Seattle City Council
Seattle City Council D4 – Ron Davis
District 4 is the home of UW’s main campus so we naturally take a strong interest in this council position. This cycle, we’re happy to have an enthusiastic ally in Ron Davis. Ron is a longtime D4 resident, independent entrepreneur, and Seattle politico (check out his editorials in The Stranger) who decided to stop watching from the sidelines and jump into the ring. The Political Work Group was impressed with Ron’s breadth of knowledge on the issues and his detailed plans for resolving the intersecting crises facing our city. Lots of candidates say they would like to build more housing and transit, but Ron seems to have actually done the budgetary math on the revenue side. Ron has also demonstrated direct solidarity with our local by attending our April 24th mass rally (and giving us a nice signal boost on social media). If elected, Ron would be a champion for working people, renters, and transit riders in our city. The choice for labor in D4 is clear this year; vote Ron!
Seattle City Council D1 – Maren Costa
Running for office in District 1 is Maren Costa. Her main platform is on improving access to housing, transportation and walkability in Seattle, and working on the Green New Deal. You may have seen her on our picket line! She already has experience putting words into action working on the Green New Deal when in 2019 she organized a climate walk-out  where 8,000 Amazon employees left work with the support of many community members including members of our union who all went to city hall in support of the Green New Deal and getting Amazon to sign the Climate Pledge. Costa has strong positions on reproductive justice and making health care including abortions more accessible to people inside and traveling to Seattle. Vote Costa for Seattle City Council D1!
Seattle City Council D2 – Tammy Morales
Once more UAW 4121 is extending its support to electing Council member Tammy Morales in South Seattle’s District 2 seat. Central to her platform is addressing rising housing costs and rates of displacement by increasing density in the form of mixed use housing. In her most recent term, she successfully helped close the loophole that previously allowed fixed term tenants to be evicted when their lease expired. She’s committed to far-reaching steps to expand access to childcare and public transportation in the city, and is committed to improving bike safety including for the residents of South Seattle. Tammy also supported our recent strike with a statement directly calling on UW Admin to pay living wage standards. Reelecting Morales is a vote to continue improving social protections for workers, residents, and marginalized people and have a strong advocate for policies transitioning us to a green Seattle.
Seattle City Council D3 – Alex Hudson
Alex Hudson has many plans, and is ready to make a difference as a Seattle City Council member. Hudson has devoted years of labor to developing more accessible and affordable housing in Seattle, successfully pushing the government to invest more in public transportation and community, and organizing community members while building broad coalitions without compromise. Hudson’s policy goals also extend to include a more progressive tax system for less reliance on sales tax, and to address climate change through mobility and housing justice. Her lived experience as a renter and transit rider and her experience organizing coalitions points to someone who can walk the talk, and will put in the work to represent renters and workers in D3. Hudson supported us during the RSE and Postdoc strike, and is looking forward to working with us more to keep pushing Seattle forward. Vote Hudson!
Seattle City Council D5 – ChrisTiana ObeySumner
In District 5, ChrisTiana ObeySumner is the candidate that will work to uplift worker voices and organize for change while holding institutions and corporations accountable to their actions. ObeySumner envisions a Seattle with quick and accessible public transit, stronger renter’s rights, more union members, and workplace laws that account for individual needs including wages that fund housing and other necessities, life-work balance, and workplace safety. They are extremely knowledgeable about policy research and implementation, as well as building support for change through union organizing principles–principles that ObeySumner already lives by, including through wage advocacy as a member of SEIU, and as an organizer and speaker for the Women’s March in 2020. ObeySumner has the lived experiences, creativity, and fortitude to make a difference in Seattle politics. Vote for ObeySumner, and help transition us towards a more diverse and uplifting Seattle!
Seattle City Council D7 – Andrew Lewis
Lewis has emerged on the city council as a consensus-builder and a diplomat, voting with the majority to to cap late rental fees and voting and speaking up in support of the community courts. He seems keenly aware of the pressures and challenges that progressives face and has managed to move the needle forward in the face of opposition and backlash. Lewis likes to describe himself as a “labor Democrat,” and speaks frequently about the power of collective bargaining to build strong families and a strong economy.
Proposition 1 – Renew Seattle’s Housing Levy
Renewing the Seattle Housing Levy scales this proven tool to meet the urgent demands of the moment—creating new homes, providing emergency assistance to reduce homelessness, and addressing the staffing needs of transitional and supportive housing. Levy renewal also provides wage support and career training, while leveraging short-term loans to purchase buildings and land for future affordable housing.
King County Council
King County Council D2 – Girmay Zahilay
County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay is running for re-election for King County Council. In his first term, he championed free transit for King County youth, championed investment in affordable housing, including Skywa, passed tenant protections and equitable development initiatives, co-sponsored and passed Abortion Access Emergency Legislation, investing $500,000 in the Northwest Abortion Access Fund and prohibiting King County agencies from cooperating with out-of-state prosecutions of abortion providers or patients. We are excited to see what he can accomplish in his next term! He’s our guy Girmay!
King County Council D4 – Sarah Reyneveld
Sarah Reyneveld is a former UAW 4121 member and current union member with WFSE. We endorsed her when she ran for state house a few years ago, and she has come back to win a seat on the county council vacated by longtime labor champion Jeanne Kohl-Welles. Sarah is a rank and file organizer who organized her colleagues at the Assistant Attorney General’s office and ultimately won their union, and is the clear labor champion in the race. In her questionnaire, she lays out plans to expand childcare and tackle climate justice, and opposes expansion of carceral infrastructure, increase renter protections, and support abortion access for folk in and out of the county. As a former ASE and current assistant attorney general that investigates issues like wage theft and worker violations, she is clear that she is ready to hold institutions accountable, including UW.
King County Council D8 – Teresa Mosqueda
Current Seattle City Councilperson Teresa Mosqueda is running for King County Council in KC 8. While we will miss Mosqueda at the city, we are excited to see a strong labor voice on the County Council. While on city council, Mosqueda championed the JumpStart tax, building on the strong foundational work of the TaxAmazon movement and other big business taxes. She most recently passed first-in-the-nation guaranteed sick time for gig workers. Most importantly, she has been a constant ally for our members, including holding a work session on sexual harassment in the academy, calling out UW and helping us win expansion of EPIC in our Postdoc CBA. The county can leverage its budget to help working families, and Teresa has the organizer training to make sure that happens!
Renton
Ballot Initiative – Raise the Wage Renton
Building off wins in SeaTac and Tukwila, Raise the Wage Renton will raise minimum wages in the city of Renton to keep up with neighboring areas like SeaTac and Seattle. The legislation itself is modeled on other recent campaigns we’ve endorsed, like Raise The Wage Tukwila. This initiative is not yet on the ballot, but is gathering signatures to make it to the November ballot. More info: Raise the Wage Renton |
