Tag Archives: politics

From 22nd and Pine to the wraparound porches of Denny Blaine, the candidates hit the streets of District 3

Posted on by
5

Hollingsworth in Denny Blaine (Image: CHS)

Candidate Hudson meeting the residents of D3 (Image: CHS)

There are forums and meet and greets, platforms and media releases. But you can also learn a lot about a candidate by watching the way they meet a voter and ask for their support. Saturday, CHS hit the pavement around District 3 as candidates Joy Hollingsworth and Alex Hudson worked with their campaign teams to walk the neighborhoods and meet voters — and make their cases for election.

With general elections swiftly approaching, Seattle City Council candidates Joy Hollingsworth and Alex Hudson spent this past Saturday conducting door-to-door canvassing throughout District 3. Hollingsworth’s deep community roots play to one strategic advantage through her knowledge of district-wide issues and ability to relate to the community. She carried herself with confidence Saturday and didn’t shy away from introducing herself to walkers with golden retrievers passing by.

CHS ELECTION COVERAGE

Want to know more about the candidates? Attend a local forum including the Central Area Neighborhood District Council and Leschi Community Candidate Forum — Wednesday, October 4th 7 PM

Hudson’s personality, on the other hand, is to meet individuals at their doorsteps. She didn’t hesitate when providing information about her skills or experience. She shares why she’s passionate about running, and listens to what concerns residents hold.

Hollingsworth was born and raised in the Central District, with a background in sustainability and community work. She says she is running on improving essential city services, creating tangible goals to measure progress, and amplifying voices of residents— not as a whole district, but by each neighborhood. She spent the earlier part of her Saturday morning canvassing with MLK Labor, which hosted a door-knocking event to support labor-endorsed Seattle candidates. After, she canvassed in the Denny Blaine area and met a couple who were on their wraparound porch. Continue reading →

43rd District Democrats back Hudson in Seattle City Council D3 race

Posted on by
10

Hudson at the recent labor march calling for higher wages for city workers

One of the area’s most significant political organizations has made its choice in the District 3 race for the Seattle City Council.

The 43rd District Democrats group voted last week to endorse First Hill’s Alex Hudson for the D3 seat on the city council. The group of Democratic supporters draws from the some of the most densely packed blocks in District 3 within the state legislation district that stretches from Madison across Capitol Hill to the north.

The endorsement marks a split with the 43rd’s southern cousin. The 37th District Democrats group covering D3’s Central District-area neighborhoods backed Hudson’s Central District challenger Joy Hollingsworth earlier this summer.

Hudson’s camp says the pick adds to “a string of important endorsements” and says the endorsement illustrates the candidate’s progressive bonafides.

“Hudson is a strong progressive with a long string of accomplishments in diverse policy areas and a proven track record of building coalitions and finding common ground across divides,” the press release reads. “On a broad range of issues, including housing affordability, creating parks and improving neighborhood quality of life, as well as transit and transportation, Hudson has demonstrated an impressive capacity for solving problems and delivering tangible results.” Continue reading →

Mapping the Hollingsworth-Hudson primary victories in a less polarized District 3

Posted on by
11

By Andrew Hong special for CHS

This map shows the voteshares comparing only the top two candidates — and illustrates that District 3’s political divides were muddled in August 2023

While the 2023 Seattle City Council primary mirrored familiar polarized voting trends seen in Seattle — and national — politics, there was actually signs of depolarization in District 3 in August’s vote compared to the same election in 2019. In fact there was a strong correlation between precincts that went to progressive Kshama Sawant in 2019, and precincts that shifted away from the more progressive candidate in the race in 2023.

In the 2023 August primary election for Seattle City Council District 3, Joy Hollingsworth and Alex Hudson clearly prevailed as the two winners advancing to the general election to succeed Councilmember Sawant. The two winners were endorsed by The Seattle Times and The Stranger, respectively, which have become standard bearers of the centrist and progressive political lanes and primary election winners in Seattle politics.

Here is a look at how that vote fell across the district, block by block.

District 3 has a reputation for siding with progressive-endorsed candidates, with socialist incumbent Kshama Sawant winning 3 (4 if you count the recall) elections in District 3 and citywide candidates routinely performing best in District 3 out of the 7 council districts. Continue reading →

‘The mayor’s candidate’ — Harrell endorses Hollingsworth in Seattle City Council District 3 race

Posted on by
12

(Image: Joy for Seattle)

Already bonded over their shared communities in the Central District, the political fortunes of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and District 3 city council candidate Joy Hollingsworth are now further intertwined.

Thursday, the first-term mayor and former city councilmember formally endorsed Hollingsworth in the race to replace Kshama Sawant at City Hall.

“Growing up in Seattle’s historically Black community, my family and the Hollingsworth family share roots and values – both of us raised by parents and grandparents committed to equity, breaking down barriers, and making this a better place for the next generation,” Harrell said in the press release from the Hollingsworth campaign, adding that he is “excited that Joy is stepping up to serve and chart her path to public service.” Continue reading →

Gov. Inslee won’t seek reelection in 2024

Posted on by
Reply

 

BECOME A CHS SUBSCRIBER
Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. Become a subscriber at $1/$5/$10 a month.

 

 

 

Gov. Inslee at the opening of Capitol Hill Station in 2016

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday he will not seek a fourth term to lead Washington state setting off what is expected to be a wide open race for this office in 2024.

“Serving the people as governor of Washington state has been my greatest honor,” Inslee said in a statement. “During a decade of dynamic change, we’ve made Washington a beacon for progress for the nation. I’m ready to pass the torch.”

Inslee, 72, became only the second Washington state governor to serve three consecutive terms when he was reelected in 2020. Inslee announcement comes a week after Joe Biden, 80, announced he will, indeed, seek reelection in 2024.

The race is now on for which Democrat candidate for Washington governor will join Biden on the 2024 ballot.

In his statement, Inslee highlighted the economic growth of Washington under his leadership since he took office in 2013. Continue reading →

‘Like, the beauty of democracy’ — Judkins Park and cannabis community leader joins ‘conversation’ for District 3 seat on the Seattle City Council

Posted on by
7

(Image: Cooley for Council)

A pot entrepreneur and substitute teacher who has emerged as a community leader in the Judkins Park neighborhood is making a run for the District 3 seat on the Seattle City Council.

But he doesn’t see the coming campaign as a battle or a race.

“I have a different way of doing it. And we’re going to present our ideas of how to do it to our electorate, and we’re gonna let them choose,” Alex Cooley tells CHS, describing his plans for the campaign and what he hopes is an opportunity for voters in D3 to pick a new direction. “And that is truly, like, the beauty of democracy. That’s what it should be. It should not be vicious. It should not be people hating each other. I don’t want anything to do with that.”

Cooley’s proposed policies include a checklist of Seattle progressive causes including building new housing for those living unhoused and stopping sweeps, opening up more of the city to housing development, shifting more public safety funding to mental health and addiction services, and making public transit free but with a mostly middle ground approach that would build on existing efforts like increasing the JumpStart tax on large employers or limiting transition of currently single-family zoned areas to a more limited multifamily approach centered around duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes.

Most of his ideas come off as downright reasonable except for maybe the legalization of drugs — “all drugs” — that he sees as a pathway to realistically addressing issues of public safety and addiction while also creating abundant civic revenue. Continue reading →

With her heart on First Hill, Hudson joins race for District 3 with a neighborhood approach to urbanist policy

Posted on by

With love for a home neighborhood at the core of the decision to enter the race, First Hill resident and Transportation Choices Coalition executive director Alex Hudson is running for the District 3 seat on the Seattle City Council.

“When I say that’s the vision for the City of Seattle that my leadership has produced and will continue to produce, I’m not saying that because it’s an urbanist fantasy,” Hudson says of her home turf and its almost one of a kind in Seattle mix of housing types from old mansions to affordable skyscrapers. “I’m saying that because I live in that neighborhood, and I see it, and I’ve helped to build it.”

The leader of the transit policy and advocacy organization and former head of the First Hill Improvement Association says she believes her progressive record of accomplishments in diverse policy areas and ability to build coalitions and find common ground across divides is what the district needs to rebuild hope after years of political battles under Kshama Sawant and in a city facing significant challenges in housing affordability, homelessness, public safety, and the health and vitality of small business districts.

“It is not naive to believe that Seattle’s best days are still in front of us and that there are solutions to these problems that are at our fingers,” Hudson says. “All of this stuff, it feels really hard. It feels really intractable. We can have it and we will have it if we come together, roll up our sleeves, listen to each other, and have a real solution space… we can fix these things and we’re going to.” Continue reading →

As D3 candidate field crowds, Ashiofu hopes unique perspectives on housing, health, and transit will change the race

Posted on by

(Image: andrewforseattle.com)

With the race for District 3 now wide open and sure to draw an expanded field of candidates after the decision from incumbent Kshama Sawant to step aside at the end of her term, some candidates will defy easy categorization. Andrew Ashiofu hopes his unique viewpoints as a Black, HIV+ political and social activist with an immigrant perspective will set him apart in the race for D3.

He also knows where the shoe pinches.

“There’s an African adage, the person that wears the shoe knows where it pinches the most,” Ashiofu says.

“I’m going to come from a renter’s perspective. Yes. And I know how difficult it is to sustain rent, the increase in rent and all. So I would want laws to protect renters. And when we talk about single family units, we want to know what is it that is worrying them. So the first step is let’s listen to what’s their worry.”

Growing up in Texas to Nigerian parents and with a life path that included a time living homeless in Chicago before a career as a flight attendant, Ashiofu today is a Capitol Hill resident living his beliefs and working in his communities. He is chair of the Washington State Stonewall Democrats, co-chair of the Seattle LGBTQ Commission, and a board member for People Of Color Against AIDS Network and Gay City.

He sees his campaign as a mission to bring his perspectives to all of the district, challenging voters to find solutions to help those who need it the most. And to do it all with a bit of flowers and bees — not honey. Continue reading →

‘Workers Strike Back’ — Sawant making ‘Important Announcement Regarding Her Council Office’ — UPDATE: She’s out

Posted on by

Sawant spoke Thursday in front of 21st Ave’s New Hope Baptist Church, a frequent site for Socialist Alternative media events (Image: CHS)

Socialist Alternative is promoting Thursday’s announcement as the launch of a new initiative — “Kshama Sawant announces Workers Strike Back”

Kshama Sawant, the District 3 representative for Capitol Hill and the Central District on the Seattle City Council, will hold a Thursday morning press conference as her constituents wait to find out if she will seek reelection to a fourth term in office.

“Seattle City Councilmember and member of Socialist Alternative Kshama Sawant will stand alongside fellow community organizers, rank-and-file union members, and socialists to make an important announcement regarding her Council office,” the media advisory sent Thursday morning by her Socialist Alternative political group reads.

UPDATE 10:00 AM: In an op-ed published on The Stranger website, Sawant announced she will not be running for the seat and instead will focus on a new national campaign for higher wages and to form a new political party.

“There is a vacuum of real left leadership, locally and nationally,” Sawant writes. “We need a new party for the working class—one that holds elected officials accountable, that bases itself on social movements, that organizes alongside workers on the streets and in workplaces.”

In her statement, Sawant warned “the corporate establishment in Seattle” not to “rush to mix their martinis just yet, because we are not done here.”

“My Council office will continue fighting relentlessly for working people right up until the final days of my term,” Sawant promised. “We will be bringing rent control for a vote, and alongside our new organization, Workers Strike Back, we will be building our movement for renters’ and workers’ rights. And when this term is over, we will continue to be disturbers of the political peace in Seattle, as well as nationally, whether inside or outside City Hall.”

UPDATE 12:00 PM: In a media event dominated by the effort to launch a Socialist Alternative campaign to create a new national political party in which Sawant attacked the failings of the “Democratic establishment” including progressives leaders like Pramila Jayapal and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic Socialists of America, and even powerful trade labor unions, Sawant said the decision to not seek a fourth term on the Seattle council was based in focusing the strength of her political group on a new national party initiative.

There will not be a Socialist Alternative heir apparent to replace her in District 3.

“Just the vocabulary of heir apparent and picking up an individual’s mantle — that is completely contradictory to actually how working people win victory,” Sawant said.

“If we join resources behind one campaign, it takes away resources from another,” she continued. “So we think the best possible use of Socialist Alternative resources and the powerful solidarity that we bring for working class people is best used at this moment by launching this national campaign.”

Sawant said Thursday the new national effort will include an online news and information component to fill in a “vacuum” in the country and the world’s media landscape.

Continue reading →

The race for District 3 had to have a Democracy Voucher candidate — Ry Armstrong just might be it

Posted on by

(Image: Ry Armstrong 4 Seattle)

The 2023 battle for the District 3 seat is shaping up like your typical race for the Seattle City Council.

There is the business candidate — though backers of pot entrepreneur and third generation Central District resident Joy Hollingsworth will assure you she brings much more to the table.

There is the firebrand socialist incumbent who may or may not defend her seat.

And there is the Democracy Voucher candidate bringing enthusiasm and youth — if not experience — to the race.

“While I’m new to Seattle governance, I don’t think that my inexperience is a flaw that I’m concerned about,” Ry Armstrong tells CHS. “I’m trying to start as early as possible and also come from a place of empathy and listening to the community instead of coming in and saying what I want to do.” Continue reading →