District 1 City Council race: Dave Montoure no longer running

2:18 PM: Thanks for the tips: West Seattle entrepreneur Dave Montoure has announced via Facebook that he is no longer running for the District 1 City Council position. That leaves 10 candidates. We are seeking comment; more to come.

3:01 PM: Via e-mail, Montoure confirms his withdrawal, and also gave us permission to republish the statement he posted on his personal FB page:

Friends, family and fellow small business owners. A little over six-weeks ago, I entered the campaign race for Seattle City Council District 1. It’s been a great experience and I have learned a lot from talking to old friends and new acquaintances. However, it is with regret that inform you that I have decided to withdraw from the campaign.

My passion for issues that affect small, independent businesses and the greater prosperity of West Seattle is strong as ever, and I have come to believe that right now, I’m a better advocate as a private citizen than as a politician. I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work as simply, Dave.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.

3:37 PM: Added photo from Montoure’s original campaign announcement. And for the record, here’s where the District 1 race stands now:

CANDIDATES: David Ishii (back as of 3/9/2015), Pavel Goberman (declared 3/5/2015), Tom Koch (declared 2/19/15), Lisa Herbold (declared 2/11/15), Shannon Braddock (declared 2/11/15), Brianna Thomas (declared 2/11/15), Phillip Tavel (declared 2/4/15), George Capestany (declared 11/11/14), Amanda Kay Helmick (declared 10/20/14), Chas Redmond (declared 12/20/13). Filing deadline is May 15th; primary election is August 4th. Along with voting on the D-1 position, West Seattle/South Park also will vote on the two “at-large” spots, Positions 8 and 9.

The next District 1 Candidates’ Forum is scheduled for the 34th District Democrats‘ meeting on April 8th (7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy).

31 Replies to "District 1 City Council race: Dave Montoure no longer running"

  • Good for Seattle March 24, 2015 (2:31 pm)

    Good. Anyone opposed to the human wages the $15/hour law is working toward is in direct conflict with humanity and ill suited for public office in City Council. Sweep out the pro-business rats and shills with a million trillion lumens of cleansing, purifying holy light of pro-worker righteous glory.

  • KT March 24, 2015 (2:36 pm)

    Now that is too bad.

  • Mark32 March 24, 2015 (2:51 pm)

    Nooooo

  • wsg March 24, 2015 (3:10 pm)

    Good for Seattle

    I’m a small business owner, I have never been called a pro-business rat, aren’t you kind human? Get a life.

  • kobdvs March 24, 2015 (3:16 pm)

    @Good for Seattle … Consider me a fan of civil discourse … but since you feel the need to call other human beings “rats and shills,” apparently because in your holier-than-thou ignorance you feel entitled to conclude who is noble and who is not, let me speak to you on your own terms. You’re a moron.
    .

    I realize it may be easy in your simple little view of the world to have such an ignorant, narrow explanation (“disagree with my world view = rats and shills”) … but the real world isn’t as black and white as your delusions might lead you to believe.

    .
    I fully support the $15 minimum wage; unfortunately, I have to deal with idiots like you who share the same political view. It embarrasses me. We (those of us actually possessing a brain who are in favor of this living wage) cringe and shudder to see someone say something as stupid as what you say here. You aren’t helping at all. Your kind of bigotry (and yes, that is what it is) is no better than the far right bigotry on Fox, etc.

  • AlkiGrl March 24, 2015 (3:25 pm)

    Whew! That’s a relief. Onward!

  • CanDo March 24, 2015 (3:58 pm)

    Very sorry to see you withdraw, Dave. You are a good and decent man and West Seattle is lucky to have you in business here.

  • Molly March 24, 2015 (4:18 pm)

    Oh no, this is really disappointing! Dave’s candidacy gave me hope that we could finally have a voice for small business on the Council. I’m grateful for Dave’s good work with the Chamber, glad to hear he will continue to be politically active.

  • onion March 24, 2015 (4:27 pm)

    Bummer. I actually think one or more good pro-small business voices need to be on the Council, and I really wanted to know more about Dave’s positions. And my vote won’t necessarily be swayed by whether the candidate is for or against the $15 minimum, which is a done deal. But now that the higher minimum has been adopted we in Seattle need to do what we can to support and encourage a thriving small business sector.

    Sorry, “Good for Seattle,” I don’t think you would earn my vote. And I suggest you do your preferred candidate a favor by keeping your opinions to yourself.

  • Nora March 24, 2015 (4:37 pm)

    Now who will I vote for? If there’s a candidate willing to out him/herself as a capitalist, please speak up!

  • Josh Sutton March 24, 2015 (5:16 pm)

    I was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Dave’s candidacy for all the good work he has done in West Seattle.

    To give you a clearer picture of Dave, you should know he has contacted his donors and will be refunding them their contributions.

    While I may be biased, I find this an act that speaks volumes above a negative commenter’s rant and represents what Dave offers everyday in how he works with people in West Seattle.

  • fiz March 24, 2015 (5:26 pm)

    Disappointing, Dave was my vote. Maybe in another time.

  • Peter March 24, 2015 (6:45 pm)

    So what’s with this worship of “small business owners,” as if they are all wise and all knowing? I’ve worked for small businesses, and my experience with them is low pay, no benefits, subjugation to the least of the owner’s relatives, forget about ever getting a bonus, and an expectation that the rest of my life stops when they call. No thanks. We need someone with broader interest than representing one niche group as if they are the end all and be all of what Seattle needs.

  • Out for awalk March 24, 2015 (7:31 pm)

    I’m sad to learn of Dave’s withdrawal. …. He is a caring business owner and his insight into how the City Council’s management effects small business’s owners needs to be heard. ….What we are probably left with are those who have …..bought the election ….and all of us, ultimately, become the loser.

  • Nora March 24, 2015 (7:39 pm)

    Peter, what small business did you work for?

    Sure, there’s a degree of nepotism in every small business, but one of the advantages of taking the risk to go into business on your own is being able to give your relatives a hand up without them feeling like they’re getting a hand out. And if they suck as an employee, fire them. It’s just business.

    Most small business owners actually want their employees treated fairly. Without the employees, the businesses wouldn’t run. Pay may be low, and bonuses may be nonexistent, but the margins also tend to be slim. As to the expectation that you be at their beck and call- maybe they just made a poor decision when hiring the manager.

    You don’t know what boat they’re in. Cut them a little slack.

    Disclosure: My dad owns and operates a gas station in Bellevue. He pays the attendants state minimum wage, plus a commission on U-Haul rentals. He does not offer benefits because too few people are interested to qualify for a group plan. Every Christmas, he gives bonuses of at least $100 to each employee, and he leaves pizza money once a month or so. Yes, I benefited from the nepotism, but I learned how to work and deal with people starting at the age of 14. It’s an invaluable experience that only a small business owner can provide.

  • Out for awalk March 24, 2015 (7:54 pm)

    More… His withdrawal is a signal of something much larger in my opinion…. Dave doesn’t even know who I am but I have observed him from afar and certainly felt he had the best of intentions for West Seattle. … I feel this is the beginning of candidates being lackeys of big monies supported candidates …and this is not good for the wholesomeness and caring spirit that has characterized the folks of West Seattle. … What can we do? ….in my opinion we are an exceptional community and can move forward electing the best candidates…..Ask those candidates lots of questions and ask who they are beholden to!!!!

  • Captain Dave March 24, 2015 (7:54 pm)

    Sorry news for Seattle. Looks like residents will be doomed to suffer the same consequences as Detroit in a few years. There seems to be very few people left who understand how a free society actually works. The destructive social engineering policies of recent years have decimated our diversified economy by killing the entrepreneurial spirit that created this great city. The hostile attitude against small businesses and free-market capitalism has left Seattle with a bleak future. The leftist lunatics on the City Council are so drunk with today’s “prosperity” of Amazon that they don’t realize how they have sold off the future of this city. Good luck Dave with your business ventures!

  • Jeff Jones March 24, 2015 (8:03 pm)

    Peter, your attack on small business owners based on the fact that you worked for them is pathetic. Why dont you you risk your own money and start a business , then chime in. Most of the people that own small businesses have failed at one time or another but keep trying until they succeed to create jobs for entitled people like you. Try signing a paycheck before you act so high and mighty.

  • dsa March 24, 2015 (8:18 pm)

    Too bad, wish he’d stayed in for the campaign, might have won.

  • onion March 24, 2015 (8:26 pm)

    Interesting discussion. There are stupid and selfish small business owners just as there are stupid and selfish socialists. But a thoughtful small business owner would bring perspectives to the council that in my opinion are lacking. We don’t need yet another socialist.

  • onion March 24, 2015 (8:27 pm)

    By the way, it is also possible to be a business owner AND a socialist.

  • kj March 24, 2015 (9:01 pm)

    Wow, Peter. Thanks for the most ignorant, mis-informed rant that I’ve heard in months.

    Do you always paint everyone in a group with the same brush? Very “open-minded” of you.

  • Wsg March 24, 2015 (9:30 pm)

    Peter…Show me a business that pays medical, dental and vision not just a deductible but full benefits at a restaurant way before 15 now even became a concept 10+ years ago… Name one in the junction?? Can you? I bet you can’t…., Dave never got to share all of that and was never against 15 now but the way everything got calculated in the very end. No, not the kind of person that would point that out- but whatever..you know better, right!? Cheers!

  • JoB March 24, 2015 (9:32 pm)

    killing the messenger does nothing to invalidate the message…
    just saying.

  • WS_guy March 24, 2015 (11:12 pm)

    The whole minimum wage thing has made me ashamed to be from Seattle. Apparently we can’t debate issues without name calling or allow differing points of view to be heard without shouting them down in social media. I chose to live here because I thought this place celebrated different points of view and intellectual discourse. These days it seems we are all supposed to be lemmings who follow the most Politically correct agendas without applying any free thought. And for crying out loud people, take a freaking economics class already.

  • JanS March 25, 2015 (12:16 am)

    Capt. Dave….could you please stop with the “leftist lunatics” name calling? For people who keep saying Seattle is doomed, my first question then is “Why are you still here?” Why aren’t you going someplace that isn’t “doomed”? We all have opinions. Labeling people like you do does not add to the conversation.

    If Dave Montoure feels that he can contribute more as a private citizen than as a council member (if he won), then that’s his decision, and those who were going to vote for him should support him in that.

  • Sage March 25, 2015 (6:08 am)

    You all get that Good for Seattle was doing parody right?

  • Peter March 25, 2015 (9:23 am)

    Some people seem to have missed the point of my previous comment, which is that it is not a foregone conclusion (for me, anyway) that small business owners are smarter, harder working, more honest, or more able than anyone else.

    Kj: “Do you always paint everyone in a group with the same brush?” I did absolutely nothing of the sort. I merely commented on my own personal experience. Your putting words in my mouth in an attempt to demonize me. That is intellectually bankrupt and extremely offensive.

  • AmandaKH March 25, 2015 (9:49 am)

    Neighbors! Remember, small business owners are people you know. They are people who’s children go to school with Your kids. They shop at the same grocery store that you do. I have many friends (and my husband is a sole proprietor) that Own small businesses. I also work for small businesses… And they want to do that because they love their community, and take a Huge risk on serving them. My friends live in the neighborhood where their businesses are, and they work crazy hours to keep things going. The $15 minimum wage was not meant to put small businesses to shame, or out of business. It was meant to help raise Everyone up. So let’s move on, thank Dave Montoure for his guts to put himself out there, and find ways to help the whole community move forward together.

  • AHResident March 25, 2015 (2:09 pm)

    How on earth has a person’s lack of marketable job skills become the fault of the blood-thirsty, money-lusting, capitalist-pig, small-business overlords? Bless the person who pointed out that some people need to take an introductory economics course, for crying out loud. If your paycheck sucks or you’re not getting those juicy benefits you feel so entitled to (you know, like bonuses…that are a “bonus”: Google it!), there are hundreds of trade schools all across America taking applications RIGHT NOW! You might even learn some special skills beyond those that any person on the planet can perform! I know it’s a lot more work than standing around with a picket sign blaming the greedy little capital pigs for your bleak future, but trust me, it will do you a hell of a lot more good.

  • K A March 25, 2015 (8:32 pm)

    @good for seattle, you are ignorant. Dave Monture was the best chance to get things right for our neighborhood AND the city. Now it will be business as usual. Good luck with your taxes and transportation. And for those that dont understand what small business does for your community, your ignorant too!

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