When we interviewed City Council District 1 candidate Brendan Kolding back in February, he declared himself “all in” – though this isn’t the first time he’s run for office, he said he’d be actively campaigning this time. And tonight he took another step, with an official campaign kickoff at Ounces in North Delridge.
Kolding also noted that he’s so serious, he recently resigned his Seattle Police lieutenant job to focus full-time on his campaign. His 15-minute speech focused on themes of homelessness, crime/safety, and “rule of law” – he said once laws are enforced, other issues will fall in place. He did touch on a few other hot topics, including requiring developers to include parking in projects, because “people need their cars,” even those who use transit, as he said he had done while commuting from Delridge. Here’s our video of his speech:
After that, Kolding asked supporters to help him qualify for Democracy Vouchers, and then invited questions. One attendee asked where he stands on West Seattle light-rail routing. Though, he said, he recently had been quoted as saying he supported an elevated line, he said it’s clear that there’s more community support for a tunneled option, so that’s what he’s backing now, because his role is to represent the community.
PREVIOUS KICKOFF COVERAGE: We covered incumbent Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s kickoff on March 24th; Phil Tavel‘s launch at Easy Street Records was part of our February 1st report; in late January, Jesse Greene held a kickoff event at Talarico’s in late January. Isaiah Willoughby hasn’t had a kickoff yet.
FORUMS AND WHAT ELSE IS NEXT: All five candidates were at the season’s first forum last month; here’s our coverage, with video. Next one scheduled is 7 pm April 10th at The Hall @ Fauntleroy during the monthly meeting of the 34th District Democrats, who told us all five candidates have confirmed plans to participate. The field won’t be finalized until the official filing period in May; the top two in the August 6th primary will advance to November.
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