By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
It took more than an hour and four rounds of voting tonight for the 34th District Democrats to decide who they are supporting for mayor.
The result: A dual endorsement for Bob Hasegawa and Jessyn Farrell. Hasegawa got the most votes in each round, but never the required supermajority.
At the start of the endorsement consideration, four candidates were nominated for consideration – besides Hasegawa and Farrell, members stood up to nominate Jenny Durkan and Cary Moon. The four nominees were in turn from a total of 8 eligible (declared Democrats, though the position is nonpartisan) – the other four, not nominated by anyone, were Michael Harris, Mike McGinn, James Norton, and Jason Roberts.
Here’s how it unfolded (followed by what else happened at tonight’s meeting at The Hall at Fauntleroy):
Before the first vote, speaking in favor of Durkan was County Council Chair Joe McDermott, who talked about her standing up against Pres. Trump’s travel ban, among other things. No one spoke against the nomination. Speaking in favor of Hasegawa was Marlene Allbright, who called him “the most experienced candidate running for mayor” and noted that he was one of two senators who voted against the “Boeing bailout.” Chris Porter spoke against the nomination, saying it was nothing against Hasegawa but it’s important to consider the “strong female candidates” since Seattle hasn’t had a woman mayor since 1926. Rebutting that, former 34th Dems chair Ivan Weiss pointed out that Hasegawa would be the city’s first Asian-American mayor, and that he always has strongly supported women’s rights.
Speaking on behalf of the Farrell nomination, Grace Stiller said the candidate has a strong record, especially on issues such as transportation and land use. No one spoke against the nomination. Finally, on behalf of Moon’s nomination, supporter Joe mentioned her proposal to “implement a speculators’ tax” as well as her “proven track record on progressive issues.” No one spoke against her nomination.
The first round ended with no winner (60 percent is required) – Hasegawa received 43, Farrell and Durkan 23 each, Moon 4. Usually the top two would go on to the runoff, but because of the Farrell/Durkan tie, it was a three-candidate race on the second ballot. That ballot didn’t produce a clear winner, either – Hasegawa had 41 votes, Farrell 27, Durkan 26, so it went to a Hasegawa/Farrell third vote. That ended with 53 for Hasegawa and 42 for Farrell – and it was on to a fourth vote, dual endorsement vs. no endorsement. Farrell gave a pitch first (Hasegawa had spoken earlier in the meeting, though it was more about what was going on in the Legislature than about his campaign).
Dual endorsement won, 76-18.
In case you are wondering, tonight’s endorsement voting was not preceded by a forum, because the 34th Dems had one last month (WSB coverage here) – the “showdown” format had Farrell finishing as the winner, though the group decided not to make any endorsement that night.
Meantime, you will be able to vote soon since King County Elections put ballots in the mail today; you can mail yours back or use a dropbox (no stamp needed) starting tomorrow – here’s the map (in West Seattle, the High Point Library has one, SW Raymond/35th SW).
If you still haven’t made up your mind and want to see and hear the candidates in person, two chances are coming up in West Seattle – the Sustainable West Seattle-presented forum that we are moderating at Summer Fest on Saturday (July 15th) at 2 pm, in Junction Plaza Park, with 16 of the 21 candidates RSVP’d so far, and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce forum on business/transportation issues with 6 candidates at 6:30 pm July 20th at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.
Here’s what else happened at the 34th District Democrats’ meeting, starting with another endorsement vote:
INITIATIVE 940: The group heard a brief presentation on behalf of De-escalate Washington, which is seeking to get this new police-training/-tactics-related measure on the ballot (read the text here). The 34th DDs subsequently went on the record as endorsing the signature-gathering campaign.
And regarding another potential ballot measure:
VETERANS AND SENIORS LEVY: County Council Chair McDermott said the proposed levy renewal/expansion for the November ballot was trimmed from 12 cents per $1,000 of property valuation to 10 cents by the Regional Policy Committee, and that one third would go to veterans, one third for human services, one third for seniors. Next, the full council will consider that on Monday – McDermott said he believes 12 cents is the right number and encouraged people to contact other county councilmembers to urge them to support it. (Here’s what we originally published about the measure back in May.)
Other matters brought up during the meeting, while the endorsement votes were being counted:
SCHOOL BUDGET: School Board member Leslie Harris said you need to know that the district still has a budget deficit and school capacity crisis. Funding is short for special ed, English language learners, and schools are “bursting at the seams” – so the Legislature “holding the capital budget hostage … (is) not so cool, not cool at all.” SPS projects have come in “under budget and on time,” meantime, she said, adding that the board “has been pushing back,” including recently passing a testing policy that she is “damn proud of.” She noted that the board also pushed back against the district administration regarding the waitlists controversy. “There are people who would suggest that we are micromanagers, and they would be wrong. It is our job” to watch over what they’re dealing with. And, she reminded everyone, there is an achievement gap between children of color and white children “that is inexcusable … and we are working every day to close that gap with our hands cuffed behind our back and no money to do it.” She is having a community meeting at Southwest Library, 3 pm this Saturday (July 15th – it’s in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar too), “with lasagna,” she promised. Among other topics, she said, is it OK for PTSA’s to raise money to “buy staff” when many schools can’t afford it? “How is that considered equitable? It’s just not.” So they’re going to explore a policy that says “you don’t get to buy staff with your extra dough.”
SPEAKING OF SCHOOLS – HIGHLAND PARK READING TUTORS UPDATE: Dina Johnson, a Reading Partners volunteer at Highland Park Elementary, updated the 34th Dems on the crowdfunding campaign to try to save the program there. It has just three more days – or else, if it falls short, donations will be refunded. Here’s our most-recent story; you can donate by going here.
UPCOMING EVENTS: The 34th Dems will be in the West Seattle Grand Parade on July 22nd and the White Center Jubilee Days parade on July 23rd, chair David Ginsberg announced, and will have a booth at the Vashon Island Strawberry Festival that same weekend. … The group’s annual summer fundraising party is on August 11th at Dakota Place Park, billed as a carnival and barbecue, with tickets on sale now.
MEMBERSHIP: The group added 22 new members last month and is now up to 560. … 70 members have signed up for volunteer opportunities and there’s room for more.
The 34th District Democrats meet most months on second Wednesdays, 7 pm, at The Hall at Fauntleroy. Watch 34dems.org for updates between meetings.
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