VIDEO: Mayoral candidates in West Seattle for WSB/WSJA forum

12:08 PM: This year, Seattle elects a new mayor – Jenny Durkan decided not to run for re-election. Ballots for the August 3rd primary go out in a few days; you’ll have 15 mayoral candidates to choose from. WSB and the West Seattle Junction Association invited them all to participate in the first and only forum devoted to questions from West Seattleites – most were suggested by WSB readers – and it’s happening now at the Senior Center of West Seattle. You should see the stream embedded above; if anything goes awry, check the WSB YouTube channel or the WSJA Instagram IGTV feed; it’s also being recorded for later viewing.

1:38 PM: Forum’s over; we have removed the stream window above and replaced it with a photo. We will be uploading the recorded video in its entirety later, as well as adding notes. We had one no-show, so nine candidates participated:

James Donaldson
Colleen Echohawk
Jessyn Farrell
Lorena González
Bruce Harrell
Andrew Grant Houston
Lance Randall
Don Rivers
Casey Sixkiller

This, it turns out, was their first in-person forum.

4:16 PM: The lower-res YouTube stream is now archived – pull ahead to 5:40 for the start of the forum:

We’ll have a higher-res version with the story later, but if you don’t want to wait, watch it now!

20 Replies to "VIDEO: Mayoral candidates in West Seattle for WSB/WSJA forum"

  • J July 10, 2021 (2:31 pm)

    Will you post the video when it’s available? Thanks! 

    • WSB July 10, 2021 (5:05 pm)

      Update, the lower-res version as streamed is available above right now (start at about 5:40 in). We will have a higher-res version, and story (hard to take comprehensive notes while moderating so I have to go back and watch it all again), later (hopefully tomorrow).

  • Karen July 10, 2021 (4:45 pm)

    Thank you WSB for covering this event!

  • Natinstl July 10, 2021 (11:17 pm)

    Casey Sixkiller seems to be the only one willing to acknowledge that some people commit crimes for the sake of committing crime and that there has to be some measure of accountability. I do not see Seattle bouncing back if we have more of the same aka Gonzalez. Downtown is not a nice place to be right now and who feels safe when we have people wielding axes up by the Junction. 

    • Chemist July 11, 2021 (12:45 am)

      I know that 7/11 on Erskine is a block away from the Junction-Junction, but the Alaska Junction Urban Village includes this 7/11 and goes all the way South to the RiteAid (which is depressingly bare and had a lot of stock-moving bins when I was in there a month ago).  In my opinion, if you would say the Alaska Junction has grocery stores then you should be calling the 7/11 a part of the Alaska Junction.

    • scubafrog July 11, 2021 (2:48 am)

      Sixkiller, DC lobbyist since 2007, and Durkan’s deputy mayor?  Lol no.  And no to present/former elected council-persons who’ve similarly failed Seattle, spectacularly.

      • Natinstl July 11, 2021 (4:28 pm)

        To be honest I’d never heard of him until this forum. He didn’t seem to be a visible presence on TV, just the mayor. I’m no great fan of any of these candidates, I was just happy to hear someone admit that when you see someone shoplifting in front of you and you’re with your kid it’s hard to tell them to do one thing while we let adults do another. I’ve been in line at Marshall’s twice now when someone just walked out with a handful of stuff. At some point we can’t keep saying it’s because people are homeless or have mental issues that Seattle has all these issues while ignoring how crime is affecting our community. The candidates just seem to glance over it with the usual platitudes. I’m not a huge fan of Bellevue, but going over there vs being in downtown Seattle is a stark contrast. People are out shopping, eating and there’s a buzz. I know downtown was hugely affected by the pandemic, but it’s depressing down there and going to work lately I don’t feel safe walking in some areas. The council gives the impression they just don’t care about businesses or the community. In some ways it almost doesn’t seem to matter who becomes mayor because the council seems to control things.

    • K July 11, 2021 (9:36 am)

      Sixkiller has been an insider for years. He’s a deputy mayor to Durkan now, worked for the County prior, and owned a DC consulting firm.  If you’re concerned about “more of the same” Sixkiller is not your candidate.

    • anonymous July 12, 2021 (1:01 pm)

      The way Casey conducted himself last year during the riots means he has zero credibility when it comes to public safety.Donaldson was the only candidate who demonstrated he has the leadership chops.

  • Curious July 11, 2021 (4:16 am)

    Who was the no show?

    • WSB July 11, 2021 (10:27 am)

      Bobby Tucker.

  • Azimuth July 11, 2021 (9:34 am)

    I can’t believe I actually watched the whole thing! Thank you WSB for the video and questions. This helped me rearrange my own list. Probably best that only 9 chose to participate, but I would have like to have heard from the all, particularly Langlie.

    • anonyme July 12, 2021 (8:16 am)

      Very disappointing that Langlie doesn’t seem to be engaging in much of anything. As usual, the candidates just repeat the same philosophical buzz words over and over again, while never providing any details as to how their goals would be accomplished. Harrell is the only one remotely close to being a moderate.  Note I said “remotely”, as in smoke signals from one mesa to another.

  • Pessoa July 11, 2021 (11:18 am)

    Like lemmings, every one of them answered “yes” to  the idea of extending a natural gas ban – yes, natural gas – to new single family homes.   Natural gas is a far better alternative to oil and a far, far better alternative to coal despite attempts to turn it into a dangerous contributor to  climate change.   

  • Mr J July 11, 2021 (12:02 pm)

    Does Casey want to share his texts messages with Durkan? Seems like he has a part to play in this as well as the current lawsuit brought against the City by whistle blowers. 

  • Mj July 11, 2021 (12:32 pm)

    Pessoa – it was really nice having Natural Gas when the power went out, being able to cook a meal is nice item to be available

  • anonymous July 12, 2021 (12:59 pm)

    They want to annex White Center.I can’t believe they would be so cruel as to inflict Seattle taxes and politics on their peaceful community.Annexing White Center is a bad idea!

  • Sunflower July 12, 2021 (2:10 pm)

    Thanks WSB, and for the candidates participation.  Good discussion.

    At this point, I’ve decided to support Colleen Echohawk, for Seattle Mayor.

    Appreciate her work, expertise, and wisdom on the issue of homelessness. Our city and state needs her leadership and understanding on this.  Also, her voiced commitment to environmental concerns, for salmon and orca, for a healthy community, and equity. 

    Thank you Colleen, for offering your native heritage and perspective, experience, hard work ethic, passion, and spirit, to this leadership role for the city of Seattle, I greatly hope you are elected!

  • Kathy July 30, 2021 (11:26 pm)

    Andrew Grant Houston for me. He’s not “barely out of his teens”. Young enough to have some energy for the job, which is reflected in his enthusiastic responses. He seems committed to adressing the climate crisis which is our number one problem. He would have a steep learning curve if elected, though.  Thanks, Tracy!

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