This is the last year of the current King County-wide Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy, approved by voters in 2017 as the renewal and renaming of the Veterans and Human Services Levy, which was originally passed in 2005. Today, County Executive Dow Constantine announced he plans to ask voters to renew the levy on the August 1st primary ballot. From the one-sheet that accompanied the announcement:

If renewed, the levy will:
• Fund permanent supportive housing, specifically for veterans
• Keep reducing veteran homelessness
• Expand investments in the human services workforce
• Double current funding for senior centers
• Maintain access to counseling and mental health supports for veterans and seniors
• Dedicate King County staff to strengthen resident and resource connections
• Deepen community-centered programming for survivors of gender-based violence

Here’s what today’s announcement says the money’s done since the most-recent vote:

Veterans

-Served more than 27,000 veterans, servicemembers, and their families with fewer eligibility barriers than many federal programs
-Contributed to a 40 percent reduction in veteran homelessness
-Provided more than 260 veterans, servicemembers, and family members with over 15,000 mental health counseling sessions
-Built 234 units of affordable housing for veterans and their families

Seniors

-Funded 39 senior centers across the county
-Served more than 100,000 seniors through expanded senior programming

Build Resiliency

-Launched DVHopeline, a countywide, 24-hour multi-lingual and multimodal domestic violence hotline, that received 16,000 calls or texts and referred nearly 7,000 of those callers to additional support
-Funded mobile advocacy services for more than 1,200 survivors of gender-based violence
Helped build more than 1,000 units of affordable housing and 198 new shelter beds
-Funded 55 agencies with 675 bonuses to support workforce retention

The new proposal would raise $581 million over six years and, Constantine’s office says, would cost the owner of a “median-priced home” $83 a year, at 10 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, which is the same rate as the current version. The King County Council will have to vote by May to get the renewal on the August ballot.

King County Elections didn’t update results today because of a power problem, according to its website. So the newest numbers remain the ones posted Wednesday. But here’s one we haven’t looked at yet – the “other” election in which voting ended Tuesday night – the “online ballot access” voting for King Conservation District Supervisor. West Seattle resident Csenka Favorini-Csorba is leading with 5,420 votes, 52.68%; Chris Porter – also a West Seattleite – is in second with 3,378 votes, 32.83%, and April Brown is in third with 1,452 votes, 14.11%. The total number of votes received and tallied so far – 10,290 – equals only three-quarters of a percent of all voters (1,314,228).

One more election note today, from the WSB inbox:

Starting February 21, the City of Seattle will mail eligible Seattle residents $100 in Democracy Vouchers.

“All of us have an interest in the direction of our City, and this program gives all of us a say in who runs it,” said Executive Director Wayne Barnett. This year, the seven city council district seats will be on the ballot. Candidates seeking office may choose to use this program to fund their campaigns after completing a qualifying process.

There are two ways you can conveniently and securely use your vouchers at home:

1) Return your vouchers by mail using the pre-paid envelope included with your vouchers (no stamp is required).

2) Follow the instructions included with your paper vouchers to create an online account to submit your vouchers online for this and future elections.

How do I learn about the candidates?

All candidates running for office in Seattle are invited to submit a 200-word Candidate Introduction. Read the Candidate Introductions to learn about who is running and view the participating candidates page to see who is using the Democracy Voucher Program.

Residents with language preferences other than English can contact our office to request Democracy Vouchers in one of 17 additional languages. For more information, visit www.seattle.gov/democracyvoucher or call 206-727-8855 (interpreters are available).

The Democracy Voucher program was created by an initiative that voters approved in 2015.

Rob Saka is the latest candidate to announce a campaign for the Seattle City Council District 1 seat that Lisa Herbold is leaving at the end of the year. Saka’s announcement describes him as an “attorney, community advocate, and father” as well as a U.S. Air Force veteran who is “the son of a Nigerian immigrant and former warehouse worker (who) overcame abject poverty, a traumatic and unstable home life cycling through the foster care system.” (His website includes a detailed biography.) He is quoted as saying he’s “running to serve the people of District 1 with their best interests in mind first (and) to work on real solutions to issues like public safety and homelessness, rather than play politics.” In the past five years Saka has served on advisory groups including King County’s Charter Commission and Districting Committee and the City of Seattle Police Chief Search Committee. He is a West Seattle resident and the third candidate to send an official campaign announcement, after Maren Costa and Preston Anderson last month. We’ll be starting candidate interviews shortly so you can get to know them better. Also, Saka says he’s planning “an informal candidate meet-and-greet at the West Seattle Farmers Market on Sunday, February 19th from 10 am-1 pm.” Formal filing week is May 15-19, so the field of candidates won’t be finalized until then; the primary election is August 1st.

Another reminder that you have until Tuesday to vote in two elections, with separate ballots and voting methods.

SEATTLE I-135: Your mail ballot has just one issue – Seattle Initiative 135, to create a new Public Development Authority to build so-called “social housing.” It is not a levy or bond measure and does not include funding aside from obliging the city to provide “startup support,” with no price tag attached (see Section 12 in the voter pamphlet that’s in your ballot envelope). Our look at I-135 last month is here. This ballot has to either be placed in a King County Elections dropbox no later than 8 pm Tuesday or in the USPS mail in time to be postmarked no later than Tuesday. So far, only 17 percent of ballots citywide have been returned.

KING CONSERVATION DISTRICT SUPERVISOR: This vote is happening online, with three candidates running for one seat on the King Conservation District Board of Supervisors. Two are West Seattleites – incumbent supervisor Chris Porter and Csenka Favorini-Csorba; the third candidate is April Brown. King Conservation District is “a special-purpose district committed to helping people engage in stewardship and conservation of natural resources” with an $8 million budget. This vote is done via online ballot access; find the voting link and candidate info here. Deadline to vote is 8 pm Tuesday.

We are one week away from not only Valentine’s Day but Election Day – actually two elections, with separate ballots and voting methods. Next Tuesday night (February 14th) is your deadline to vote in both. So we’re reminding you/refreshing your memory:

SEATTLE I-135: This is the one issue on the traditional by-mail ballot you should have received already if you’re registered to vote – Seattle Initiative 135, which would create a new Public Development Authority to build so-called “social housing.” We took a look at I-135 a month ago here. This ballot has to either be in a King County Elections dropbox by 8 pm next Tuesday or be in the USPS mail early enough to guarantee it’s postmarked no later than February 14th. (As of tonight, only 12 percent of ballots had been returned.)

KING CONSERVATION DISTRICT SUPERVISOR: You’ll find the ballot for this vote online. You’re choosing one of three candidates to serve on the King Conservation District Board of Supervisors. Two of the three are West Seattleites – incumbent supervisor Chris Porter and Csenka Favorini-Csorba; also running is April Brown. The district explains itself as “a special purpose district committed to helping people engage in stewardship and conservation of natural resources” with an $8 million budget. Voting is conducted via online ballot access, with an option for requesting a physical ballot; find the voting link and candidate info here, and vote by 8 pm next Tuesday.

The first declared candidate for King County Council District 8 is currently on the Seattle City Council; now we have a second candidate, who’s currently on the Burien City Council. We’re frequently checking the state list of people registering election campaigns, and this afternoon it had an addition: Burien Mayor Sofia Aragon, registering a campaign for the County Council seat that Joe McDermott is leaving after a decade-plus. Burien’s mayor is chosen by fellow councilmembers; Aragon has held the title since last year, and has been on the council since 2020. Two years before that, she ran for 34th District State Senator, finishing fourth in a primary field of 11. The City of Burien website describes Aragon as “a registered nurse and attorney (who) worked in Olympia for over a decade to advocate for affordable and accessible health care, protecting public health, workplace safety, and ensuring differing opinions are included when developing public policy.” She currently is executive director of the Washington Center for Nursing (Burien city councilmembers serve part time). The field for the County Council race won’t be final until the official filing week in mid-May; the August 1st primary will send the top two finishers to the November primary.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

After five years as one of the Seattle City Council‘s two at-large members, North Delridge resident Teresa Mosqueda says she feels a “pull” toward a different role in local government – that of King County Councilmember.

Mosqueda announced this morning that she is campaigning for the seat that District 8 County Councilmember Joe McDermott is leaving after more than a decade. The newly remapped district stretches from downtown Seattle to Burien, also including West Seattle, White Center, and Vashon and Maury Islands, among other neighborhoods (see the map here).

Mosqueda talked with WSB just before her announcement. She says she will continue with her City Council job – which isn’t up for a vote again until 2025 – while campaigning for County Council. (If she wins the new job, the remaining city councilmembers would have to appoint someone to fill the rest of her term.) Though the County Council represents three times as many people as the City Council, it toils in less of a spotlight, generally with far less pressure and scrutiny. Mosqueda wouldn’t mind: “Everyone asks, aren’t you going to be bored? I say, no!”

She says what’s “pulling” her toward the County Council are two issues in particular – health and housing. County government has “more purview over public health and behavioral health.” On the latter, she’s supportive of the behavioral-health levy the County Council just voted to send to voters in April. And she sees even more areas of the county in need of workforce housing, especially Vashon and Burien. She wants to work with the state legislators who have housing in the spotlight this session. The county also runs the major transit system – Metro – and “working families need round-the-clock transit – we need to reimagine that.”

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A second candidate has officially announced a campaign for the Seattle City Council District 1 seat that Lisa Herbold is leaving after two terms. Maren Costa is a West Seattle resident whose announcement describes her as having been “illegally fired in 2020 for organizing Amazon workers” after organizing Amazon Employees for Climate Justice in 2019 and expanding its mission in 2020 “to include better working conditions for warehouse workers during the pandemic.” As reported nationally, a National Labor Relations Board lawsuit was filed against Amazon; it was settled out of court. As for why she’s running for City Council, Costa’s announcement quotes her as saying, “Everyone in our community deserves a livable wage, safe working conditions, and affordable housing. And we need Council members who understand that ‘feeling safe’ means different things to seniors, or to families, or to those of us who are LGBTQ+, or to the unhoused, or to people of color. And it is critical that at this moment, we look for solutions that also help us respond to the climate crisis.” Costa also says she recently “worked at Microsoft as a principal user experience designer leading the shopping team” and is an adviser “for three climate startups: Power Bloom Solar, Carbon Zero, and Impact Karma.” You can read Costa’s full announcement here. Her announcement comes six days after the first one in the race; Preston Anderson announced his campaign last week. Formal filing week is May 15-19, so the field of candidates won’t be finalized until then; the primary election is August 1st.

Just yesterday, we noted that two people have filed Seattle City Council District 1 campaign intentions but neither had made a formal announcement yet. Today, that changed – one of those two people, Preston Anderson, became the first to announce a campaign. In the announcement, Anderson is described as a West Seattle resident who is “a career social worker and former Army Medic who served two combat tours during active duty with over 5 years of service.” His announcement also says, “If elected, he would be the only homeless and behavioral health service provider elected to Council, and the first person of color elected to District 1, a diverse district that includes the neighborhoods of West Seattle, South Park, Georgetown, Sodo, and Pioneer Square. (Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who announced last month that she won’t run for a third term, is the first person ever elected to the seat; the council changed to 7 district-elected members and 2 citywide members starting with the 2015 elections.) The announcement says Anderson “presently works at the Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care System administering funds for clinically focused transitional housing in collaboration with community based providers (and) continues his direct practice supporting Veterans with acute behavioral health needs.” He says his background would provide “expertise the current council simply doesn’t have” and that his signature issues would be “affordable housing and access to education (and) access to living-wage jobs” as well as “reducing gun violence in Seattle.” You can read his full announcement on his website. Formal filing week is May 15-19, so the field of candidates won’t be finalized until then; the primary election is August 1st.

(WSB photo, Councilmember McDermott at White Center event in October)

Another elected official representing West Seattle and vicinity has decided not to run for reelection. This time it’s King County Council District 8 Councilmember Joe McDermott, who lives in West Seattle but represents a district that also includes White Center, Vashon and Maury Islands, and part of Seattle on the east side of the Duwamish River (as with the City Council, the County Council also has recently remapped districts). McDermott served in the State Senate and State House before moving to the County Council 12 years ago, shortly after fellow West Seattleite Dow Constantine became County Executive. He was the first openly gay person to serve on the County Council. He is also a current member of the Sound Transit Board. Councilmember McDermott’s announcement does not specify what he plans to do next:

I look forward to pursuing other professional opportunities yet to be identified once I leave office while always remaining involved in the issues I am passionate about. … I am grateful for the opportunity to work for our communities. I look forward to continuing doing so as a private citizen.

You can read the full announcement, including his list of accomplishments, here. State files show that no far no one else has registered a campaign for District 8, but the official filing week is still four months away.

With four Seattle City Councilmembers not planning to run for reelection so far, this year’s primary campaigning is likely to be lively.

That could mean long lists of candidates from which to choose – in 2015, for example, the first time district councilmembers were elected, nine people were on the ballot here in District 1. In 2021, 15 people ran for mayor.

Last November, Seattle voters approved a ballot measure to implement “ranked-choice voting” in city elections, in which you would rank the candidates in your order of preference, not just choose and vote for one. Advocates say it “improves fairness in elections … and supports more representative outcomes.”

But you won’t get the chance to try it out this year. We asked King County Elections recently about how it’s being implemented, and spokesperson Halei Watkins replied, “Ranked choice voting will not be implemented ahead of this year’s City Council elections. The measure requires implementation by 2027 and there is a long list of factors and decisions to be made about what exactly RCV will look like for Seattle voters. King County Elections will also need to coordinate with both the City of Seattle and the Secretary of State’s Office throughout the planning process. Key factors include ballot design, how many candidates voters will be able to rank, upgrades to our tabulation system to be able to count RCV ballots, how questions of voter intent will be handled, how results will be reported and on what schedule, and more. And then, of course, we’ll also need to do robust voter education on how it all works.”

There’s a chance it might be ready sooner, Watkins added: “It is possible that we could implement before 2027 and we’ll be looking to implement as quickly as we can while ensuring the same high standard of accuracy, transparency, and accessibility that we pride ourselves on, but this year is not likely.” For starters, they have to settle on a ballot design before they can start working on tabulation upgrades. But work has begun, Watkins says – “we’re very much in early planning stages and we’re connecting with the City and (state) on next steps.”

If you’re curious, places in the U.S. where some form of ranked-choice voting is being used are listed here.

West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold started a trend with her announcement last month that she’s not running for a third term. Since then, three more of the council’s seven district-elected members have announced they’re not running for reelection either: Debora Juarez (the council’s current president), Alex Pedersen, and today, Kshama Sawant (the council’s longest-serving member). In our district (1), so far two people have registered campaign intentions with the city and state, Preston Anderson and AnnaLisa LaFayette; neither has listed a website nor made an official announcement so far. Formal filing week with King County Elections is still four months away – May 15-19. The primary is on August 1.

After two years as chair of our area’s biggest political organization, the 34th District Democrats, Carla Rogers watched tonight as her successor was elected.

Graham Murphy (right) is now the 34th DDs’ chair, winning the only contested seat of the night; David Toledo also ran for the spot. Murphy promised to lead the group forward as it prepares for two key election years – with an open City Council seat this year, and a presidential race next year.

Others elected at tonight’s online meeting:

1st Vice Chair – Rachel Glass
2nd Vice Chair – Jordan Crawley
State Party Representative – Chris Porter
State Party Representative – Roxanne Thayer
King County Central Committee Representative Bunny Hatcher, Leah Griffin (alternate)
King County Central Committee Representative – Ted Barker, Preston Anderson (alternate)
Treasurer – Julie Whitaker
Secretary – Steve Butts

ENDORSEMENTS: The 34th DDs voted to support passage of Seattle Initiative 135, the “social housing” measure that is the only thing on your ballot for the February 14th special election. A rep from House Our Neighbors, the Real Change political committee that gathered signatures to get it on the ballot, acknowledged questions about how the housing would be funded; they’d go to various government agencies, she said, but if need be, they might even have to put forth another ballot measure for a funding mechanism. She was also asked why I-135 hadn’t been on the November ballot; she said they weren’t able to gather enough signatures until three weeks after the deadline.

Also endorsed: Longtime 34th DDs member Chris Porter, in his bid for re-election as a King Conservation District supervisor. This is an entirely different election that’ll be held online, with three weeks of voting starting January 24th.

APRIL ELECTION? While votes were counted in the chair contest, the group heard from two elected officials – King County Executive Dow Constantine and County Councilmember Joe McDermott – who both mentioned the behavioral-health levy that’s expected to go to King County voters in April.

The 34th District Democrats meet second Wednesdays of most months – watch for updates at 34dems.org.

(WSB photos/video)

After 22 years at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, West Seattle resident Leesa Manion is its leader. She took the oath of office in a courthouse ceremony this afternoon, two months after she was elected with 58 percent of the vote. Manion makes triple history in ascending to the role – as the first woman and first person of color to serve as King County Prosecuting Attorney, and as the first Korean American elected to this type of job anywhere in the U.S. She was introduced by Ann Davison, who made history last year by becoming Seattle’s first female City Attorney:

Davison said their offices would work closely together and that both needed to address the root causes of crime as well as accountability for those who commit it. Manion then spoke before her oath was administered by King County Superior Court Judge Sandra Widlan (the oath is 24:15 into the video):

Manion, who previously served as the office’s Chief of Staff, received two standing ovations during her speech. She warned those expecting major announcements that this was an occasion for celebration – her policy announcements would come later, before the end of this month. Today, she offered words of gratitude and pride, for people from the other women of KCPAO, to her family, including her two children. And in calling for partnership with law enforcement, she gave a shoutout to her partner Perry Tarrant, a former Seattle Police assistant chief, who came forward with a surprise bouquet:

Manion also spoke vehemently about the importance of representation, and about the support and encouragement she has received from the Asian American and Korean American communities. The latter included an out-of-town visitor who spoke last at the ceremony, Jerry Baik, an assistant city attorney in Los Angeles who is also executive director of the international Korean Prosecutors Association:

Baik, whose organization has members in nine nations, hailed Manion as a role model and presented her with a plaque honoring her historic election. “I would not miss this moment for anything,” he told Manion.

Though, as noted, she said policy announcements will come later, she mentioned one gargantuan task she must address, saying the KCPAO has a “backlog of 4,000 charged cases” and saying it would take innovation to deal with that.

She invited those listening – including a crowd that included another West Seattle-residing elected official, County Executive Dow Constantine – to “join me on this journey … (to) build a modern, thoughtful, effective legal system.” Manion succeeds Dan Satterberg, who served as King County Prosecuting Attorney for almost 16 years.