ELECTION 2023: Preston Anderson officially announces Seattle City Council District 1 campaign

Just yesterday, we noted that two people have filed Seattle City Council District 1 campaign intentions but neither had made a formal announcement yet. Today, that changed – one of those two people, Preston Anderson, became the first to announce a campaign. In the announcement, Anderson is described as a West Seattle resident who is “a career social worker and former Army Medic who served two combat tours during active duty with over 5 years of service.” His announcement also says, “If elected, he would be the only homeless and behavioral health service provider elected to Council, and the first person of color elected to District 1, a diverse district that includes the neighborhoods of West Seattle, South Park, Georgetown, Sodo, and Pioneer Square. (Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who announced last month that she won’t run for a third term, is the first person ever elected to the seat; the council changed to 7 district-elected members and 2 citywide members starting with the 2015 elections.) The announcement says Anderson “presently works at the Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care System administering funds for clinically focused transitional housing in collaboration with community based providers (and) continues his direct practice supporting Veterans with acute behavioral health needs.” He says his background would provide “expertise the current council simply doesn’t have” and that his signature issues would be “affordable housing and access to education (and) access to living-wage jobs” as well as “reducing gun violence in Seattle.” You can read his full announcement on his website. Formal filing week is May 15-19, so the field of candidates won’t be finalized until then; the primary election is August 1st.

Question Authority January 20, 2023 (10:26 pm)

His talking points sound just like those of the current council and that’s not a good thing, we want change and not more of the same policies.

Question Authority January 21, 2023 (9:44 am)

There’s not reading the audience and there’s not reading the room, but not reading the current climate of the City is foolish.
WS Res January 21, 2023 (10:30 am)

1) Change to what? “Lock up everybody”? “Shoot people in the street for being disruptive”? 2) Who’s “we,” you and the mouse in your pocket? (as my dad used to say). I’m interested in what he might have to say and look forward to learning more.
- Question Authority January 21, 2023 (11:36 am)
  
  The positive change that I and many others want is well-known and acknowledged throughout articles, posts and daily news broadcasts. It’s certainly not the extremes you list but a more common sense approach to public safety thru enforcement and consequences. If your ok with crime, drugs and rampant dysfunction you be you, but I personally want the City safe and prosperous which will take a new level of direction from leadership.
  - WestSeattleBadTakes January 21, 2023 (2:21 pm)
    
    You gave no specifics, no positions, and then setup a straw man. Sums up the typical conservative voter these days.
    - D Martin January 22, 2023 (7:11 am)
      
      Conservative voter? Only in Seattle would a moderate Democrat be considered a conservative.
  - Yeah January 21, 2023 (4:50 pm)
    
    This guy has experience with solving the exact same issues you’ve said in other threads you want solved, but his solutions don’t involve locking everyone up and throwing away the key, so he’s a terrible choice? Saying the quiet parts out loud here, I see. I guess this election will show us how many people really want solutions to homelessness and addiction and who just doesn’t want to have to look at poor people any more.
  - Thomas January 21, 2023 (6:45 pm)
    
    Bravo well stated
- Kmb January 21, 2023 (1:29 pm)
  
  Indeed. People are so ready to write off candidates before they actually both to learn about them. They want it both ways. My suggestion is that they put their money (or candidacy) where their mouth is. Seems like everyone knows bette🤷🏽‍♀️
  - Question Authority January 21, 2023 (2:53 pm)
    
    Why yes I have read all about him and his platform, it’s nothing more than rinse and repeat all that’s not currently working.

MM January 21, 2023 (12:58 am)

His signature issues sounds like a liberal Democrat. That means more of the same. NO THANKS!!!!! We need republican leadership to save our city like never before. This is it or Seattle if s dead.

Ivan Weiss January 21, 2023 (7:02 am)

Haha, MM, tell us the one about Jack and the Magic Beans next. Seattle needs Republican leadership like it needs a Richter 10 earthquake and the eruption of Mount Rainier.
- Canton January 21, 2023 (12:12 pm)
  
  Why is it with democrat rule for decades now, it just gets worse?
  - Delridge420 January 23, 2023 (2:10 am)
    
    If only Republicans weren’t absolutely atrocious at broadening their appeal outside of Broadmoor in this city.
Frustrated January 21, 2023 (8:12 am)

As long as the R’s are still America First (research where that name comes from) and MAGA, they’re not going to get any traction here. Liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican actually has very little to do with it. The problem on both sides is that politicians only listen to their radical bases, and not the populace as a whole. Around here that means that all cops are evil, open drug use is accepted, and crime is almost celebrated because it’s payback against those darn billionaires. But the alternative is just as bad since they want to bully anyone who isn’t a straight white Christian male back into submission. There is no reasonable center anymore.

Fauntleroy Fairies January 21, 2023 (2:37 am)

Preston sounds like a great candidate— so glad to have him in the race!

WSOwl January 21, 2023 (5:55 am)

Thank you Preston for putting yourself out there. I look forward to learning more.

Ugh! January 21, 2023 (6:23 am)

Hard pass! We NEED a moderate not another liberal junkie & criminal coddler.

CAM January 21, 2023 (12:55 pm)

Got it. Army and combat veteran with advanced degree who works with homeless military veterans is a “liberal junkie & criminal coddler.” I’ll update Merriam Webster.
- Ugh! January 21, 2023 (3:13 pm)
  
  Anyone who is running on a platform of helping the homeless instead of helping the citizens of Seattle who pay the tax dollars to fund these programs regain their city back from the effects of coddling junkies & criminals isn’t what I’m looking for in a candidate.
  - Amy January 21, 2023 (5:22 pm)
    
    The unhoused are citizens of Seattle. You ever thinking helping the the most vulnerable in our community will help everyone?
    - Ugh! January 21, 2023 (6:39 pm)
      
      *see below
  - Ivan Weiss January 21, 2023 (7:49 pm)
    
    “Citizens of Seattle who pay the tax dollars?” Wait till you get the tax bill for all those jails you want to build, and all the money it takes to house and feed all those “undesirables” you insist be swept off the streets and jailed. You’ll probably blame “the libs” instead of looking in the mirror and pointing the finger at yourself.
    - Canton January 21, 2023 (8:17 pm)
      
      The jail system in fine. We need rehab/mental health facilities first. We also need a system to make drug/ mental health treatment involuntary.
    - Ugh! January 21, 2023 (8:23 pm)
      
      In case you haven’t noticed we are already paying the price. Only difference is that currently the junkies & criminals have taken over our streets, parks, doorways & completely burdened the healthcare system and let’s not forget the property damage, stolen cars, pkgs, etc. So yeah! Let’s start building! It’s time to bring some safety back to the citizens of Seattle. And before you start- I’ve been left of center for over 40 years so you can skip the whole R vs D thing.
    - Question Authority January 21, 2023 (8:47 pm)
      
      I’d rather see money spent on jail then rehab than the failed DESC model where you get to abuse drugs with no commitment to stopping. Where’s the public money going for those housing first models if you stay as long as you want, and high at that.

Thomas January 21, 2023 (7:48 am)

I will never support a candidate that doesn’t focus on crime! As others have said just a replay of what we already have.

Amy January 21, 2023 (5:24 pm)

and what would focusing on crime look like to you? the jails are only so big, and then what?
- Ugh! January 21, 2023 (5:51 pm)
  
  Build more.
  - bill January 21, 2023 (7:54 pm)
    
    The United States already has more people in prison than any country not considered a despotically ruled hellhole. Not working out, is it?
  - Delridge420 January 23, 2023 (2:13 am)
    
    I agree, let’s bulldoze some view homes in Admiral and build it there.
Delridge420 January 23, 2023 (2:00 am)

I thought we elected Ann Davison to end crime?

Runner January 21, 2023 (8:26 am)

Is there a job description for serving on the city council? Maybe something like, must have senior level leadership experience to manage a huge diverse staff. Must also have a proven track record of managing a billion dollar per year budget, etc.

SeattleLost January 21, 2023 (10:00 am)

Nope they will pretty much let anyone do it. And in Seattle the least qualified – biggest bleeding heart – usually wins. All they need is more of your money and they will get it right next time.
bill January 21, 2023 (7:57 pm)

Those sort of people earn big bucks and don’t have to put up with the rabble shouting nonsense at them. Why would they want a position on the council?
- CAM January 22, 2023 (3:38 pm)
  
  Those people also fire 10s of thousands of their employees in a month to benefit a handful of investors and to maximize profitability. Pretty sure they have no idea how to run a government that isn’t focused on me first.

Anne January 21, 2023 (8:30 am)

Mr. Anderson presents like a bright shiny new toy-Military Medic Vet, works with homeless vets & with behavioral issues -but underneath it’s the same old worn toy you’ve played with for years. He has several pretty talking points -but no specifics on how he plans to put them into practice -just generalities-words words words.Like this paragraph from his website:,“Gun violence is a public health and public safety crisis that we must address through tackling root causes of violence, and simply getting guns off our streets,” said Anderson. “This means building trust and relationships with youth and within BIPOC communities too often harmed by gun violence. I’m committed to fighting at every level to keep our kids and communities safe.”The only glimmer of a difference is that he wants to : “ simply getting guns off the streets” but even that sentence gives no specifics -it’s just talk.Where is the candidate that can not only tell us what’s wrong(which we know) -what he/she wants to change & most importantly, specifics on HOW he /she plans to make those changes- just saying he wants to “ tackle root-causes of violence” sounds good-but HOW. Getting guns off the streets-HOW?I don’t know what party one must be-but they must have more specific ideas of how they want to change things-more than just same old mush we’ve been fed for years & that many seem to ok with -to get my vote.

WS Res January 21, 2023 (12:53 pm)

Yeah, the fact that he doesn’t introduce multi-page legislative proposals with line-item budgets and timelines in his press release definitely disqualifies him for office.
bill January 21, 2023 (7:59 pm)

Tell us Anne, how would you deal locally with an issue that has been decided at the federal level is beyond local jurisdiction? I specifically mean the current interpretation of the 2nd Amendment.

Rosey January 21, 2023 (8:51 am)

Based on the professional background, Preston appears to be a good first entry in the race for the goal of executing on ideals that have largely flatlined the last few years. Interested in hearing what he has to say and I hope more who join the race share background on making a lot of ideals that resonate in Seattle more of a reality and less of just a series of talking points.

WSEA January 21, 2023 (10:06 am)

He sounds great! Thank you for your service and for running to represent us.

Rb January 21, 2023 (10:29 am)

Sadly, like others have said, he sounds like a carbon copy of everybody else in the city council. And what that means is that he’s not going to get my vote but he’s still going to be elected. I wish and pray for somebody who is more moderate. That way we can tackle problems that are getting overlooked right now.

Matthew January 21, 2023 (12:40 pm)

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Joan January 21, 2023 (1:01 pm)

We definitely need new blood. What we really need are better judges, who will lock up repeat offenders and be done with it.

Anne January 21, 2023 (2:13 pm)

WS need to hold those that make the laws accountable as well- our State lawmakers.

Josh January 21, 2023 (1:38 pm)

All of the righties on here who want Nixon on the city council should maybe get of local blog message boards and find a candidate and organize for them. This city is great. Of course there are opportunities for improvement but a city council can not overcome global and national trends. Homelessness is more related to rapid growth and being a great place to do business (tech is here largely because we have the most regressive tax code in the country) combined with a lack of adequate home building due more to the after effects and geographic constraints of 2008 than liberal politics and this being one of the few places in the country where the weather makes it not so terrible to live outside year round.Even if bums creep you out the only crime that is on the rise is violent crime that is vastly committees by poor minorities against other poor minorities, e.g. not the old white middle class people on this blog who believe Fox News more than what they can see by actually going outside.

Johnny Stulic January 21, 2023 (2:50 pm)

No wonder this city is sinking ever deeper into crime and lawlessness. How can we fix any problems if their causes are misidentified before we even begin to address them? Just like we’ve been hearing from the City Council for over a decade now, we continue to be lectured on the alleged causes of the ever growing crime and homelessness which are… drumroll… lack of affordable housing and regressive taxes!
As we all know, affordable housing fixes everything. Throw in a few more tax increases (but it’s only the price of one coffee a day!) and once all these hundreds of thousands recent and future fentanyl addicts have houses, they will magically turn into regular self-sufficient 9-5 office workers overnight. In order to mask the utter futility of the exponentially rising cost of the bottomless pit social programs, we’ll preemptively call whoever complains a racist and anti-poor.
Problem solved.
- Scarlett January 21, 2023 (7:42 pm)
  
  A roof over your head, a place where you can rest your tired bones without dying of hypothermia in the elements, where you don’t have to fear for your safety, where you can make water, brush your teeth, prepare some food and feel human is the first step for planing for for the future. I wish we hadn’t come to this grim place in American society where we must now must contemplate “warehousing” people, but here we are for a variety of reasons and we’re way past the point of platitudes about working hard and not doing drugs.
Ugh! January 21, 2023 (3:01 pm)

B I N G O! “and this being one of the few places in the country where the weather makes it not so terrible to live outside year round” If you build it, they will come!Maybe if we quit coddling the junkies & criminals and actually invest homeless dollars in LOCAL homeless population instead of junkies, criminals & relocated out-of-towners our fellow local unhoused citizens could actually access assistance.
- CAM January 22, 2023 (3:42 pm)
  
  This will obviously come as a shock to you but study after study, year after year, has repeatedly demonstrated that but for a small minority of the unhoused population in King County, they are all “local.” Want to help them now? Or want to come up with another reason you don’t like them?

Melissa January 21, 2023 (2:55 pm)

He sounds like an exciting, vibrant candidate. I look forward to hearing what he has to say at a meet and greet.

Millie January 21, 2023 (6:28 pm)

We need candidates that can work across party lines, collaboratively and cooperatively. Critical thinking is of the utmost importance. A knowledge of city government would also be helpful. We can no longer afford to elect individuals with their personal agendas (i.e. tax businesses, defund police, raise taxes, and hold no one accountable for their actions. We need candidates that know their limitations and are willing to listen to and consider other’s ideas and options. We need individuals that are fiscally conservative yet aware of social issues. Not afraid to appoint staff members with experience and expertise in transportation, budgeting, land use, public safety…… They seek political office with promises to address and help resolve issues facing the citizens of Seattle. They should be held accountable.We need something along the lines of CHECC (1967). It’s been done before Democrats and Republicans elected to the City offices successfully representing ALL city residents.

Canton January 21, 2023 (10:18 pm)

What we need in elected officials is the ability to challenge the status quo. We need people that don’t succumb to the general group think. People that have different ideas, and the ability to debate them. Like minds think alike… And that process isn’t working…

Skipalapondo January 21, 2023 (11:32 pm)

I really can’t wait for all the “Seattle is dead/dying” crowd to leave town so those of us that want to live here can actually afford to. Might I recommend the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex? Sure, there’s still plenty of crime down there, but luckily you don’t have any local journalists to report on it so it’s like it’s not even there. You want law enforcement that’s tough on crime? Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn has forced pregnant women to give birth in cells and had multiple people die in jail under his watch. You’d love him.I’ve seen what conservatives in charge of local government can do, and some of y’all should be thankful you won’t get what you ask for.

flimflam January 22, 2023 (7:46 am)

It’s laughable that anyone that prefers criminals be incarcerated as opposed to allowed to be released time and again is painted as a “conservative” with bad intentions. Seattle has very, very few conservatives.
- CAM January 22, 2023 (3:46 pm)
  
  Not being Matt Gaetz does not make a person either moderate or liberal in their politics. Just because one group has shifted the limits so far out of bounds does not mean you get to redefine what the conservative principles are.
  - Scarlett January 22, 2023 (5:52 pm)
    
    And Democrats haven’t been hijacked? They’re both corporate political parties of war and destruction. There was a time when I was growing up that Democrats warned us about the intelligence agencies, were skeptical about foreign entanglements and fiercely defended free speech. Those days seem like the quaint, hoary past. Who has shifted the most, Cam?
Canton January 22, 2023 (9:52 am)

Nah. We’re gonna stick around and fight to get our city back. You don’t like that?, You move…
Johnny Stulic January 22, 2023 (3:43 pm)

If only there was some sort of a middle way between actively encouraging and financing criminals’ takeover of our streets and parks, and MAGA style crypto-fascist “government”.This, however, can never be achieved because we live in the age of false dichotomy where political sloganeering passes as policy. And sure, not only has the homelessness not been solved by billions of $ over the last two decades as they kept promising us, it actually increased by the order of magnitude, but hey, I am sure Anderson’s novel idea of more affordable housing is sure to work this time. Pass the doobie, all’s well on the Western front.
- CAM January 22, 2023 (4:07 pm)
  
  There’s actually no numbers to support your argument that homelessness is increasing. The most recent numbers, from 2020, showed that it was trending down but generally stable. If anything, there may be some positive news from new strategies implemented during COVID due to the need for more long-term shelter beds and the County’s effort to purchase and renovate multiunit buildings and hotel space into long-term shelter/crisis housing with staff and support and programming. That’s the fastest new housing (and low barrier housing) has come online in decades. That is the kind of thing that is needed and is finally happening and the money you are complaining about is being spent to do it. Nothing changes overnight. If you think that is realistic you are being silly. Nothing is going to change in a year or even in a single term in office for a council person or mayor. Why doesn’t anything work? Because everytime you decide you aren’t going to allow time for something to work and that the plan needs to change and you put someone into office to make noise and gum up the works, that stops the progress and makes sure that no goals are ever achieved. The things you want will take decades. “Locking people up” will only exacerbate the problem and extend the length of time it takes to eventually resolve when people have the will to deal with it.
  - Johnny Stulic January 22, 2023 (10:46 pm)
    
    Homelessness has been drastically increasing for over a decade now, ever since the country was flooded with cheap and widely available Oxycontins first, then cheap and widely available Fentanyl later. One or two years of statistical charades can’t hide the fact that merely 20 years ago you could walk around Seattle counting the homeless and you wouldn’t even need both hands. Today, every single sidewalk, park, and underpass is overflowing with mostly working age, physically able young and/or middle age people. While before homelessness was mainly a mental illness problem, today the minor number of mentally ill who should be offered all the resources for living with dignity are vastly outnumbered by the addicts. We could literally give every single one of them “affordable” housing, and that still wouldn’t fix anything because we as a society don’t have enough resources to cover the bills in perpetuity for people who decided to commit a slow motion suicide by drugs. Seattle won’t fix it. San Francisco won’t fix it. No other city will fix it, and neither will the government, local, state, or federal. That much money does not exist, no matter how much taxes are raised. You can pretend it does and continue with the whack-a-mole game, but we all know it’s a losing proposition.
    - Ugh! January 23, 2023 (7:46 am)
      
      You are 100% correct Johnny!
    - CAM January 23, 2023 (2:56 pm)
      
      Johnny, none of what you are saying is based on facts, numbers, reality, or anything other than your personal perceptions. I invite you to look into the topic more by reading some of the research and historical literature that does use that information.

Scarlett January 22, 2023 (4:22 pm)

Everyone is going to have to give up their cherished yarns and ditch the self-deception, which one evolutionary biologiest called the most ubiquitous of all human traits.

We are going to have to ask ourselves is there is any contradiction in clamoring for less government – except when it comes to hiring more police and building more prisons. We are going to have to ask themselves how much of what we claim to have earned through hard work is really generational wealth that was passed along to us, and giving us a head start in the game of life. We are going to have themselves if we are really free market boosters, or are quite willing to accept government intervention if it means propping up our assets, including home values. And so on. These aren’t exclusive to one political party, by the way, as the number of those with the pompous progressive catchism planted in their yard (“In This Home…”) is only exceeded by the lies they tell themselves each day.

Fairmont January 22, 2023 (8:53 pm)

Big no. We need someone tough on crime and drugs. We need someone that understands business, capitalism and improving the city. This is our chance to elect someone that isn’t a feel good candidate. Time to move forward not backward.

SkepticalVoter January 29, 2023 (9:34 am)

Preston, are these the same talking points you used in your pierce county council loss two years ago? We need a candidate who understands the issues of West Seattle, not someone who moves around looking for their next political opportunity.

Sorry, comment time is over.