November 2, 2021 General Election Endorsements
City of Seattle
Mayor: Bruce Harrell
Howard Wright: “In a crowded field for Seattle’s open mayor’s seat, Bruce Harrell is showing stamina and clarity, he has ‘fire in the belly.’ His opponent, candidate Gonzalez, has not responded to my requests for a conversation.”
City Attorney: Ann Davison
Seattle Times: “Davison, a Seattle attorney and arbitrator, has the best sense of the values the city attorney’s office should represent, and a deep sense of civic engagement that motivated her previous campaigns for city council and lieutenant governor. In an interview, she offered a clear-eyed assessment of Seattle’s current shortcomings and a need for a strong city attorney to stand up for public good.”
City Council Position 8: Kenneth Wilson
Stephen Jiang, PE SE Chief Structural Engineer King County Roads: "I really appreciated the opportunities working with Ken on multiple County bridge and roadway infrastructure projects over the past 20+ years. As a design consultant, Ken has demonstrated high quality and professionalism to produce exceptional structural designs that are practical and cost-effective. Ken's leadership is paired with sound engineering practices, and he ensures optimum results for public management and expenditures."
City Council Position 9: Sara Nelson
Howard Wright: “Sara Nelson may not be the better presenter ‘on stage’ in this race. It’s about her views on what it takes to establish a functioning city again. While relating to the millennials who are paying attention to this race (she’s co-owner of a Fremont business), she also understands the challenges of running a business in a ‘business unfriendly’ city.”
Port of Seattle (County Wide)
Position 1: Ryan Calkins
The Stranger: “If every endorsement was as easy to make as Ryan Calkins, we’d be out of a job. An ambitious environmentalist, Calkins has a passion for wonky policy, data-driven decisions, and big ideas like leveraging the Port’s resources to deploy municipal wifi or to create a manufacturing hub for sustainable energy tech. Calkins’s opponent, an executive consultant named Norman Sigler, does not appear to be running a serious campaign. Calkins, in contrast, has subject-matter expertise and the drive to execute on big ideas. Vote Calkins.”
Position 3: Stephanie Bowman
Seattle Times: “Port Commissioner Stephanie Bowman has a proven track record of leadership and supporting creative solutions to keep port operations not only viable but competitive and able to provide good-paying jobs while reducing the environmental impact to neighboring communities. She also has worked to protect maritime and industrial lands, led the effort to open the first tiny-house village on port property and increased the number of training opportunities at the port for young people. More than 600 youth, many of them from underserved communities, have benefitted from this program. Voters should re-elect to keep Bowman as Port of Seattle Commissioner, Position 3.”
Position 4: Peter Steinbrueck
Seattle Times: “Though Port of Seattle commissioner is a part-time position, Peter Steinbrueck considers it a full-time job, bringing leadership and commitment to the port’s mission of delivering economic development and jobs to the region. During his first term, Steinbrueck helped the port navigate through a difficult time, restoring confidence after a botched bonus scheme and the abrupt departure of the port’s executive director. He has pushed for more transparency at the port by opening previously private meetings to the public and increasing audit functions. That dedication has earned the editorial board’s endorsement for Port of Seattle Commissioner, Position 4.”
King County
King County Prop 1: Regular Property Tax Levy for Children, Youth, Families: Approve
Seattle Times: “Best Starts has made a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, young adults and families. It deserves to be renewed.”
King County Executive: Dow Constantine
Seattle Times: “Constantine has shown he has been the right leader for the moment in King County and for the next four years as well…Voters should approve his fourth term.”
Seattle School Board
Seattle School District No 1, District Director No. 4: Vivian Song Maritz
The Stranger: “Vivian Song Maritz is a first-generation Asian American with a legit background in finance, a hearing disability, and a kid with special health needs. The board needs all of that lived and learned experience right now. Seattle Public Schools is staring down the barrel of a nearly $70 million budget shortfall for 2021-22, and Maritz’s experience as a finance analyst (albeit years ago) and a small business owner give us confidence in her ability to navigate the board’s $1 billion budget. She’s dedicated to working to put a counselor, a nurse, and a social worker in every school. She promises to advocate for fully funding special education services. And she’s so passionate about finding ways for kids to get to school that she said she banded together with a handful of parents and wrote a white paper on school transportation.”
Seattle School District No 1, District Director No. 5: Michelle Sarju
The Stranger: “Sarju, who has raised three Black children alongside Seattle’s Public School system, and who has fostered a few others, knows the challenges students of color face in our schools. She’s committed to fixing the opportunity gap and to tackling other aspects of systemic racism within the district. Sarju is not only the SECB’s choice for this position (which covers Seattle’s Capitol Hill, International District, and Central District area), she’s also her competitor’s choice.”