So far five people have registered campaigns for the District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) Seattle City Council seat in the August primary, and we’ve received the first announcement of a candidates’ forum at which you can see them side by side. SpeakOutSeattle says it’s presenting the forum 7-8:30 pm Thursday, March 21st, at American Legion Post 160 (3618 SW Alaska):

SpeakOutSeattle (SOS) is holding its first forum to hear from the candidates for Seattle District Council Position 1 for candidates to answer questions relating to public safety, homelessness and addiction/mental illness issues facing Seattle.

The event will be moderated by an independent moderator, Juan Cotto, and the candidates will stay after the event to talk to constituents and accept donations and/or vouchers.

Refreshments will be served for free. We hope to have a good turnout. This is a great opportunity to ask questions of candidates and see who is most responsive to the needs of our community.

Organizers say all five candidates who have registered campaigns so far have accepted the invitation:

Jesse Greene
Lisa Herbold
Brendan Kolding
Phil Tavel
Isaiah Willoughby

The formal filing period is in May, so the primary field won’t be finalized until then.

Another local student served as a legislative page in Olympia this week. The photo and announcement arrivd in the WSB inbox:

Lachlan Swanson, a student at Madison Middle School, served as a page this week in the Washington State House of Representatives. Sponsored by State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-West Seattle), Lachlan is the son of Emily and Keith Swanson of Seattle.

Pages assume a wide variety of responsibilities, from presenting the flags to distributing amendments on the House floor. Pages support the efficient operation of the Legislature while also receiving daily civics instruction, drafting their own bills, and participating in mock committee hearings.

Find out more about the House Page Program by going here.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Brendan Kolding‘s bid for the Seattle City Council District 1 seat isn’t his first run for elective office.

But it is his first “all-in” campaign, he says.

Continuing our series of candidate interviews, we sat down with Kolding recently to find out more about why he wants this job and what he’ll do if he gets it.

First, what he means by “all in” – he’s “playing to win,” including fundraising. His campaign, announced last month, now has a website. He’s broadened his campaign focus, which in his two runs for the State Legislature were focused on education.

He believes his biggest qualification – and, it’s clear, his major motivation – is his profession: Law enforcement.

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Last night – as we chronicled live for more than four hours – 107 people spoke at the City Council’s last major public hearing before they vote next month on the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda’s Mandatory Housing Affordability upzoning plan. Before that final vote, councilmembers are set to debate and decide on myriad proposed changes next Monday. Here’s the agenda, with links to everything proposed so far. P.S. If you’re still catching up on what HALA MHA would do in your area, here’s the city’s interactive map.

10:07 AM: This August, you’ll be asked to approve a six-year replacement for the expiring King County Parks Levy. County Executive Dow Constantine is officially announcing it at an event under way right now at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center; we’re there and will add video and event details later. Here, for starters, is the news release:

Executive Dow Constantine today announced his proposal to renew the current King County Parks Levy, scheduled to expire at the end of the year. His proposal for the August ballot would generate an estimated $738 million over the next six years to expand and connect regional trails, improve access to green space and recreation, and keep the county’s parks and trails clean, safe, and open.

The current King County Parks levy – which voters approved in 2013 – will expire Dec. 31. On Feb. 21, Executive Constantine sent to the King County Council a proposal that will expand and improve access to the county’s 200 parks, 175 miles of regional trails, and 28,000 acres of open space.

“This proposal isn’t just about access to parks and recreation – although that is plenty. It is about a generational investment in our environment,” said Executive Constantine. “The levy is entirely consistent with my priorities to restore and protect our rivers, forests, and farms, while also doing our part to tackle climate pollution. Voters have approved the Parks Levy three times since 2003. No matter how much things grow and change around here, our values stay the same, guiding us to support investments that make stronger, healthier, and happier communities.”

Highlights of Executive Constantine’s plan include:

Building and designing regional trails, including missing links and crossings over rivers and highways
Improving trailheads by adding parking and signage
Repairing trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding
Replacing 11 ballfields
Rehabilitating play area equipment in six parks
Maintaining park infrastructure, such as pathways, roofs, fencing, and electrical systems
The levy would cost 16.82 cents per $1000 of assessed property value, which would cost the owner of a home valued at $500,000 about $7 per month.

About 80 percent of King County Parks’ operational budget is funded by levy.

Under Executive Constantine’s proposal, about $60 million would be allocated to King County cities to support local parks and recreation; an additional $35 million would go for grants to cities to protect and acquire open space. It would provide Woodland Park Zoo with $36 million for conservation and environmental education programs for under-served youth. It would also provide $8 million to the Seattle Aquarium for construction of their new Ocean Pavilion.

Executive Constantine’s proposal would also provide continued funding for the Community Partnerships and Grants Program, which, over its 15-year existence, has created dozens of public amenities across King County with partners that contribute the necessary additional capital, in-kind resources, and volunteer time to develop new or enhanced facilities.

About $1 million per year would go toward equity-focused grants to increase access to and use of recreation facilities in communities that are currently underserved or face other barriers. …

The news release continues here. The levy would generate almost twice the $396 million the expiring levy was expected to bring in.

11:11 AM: The half-hour event (clips added above) also included this area’s County Councilmember Joe McDermott as well as other speakers including King County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks director Christie True. While no White Center/West Seattle-specific projects were mentioned, it was noted that the current levy funded improvements at Steve Cox Park including the field that served as the event’s backdrop.

In case you missed Mayor Jenny Durkan‘s second State of the City address today – there it is on video. You can also read the transcript here, beneath highlight links. Of neighborhood note:

-The mayor mentioned WS three times – first, “…touring small businesses in Hillman City, Georgetown, and West Seattle” (we covered visits last year in February and in November); second and third, these back-to-back transportation references:

… We will expedite bringing light rail stations to Ballard and West Seattle.

This spring, we’ll expand our first-last mile shuttle from beyond West Seattle to South Seattle, so we can connect more people to transit. …

-Speaking at North Seattle College, as she referred to the expansion of the Promise free-tuition program that started at its sibling school South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) and is expanding systemwide with the help of the recently passed levy, the mayor announced something new: Assistance for Promise students who need help covering other costs such as textbooks.

-She also announced that Seattle Colleges will be a partner in a new paid-internship program connecting Promise students with major employers including Harbor Island’s Vigor Industrial.

(WSB photos)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Phil Tavel says his main motivation for wanting to join the Seattle City Council has only intensified in the four years since his first try.

“When I ran the last time, I wanted to represent our district … in the four years since then, I can’t think of anything that’s gotten better. My desire to help the city work better has only increased.”

It’s been three months since Tavel registered his intent to run, as reported here in October. Now he’s running at full speed as of his campaign kickoff last night at Easy Street Records in The Junction. Here’s what he and his featured speakers told the crowd:

That’s community advocate Pete Spalding speaking after Tavel in the first clip; he was preceded (second clip) by Peel & Press proprietor Dan Austin, who emceed; Easy Street’s Matt Vaughan; local business advocate Lora Radford, entrepreneur Joe Jeannot; and Husky Deli‘s Jack Miller. Responsiveness to small business is a central theme for Tavel, a lawyer who himself has been, among other things, a small-business owner. We sat down to talk the night before his kickoff:

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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“I’m running.” That was how City Councilmember Lisa Herbold opened a coffeehouse conversation with us this morning, announcing that she’s seeking a second term as the District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) representative on the council. She says that while she has a reputation as a “policy wonk,” she and her staff have “gotten the most satisfaction” out of working directly with constituents. “From getting a streetlight fixed … to getting SDOT to build a stairway,” Herbold says it’s been “powerful” to connect residents with the people in city government who can help, to “amplify their voices.” We talked about a lot more, of course, including her response to critics on a variety of issues – so check back in about an hour as we add the rest of the story. Herbold’s declaration means at least five people are now in the D-1 race, looking ahead to the August primary.

ADDED 11:50 AM: Working for the district, Herbold says, doesn’t just mean individual constituents’ issues, which were also a reason for running that she cited when announcing her original run in February 2015. She adds that she’s proud of “policy work that has specifically helped the district.” She’s been recounting that in lengthy weekly updates, published online and sent to her mailing list. Just a few she lists: The noise-ordinance work requested by Alki residents; advocating for shore power to be part of the T-5 project; a ready-to-work program in High Point; safety advocacy in South Park.

Others are listed on her campaign website, including commitments made during her 2015 campaign. “And there’s still a lot of work to be done.” Impact fees is high on that list – she mentions transportation and utility fees – and “addressing displacement issues” (right now, evictions are in the spotlight).

We observe that it’s been a rocky four years for the council in general.

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Last week, we reported a fourth candidate had joined the City Council District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) race, popcorn entrepreneur Jesse Greene. Last night was his first public campaign event, a kickoff pizza party at Talarico’s in The Junction. We were there to record the speeches, starting with his, which lasted 15 minutes:

His themes were the same as in our interview last week. Before he spoke, the gathering heard from three introductory speakers:

The first speaker, Lora Radford, has also been announced as a speaker at D-1 candidate Phil Tavel‘s kickoff this Thursday; she tells WSB that she hasn’t endorsed a candidate but is speaking to promote small-business advocacy in the campaign. Also speaking at the Greene kickoff were South Park community advocate Carmen Martinez and former state Commerce Department director Brian Bonlender. Along with Greene and Tavel, two other candidates have registered campaigns in District 1 so far: Brendan Kolding and Isaiah Willoughby.

The District 1 City Council race is intensifying, with 7 months until the primary. On Friday, we broke the news of a fourth candidate in the race, Jesse Greene. Now there’s news that the first candidate to register his intention to campaign, Phillip Tavel – who also ran in 2015 – has scheduled his official launch event. Thursday night at 6:30 pm (doors open at 6), he and supporters will gather at Easy Street Records – here’s the official flyer (PDF). Four candidates in all have registered campaign intentions (formal filing is in May, but paperwork is required sooner in order to fundraise), also including Brendan Kolding and Isaiah Willoughby. Incumbent Lisa Herbold has yet to announce whether she plans to run for re-election

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

He’s an entrepreneur, a graduate student, and now a candidate for the Seattle City Council District 1 seat: Jesse Greene plans to file paperwork today, with a public candidacy-announcement event on Monday.

The proprietor of Uncle Woody’s Popcorn is the first of this year’s D-1 candidates to contact WSB before turning up on the city/state websites showing campaign filings. We sat down for a coffeehouse chat on Thursday.

Greene is a West Seattle resident whose popcorn business is headquartered in South Park; he also owns a construction firm based in Sumner, where he grew up (though there are other local roots in his family – he mentions a grandparent who is a West Seattle High School alum). He says his entry into politics is inspired by time he has spent serving on the State Advisory Council on Homelessness – the issue that is motivating his run.

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Those are the three people who will be representing you and the rest of the 34th District (including West Seattle, White Center, Vashon/Maury Islands, part of Burien) when the Washington State Legislature starts its new session tomorrow in Olympia. From left are Reps. Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon, re-elected unopposed in November, which is also when about-to-be-sworn-in Sen. Joe Nguyen was elected. Before the session starts, the trio held an hour-plus Town Hall-style gathering Saturday morning at Delridge Community Center. Each began with a short introduction and summary – along the lines of the conversations we’ve already published (Cody and Fitzgibbon here, Nguyen here). After a few minutes, they opened the floor to comments/questions. We have it all on video, plus part of the introductions:

If you don’t have time to watch, here are our topline notes:

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That chat with West Seattle Junction Association executive director Lora Radford was one of the stops for City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda on a visit to West Seattle on Friday, as she launched a half-year tour of the seven council districts, starting here in D-1. She is one of two at-large councilmembers, elected to citywide Position 8 a little over a year ago. We asked her for a quick description of the tour’s start:

She has more West Seattle stops planned on Friday, January 25th, including the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse and 2:30-4:30 pm “coffee/office hours” to meet constituents at a TBA location.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Next week, as many West Seattleites grapple with downtown-bound Viadoom, at least three will be heading the other way:

The state Legislature convenes on Monday, so your 34th District state legislators (all of whom live in West Seattle) will be going south, to Olympia.

Before then – State Reps. Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon and Sen.-elect Joe Nguyen are offering you a briefing and Q&A this Saturday morning (10 am January 12th, Delridge Community Center, 4501 Delridge Way SW).

We checked in with Sen.-elect Nguyen for this December story – and then sat down to talk with Reps. Cody and Fitzgibbon recently to get their take on what’ll be big this year.

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8:35 PM: Our area’s largest political organization has a new chair: Gina Topp was elected tonight to lead the 34th District Democrats. She succeeds David Ginsberg, who decided after one 2-year term not to run again. Topp had previously served as treasurer. We’ll add more details from tonight’s meeting after our crew returns.

ADDED EARLY THURSDAY: First, the pitches made by Topp and the other two chair candidates, on video:

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