19 era; to restart our economy and get people into housing, a proven track record of delivering will be needed. My team and I are ready to do the work.”

CHS reported on Mosqueda’s election to the council in November 2017, calling the Washington State Labor Council lobbyist a worker rights advocate who had focused on immigrant and refugee rights against workplace discrimination. Continue reading →

Here Lie Ten Suffragists: Capitol Hill’s Lake View Cemetery part of effort to mark history of women’s right to vote

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A grassroots movement is honoring the gravesites of Washington suffragists including some right here on Capitol Hill, marking 100 years of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote and providing an important reflection on the past as the first woman to be elected U.S. Vice President prepares to take office.

Washington state won and lost the women’s right to vote four times before the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, a process that took resilience and determination.

“[Suffragists] had to continually fight these societal norms. As much as they tried to use logic and the constitution, what really won the argument was these women had to demonstrate that . . . just because they got the right to vote doesn’t mean they were going to abandon their domestic duties and their husbands and their children,” ThankHer2020’s organizer Starlyn Nackos explained.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s also fascinating at the same time. The women that were so influential and successful were the ones who used those arguments. The first time women were able to successfully vote was because they hosted a picnic luncheon at the polling station.” Continue reading →

City Council passes disclosure rules targeting ‘indirect lobbying’ like Move Seattle Forward

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This summer, the Move Seattle Forward group helped organize opposition to the City Council’s efforts to cut back on police spending in the city. it was a slick effort. And it probably helped shape the final budgets that followed.

Monday, the City Council passed new rules based on recommendations from the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission to clamp down on so-called “indirect lobbying” efforts that shape public opinion without having to disclose who was calling the shots and where the money was coming from. Continue reading →

One and done — Durkan says won’t seek reelection in 2021

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After a year battling the COVID-19 crisis and struggling with ongoing Black Lives Matter and anti-police unrest in the city, Jenny Durkan has announced she will not seek reelection after finishing her term as Mayor of Seattle next year.

“I have decided not to run for reelection because Seattle, we still have some tough months ahead,” Durkan said in a video statement on the decision. “I will focus on leading our city as we plan to reopen and distribute a vaccine, support our workers and small businesses, continue reimagining community safety, and addressing challenges like the West Seattle Bridge, homelessness, and climate change.” Continue reading →

Save some paper and get your Democracy Vouchers online as program expands to mayor’s race in 2021

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Mayor Jenny Durkan is already building a war chest for 2021. And at least one opponent is already lined up.

In what could be the next in a growing line of “most expensive Seattle election’s ever,” Seattle’s Democracy Vouchers program will play an even larger role in trying to keep the playing field level.

The program says its 2021 vouchers will be distributed in February but officials with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission that administers the program are suggesting an even better way to take part in the program — online. You can register to receive virtual vouchers instead of the paper variety: Continue reading →

Celebration on Capitol Hill as the anarchist jurisdiction says fuck Donald Trump — UPDATE: Party and demonstrations in the ‘former CHOP’

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Capitol Hill woke to shouts, music, and fireworks as Seattle got the news Saturday.

Joe Biden has defeated Donald Trump to become the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris will become the nation’s the first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect.

UPDATE: There’s a party in the “former CHOP”

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President-elect Biden making Friday night address — ‘Protect Every Person’ rally Saturday in Westlake

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(Image: Biden for President)

After an excruciating Election Night and week of steadily growing vote counts for the Democratic challengers, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are planned to address the nation Friday night.

A scheduled hour for the “prime time” appearance has not been announced.

Vote totals Friday showed Biden and Harris winning Pennsylvania, putting the ticket over the 270 threshold required to claim Electoral College victory — though major media has been reluctant to declare winners in the race and in still un-called battlegrounds Georgia and Nevada given the blistering attacks leveled over early calls on Arizona.

The Trump administration campaign is also threatening legal actions and has hopes for recounts but most experts agree any reversal of the totals seen by Friday in the remaining states seemed highly unlikely.

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As demonstrations march, Capitol Hill weathers an excruciating Election Night — UPDATE: First WA results

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(Image: Alex Garland/CHS)

(Image: Renee Raketty/CHS)

An excruciating Election Night on Seattle’s Capitol Hill was marked by unsurprising victories in the state for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and incumbent Governor Jay Inslee who claimed his third term in Olympia. Results from Washington’s first tally of ballot counts are below.

But the night’s attention remained on the national race for the White House where Donald Trump was mounting a defense that felt remarkably familiar to the Republican’s 2016 triumph. In an overnight speech, Trump said he had won the election and signaled his campaign would fight the continued counting of ballots in battleground states including Michigan and Pennsylvania. In King County, if you’re wondering, Trump managed just over 20% of the first tally of votes.

In Cal Anderson, dozens of protesters were reported gathering for an Election Night demonstration organized by groups that have maintained nightly anti-police marches through the neighborhood since the height of the summer’s Black Lives Matter activism. Police said there were two demonstrations underway in the city with marches starting in the South Lake Union at Cascade Park and another leaving Cal Anderson Park, headed west on Denny. UPDATE 9:25 PM: Clashes between protesters and police were reported underway in downtown Seattle. UPDATE 9:55 PM: After reports of property damage and a few arrests, SPD has pushed demonstrators up Denny back toward Capitol Hill.

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