Ballots Arriving for the Primary Election in Washington States!
If you’re registered to vote in Washington state, your ballot for the August 3rd primary should be arriving in the mail soon. If you’re not registered and would like to, you can do so online or via mail by July 26th, and in person by August 3rd (check out this page for more information).
Our political workgroup has been hard at work gathering information about candidates seeking office in key races, and have written descriptions below of our UAW primary endorsed candidates for your information when making a decision. All members are welcome and encouraged to get involved in the workgroup: if you’d like to learn more email political@uaw4121.org.
If you have any questions, or would like to see the questionnaires candidates filled out and/or the mayoral interviews we conducted, please reach out to political@uaw4121.org, we will be happy to share them.
Seattle
Mayor: M. Lorena González (Click to read more)
City Council Position 8: Teresa Mosqueda (Click to read more)
City Council Position 9: Nikkita Oliver (Click to read more)
King County
Executive: Joe Nguyen (Click to read more)
Council Pos 3: Sarah Perry
Council Pos 9: Kim-Khanh Van
Burien
City Council Pos 7: Krystal Marx
SeaTac
City Council Pos 2: Jake Simpson
Lorena González – Seattle Mayor
We recommend a vote for Lorena González for Seattle Mayor because she is the candidate to support in terms of both policy and vision. While there are some other candidates which appear to have values that align with our local, interviews and further research showed how González has the experience, knowledge of and ongoing solidarity with labor, ability to get things done, and will work with our members on issues that impact us. As Mayor, González is ready to bargain the next SPOG (Seattle Police Guild) to incorporate community demands of defunding and increased transparency and accountability, which is unique among the candidates. Furthermore González is committed to community-led investments from the reallocation of the SPD budget. She also understands the needs for permanent affordable housing, including housing that is accessible to students, and has plans to increase access to affordable childcare. Lastly, she has plans to bring more progressive revenue fo actually accomplish these goals building off her co-sponsorship of the JumpStart Seattle tax on big business. Vote Lorena González!
Teresa Mosqueda – Seattle City Council Pos. 8
We recommend a vote for Teresa Mosqueda for Seattle City Council Position 8. Since taking office in 2017, Council Member Mosqueda has been a force for progressive change and strong labor rights. This year she led a coalition to pass critical legislation (Jumpstart Seattle) to tax Amazon and other large corporations to fund affordable housing and provide additional support for non-citizens who were left behind by covid stimulus funding. Further, Mosqueda is a leader in pushing the City to create a Green New Deal. Then in 2019, Teresa Mosqueda hosted a Town Hall to spotlight the chronic problem of sexual harassment in academia as part of Postdocs’ campaign to form a union. Teresa Mosqueda is a clear champion for working people and our members. Vote for Mosqueda!
Nikkita Oliver – Seattle City Council Pos. 9
We recommend a vote for Nikkita Oliver for Seattle City Council Position 9. Oliver has deep roots in community organizing and will be a leader on the issues that matter most to our members, including affordable housing and the houseless crisis, investing in community instead of police, and climate change. They have a vision for Seattle. Their campaign is not just about changing the parts of our system that have not been working for our communities, Oliver has plans for how to actually achieve the stated goals of Seattle. Further, Nikkita Oliver is someone who stands strong as a labor ally and recently spoke at our Rally for a Fair Contract in April in solidarity with ASEs against UW administration’s lack of movement on our contract proposals. Furthermore, they are extremely knowledgeable about the issues, will continue looking to the community for guidance, and bring a lived experience to the support of marginalized communities. We can count on Nikkita Oliver to represent us at City Council.
Joe Nguyen – King County Executive
We recommend a vote for Joe Nguyen for King County Executive. Given Dow’s history supporting the youth jail despite community concerns and unwillingness to condemn sweeps, Nguyen stood out with his commitment to cutting 25% of spending on criminal justice from the King County budget (which currently 73% goes towards criminal justice) and reinvesting with participatory budgeting. Nguyen also has a strong vision for transit accessibility, including working towards making transit free in King County. Further, Nguyen has an approach of grassroots organizing to both his campaign and legislative work, something we can relate to in our union. Voting for Joe Nguyen in August and November is a win.