Progressive Wins Worth Celebrating In Seattle-Area
The political equivalent of a “Christmas and Easter Catholic” is suddenly blowing up your group chats with national blue-wave memes and TikToks. And while you (the designated election-nerd friend) have their fleeting attention, now’s your chance to gently redirect it toward the progressive victories happening right here in our own backyard. And maybe, just maybe, they might find themselves inspired to roll up their sleeves and get involved locally.
A Historic Night in the South End
Seattlites packed the house at Black and Tan Hall in Hillman City for election night parties for not one, but two candidates, making history on Tuesday night.
The people of the 37th Legislative District (Beacon Hill, Central District, Rainier Valley, Columbia City, Rainier Beach, and Renton) elected Democratic Socialist Jaelynn Scott, who will be the first openly transgender person to serve in the Washington State Legislature and the first openly transgender Black woman to serve in any legislature in the country.
In a touching moment Tuesday evening, Scott called up all the trans women in the audience to join her on stage. After some coaxing a handful of women stood behind her as she told them that this victory is for them.
Scott acknowledged that a Black trans woman served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for one term in the 90s, Althea Garrison. However, Garrison was not openly trans and her identity only became public knowledge after the local paper forcibly outed her. Scott said she didn’t want to cast judgement on Garrison who could not safely come out at the time, but she said that the days of fear and secrecy “ends today,” on election night, with her victory.
“Not only can we lead, but we can lead with power, with your brilliance, and in our principles,” Scott said. “We can lead proudly as Black, trans women, as trans women, as trans men, as non binary people. We can be ourselves.
She continued, “[L]et this win represent that to you, and know that you can go as far as you want to. I have your back and this community has your back.”
Scott is not the only new face representing the South End. Kelabe Tewolde, a 32 year-old educator, toppled a near 30 year incumbent, moderate Democrat Sharon Tomiko Santos. Months ago, Tewolde seemed like a long-shot challenge, but after narrowly winning his primary, he proved to Santos should have taken him a whole lot more seriously. But by then, his momentum was too strong for a sleepy incumbent to hope to catch up.
Washington voters keep telling the monied interests hellbent on squashing progressive revenue that they do in fact support taxing the rich. Two years ago, a stunning 64% of Washingtonians voted to defend the capital gains tax. And last night, we had a sequel. More than 58% of Washington voters rejected a far-right attempt to repeal the Millionaires’ Tax, a 9.9% income on earnings above a million dollars a year.
Whatsmore, two Democrats in the legislature who betrayed their party and voted against the Millionaires’ Tax last session, may be getting punished. Despite hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate donos, Rep. Amy Walen was trailing her progressive challenger Jessica Forsythe on election night. Millionaires’ tax naysayer Rep. Melanie Morgan is also behind her progressive challenger Krista Perez, a candidate some had counted out after getting arrested for a DUI (she pleaded guilty) shortly after her primary victory. We are living in a populist wave so strong that it is more politically lethal to vote against tax the rich than to allegedly drink and drive.
Both of these races are way too close to call, but I will update you as the results become clearer.
You Don’t Have To Fully Lick Boots To Win A Seattle Election
Seattle voters have grown somewhat accustomed to Republican-coded attack mailers associating progressive candidates with the movement to defund the police, crime, visible poverty, or even just litter, which might as well be organized gang activity to these pearl clutchers. For some progressives, that meant avoiding issues of public safety to avoid giving these mailers any ammunition, like quotes that could come off as soft on crime.
District Five City Council Member elect Nilu Jenks shows that these right-wingers need a new strategy. In several mail pieces, a conservative Independent Expenditure committee tried to freak out D5 voters, convince them a vote for Jenks is a vote for crime and disorder. She won her election decisively on Tuesday.
Whatsmore, she didn’t have to swallow a cops’ entire boot to do it. Is she an abolitionist — no, she wants to see more cops in North Seattle. But Jenks is against police surveillance and Seattle’s Stay Out of Area of Prostitution zones, which is a more progressive (and sensible) position than what is held by the majority of the current City Council.
Even if you don’t completely love Jenks’ platform here, her success shows that City Council candidates in 2027, when all the districts are up for re-election are not obligated to support mass surveillance to be electable. Hold on to that for later.
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