VIDEO: As voting begins, five 34th District State Senate candidates answer West Seattle Chamber of Commerce questions

The ballots have been mailed and voting has begun for the August 7th primary election. The major local race in our area is for the 34th District State Senate seat. Last night at the DAV Hall in Delridge, five of the 11 candidates answered questions at a forum presented by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Our video begins with introductions from the Chamber and DAV; if you want to jump ahead to the candidates, they start 4 minutes in:

The Chamber said it invited all 11 candidates, with repeated outreach to those who didn’t accept the invitation, and these are the ones who showed up: Joe Nguyen, Shannon Braddock, Sofia Aragon, Lois Schipper, and Lem Charleston. Among the highlights of the forum: State Senator Sharon Nelson, whose decision not to run for re-election set up this wide-open race, was invited to question her would-be successors.

P.S. You have at least one more chance to hear from candidates in this race – the White Center Chamber of Commerce has a forum scheduled for 6 pm next Tuesday (July 24) at Tommy Sound (9409 Delridge Way SW). They have not yet announced which candidates will participate. And remember to get your ballot in a mailbox – prepaid postage! – or dropbox by August 7th.

Jort July 21, 2018 (12:47 am)

I haven’t heard very much from Joe Nguyen about why he chose to accept an endorsement from Bob “I willl literally end light rail in Seattle” Hasegawa. It’s important to me to understand why he would do this, especially knowing Hasegawa’s steadfast and earnest commitment to dismantling and destroying the light rail system we approved in 2016. One of the biggest things I look for in a democratic candidate is whether they support our voter-approved transit measure. Any association with Bob Hasegawa’s extremist anti-transit agenda is an automatic, fundamental disqualification for me.

Ferryander July 21, 2018 (3:33 pm)

Joe is 100% in favor of light rail and public transit, and wants light-rail to get to West Seattle as quickly as possible. On his website he says “we need a robust public transit system so residents can still access job opportunities in urban corridors” http://meetjoenguyen.com/issues/. I can’t speak to why Senator Hasegawa endorsed Joe, but it certainly wasn’t due to his views on light rail. Have you reached out to Joe or his campaign to get clarification on this? Instead of just making an assumption, why don’t you reach out to joe directly to find out his stance on transit? His number is listed on his website or as well as his email.
Paul Bigman July 21, 2018 (6:10 pm)

https://southseattleemerald.com/2017/06/12/hasegawa-clarifying-my-record-on-transit/Bob Hasegawa supports and always has supported light rail and mass transit. The absurd claim that he’s against light rail stems from his supporting a democratically elected Sound Transit Board to ensure a voice for his South Seattle and south suburban constituents.
Roxberry July 30, 2018 (9:49 am)

Hi Jort, hopefully this will help assuage your fears regarding Joe and transit issues. He was endorsed by Seattle Transit Blog! https://seattletransitblog.com/2018/07/30/2018-primary-34th-district-senate/

NW Mama July 21, 2018 (6:50 am)

Thanks for recording this and sharing- very helpful. Many good candidates!

Michele July 21, 2018 (1:02 pm)

So much for Bob being anti-light rail.. check your sources

Ferryander July 21, 2018 (3:23 pm)

While Sofia, Lois, and Lem seem like perfectly fine people, It’s abundantly clear that Shannon Braddock and Joe Nguyen have the best grasp of the issues facing our district. I think both would be fine legislators, however I will be supporting Joe Nguyen in the primary. He is the only candidate running who has not taken PAC money or self-financed, and would bring a unique perspective as someone who grew up in Burien and Whitecenter, and now lives in West Seattle. He would also be the first Vietnamese Legislator ever elected in the state of Washington and the first person of color elected to the legislature from the 34th.

J.R. July 22, 2018 (7:25 am)

Shannon Braddock brings the whole package: Legislative and government experience, community involvement, smarts, and energy. The 34th needs a Senator who can take over for Sharon Nelson and get right to work.

Mark Schletty July 22, 2018 (7:44 am)

Shannon Braddock brings the interests of big developers and downtown big business with her. They were her big funders in her City Council race, in which the voters rejected her.

Dxs6862 July 22, 2018 (2:31 pm)

Thank you to all the politicians who have trashed “Playing on the Logs” with their political ads. The real shame is that you likely will not remove this trash once you’re campaign is finished.

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