Michael Maddux, co-Vice Chair for Communications for the 4rd District (that’s us) Democrats (that’s a lot of us) writes:
The 43rd District Democrats have been diligently working with the County and State Party organizations, as well as our elected officials, and those who want to be appointed, and are excited to announce that we have a date scheduled for the official caucus to fill the seat being left vacant by Sen. Ed Murray.
First, we would like to extend our gratitude to the service that Sen. Murray has provided our district. For 18 years, Ed has been a tireless advocate for issues that matter to the 43rd – higher education funding, transit oriented transportation infrastructure, protecting and expanding the social safety net for all Washingtonians, pioneering civil rights legislation. The list of accomplishments is too exhaustive. Sen. Murray being elected Mayor is a loss to the District, but Seattle as a whole gains even more. We are excited for an effective, inclusive, and progressive administration!
This does leave a hole in our legislative delegation. Rep. Jamie Pedersen has since announced that he is seeking appointment to be the next State Senator from the 43rd Legislative District. While this is welcome news, considering the excellent record he has created in the State House, we may be faced with yet another vacancy in advance of the 2014 legislative session.
In an effort to ensure that the 43rd has proper representation in the Legislature for the 2014 session, the King County Democrats, by and through their Chair, Karl de Jong, are expected to call on PCOs in the 43rd Legislative District to convene and caucus for the purposes of selecting three candidates to fill the pending vacancy in the State Senate from the 43rd. The PCOs will also be asked to select three names to fill any potential House vacancies that occur following the County Council appointing a State Senator.
With three candidates having already announced, and having begun organizing, the 43rd District Democrats will be hosting a forum of declared candidates during this special meeting.
The meeting and caucus will be held on Tuesday, December 3, starting at 7:00 p.m. Sign in will begin at 6:30.
The meeting and Caucus will occur at 415 Westlake Ave N.
The candidates that have announced are:
Cristina Gonzalez: I have an M.A. in Economics and currently work for Executive Dow Constantine’s budget office. As adjunct faculty for Seattle University, I have taught a required course of Economics for the MPA program since 2009. Since 2008, I have proudly chaired the Board of Directors for Seattle Education Access, a local, values-based nonprofit that supports low-income/homeless young people to make successful transitions to post-secondary education. While on the Seattle Families and Education Levy Planning Committee, I fought for increased funding for college-readiness programs in middle and high schools and currently serve on its Levy Oversight Committee. I am seeking appointment in order to be an advocate in Olympia for equitable access to education for marginalized communities, services that support strong families, transportation funding that supports a strong economy, and a more equitable tax structure. I would appreciate your support. Additional questions? I can be reached at [email protected]
Scott Forbes: I’ve played several roles in the 43rd District Democrats since moving into the district in 2007. In 2008 I served as a PCO, an area caucus coordinator, and a delegate to the State Convention. I was elected Secretary of the 43rd in 2009, Vice Chair for PCO Recruitment in 2010, and Chair in 2011 and again this year. I’ve served on the board of the Montlake neighborhood council, and am a member of Equal Rights Washington, the Transportation Choices Coalition, and the ACLU. If appointed, I will be a strong and effective advocate for higher education, funding of public transit, the fight against climate change, and social justice needs in Washington – passing the DREAM Act, the Reproductive Parity Act, raising the minimum wage statewide, and reforming Washington’s regressive tax structure. For more information and a list of endorsements: www.scottforbes.net.
Brady Pinero Walkinshaw: I’m running to be an advocate for social and economic justice in the 43rd and in our State. I believe strongly in the need to take a long-term view to create the coalitions in our State to rebuild our middle class, reduce carbon emissions, finance higher education, pass a reproductive parity act, and reform our State’s regressive revenue system. I grew up in a rural part of our State working in farming, my mother immigrated to the US from Cuba, and I’ve spent my career building coalitions on issues from sustainable food systems and educational equity to marriage equality and campaigns to elect progressive candidates. The past three months, I’ve had the chance to talk with over 300 members of the 43rd and Community Leaders about challenges, opportunities and the type of leadership we need for our District. For more information, and a list of endorsements: www.bradywalkinshaw.com.
Very excited to see Cristina Gonzales’ name. She’d be awesome.
I’d be happy to support Cristina as well. She played on our co-rec soccer team for a while and I’ve gotten to know her professionally. She’s understands good policy making, she’s intelligent, hard working, compassionate and she’s got a great personality. I can’t wait for her to represent us!
Let’s remember the state’s paramount duty is funding education. Not enough of our legislators embrace this as their first priority. That’s why our kids are in the largest and most overcrowded classrooms in the nation except for two or three other states. We spend less per student than all but a handful of states.
I know Cristina from Seattle Education Access and her commitment to education is unparalleled. She has real (and critical) experience bringing her values to the budgeting process for King County. Hurrah Cristina!
They are all good candidates. I have talked to Scott and Brady (since we seem to be on first-name basis with the candidates), and both are very well-informed and would be effective. I look forward to hearing from Cristina, who seems to have a very active following.
As a PCO and former board member of the 43rd District Democrats, I am thrilled to see Scott Forbes declaring his candidacy for this position. I had the honor of working with Scott for three years in the 43rd. I am beyond amazed at how he’s been able to not only mobilize voters, but champion a legislative agenda that advocates for educational access, public transit funding, climate change and social justice. What makes the 43rd strong in Olympia is coalition building around issues that matter, and that’s what Scott does best. His record at scottforbes.net speaks for itself.
You heard it here first (or maybe not): Brady Walkinshaw is Wallingford’s new State Representative.
This PCOs opinion is that Walkinshaw was the weakest of the three candidates for this position. Forbes has been a hard worker for the 43rd, and Gonzalez is a passionate advocate of the less well-to-do. I really don’t know where Walkinshaw stands on many issues (largely because he has no “ISSUES” section on his website and didn’t really reach out to PCOs the way the other candidates did), but he’s polished and backed by the Usual Suspects, so there’s your winner.
Who knows, he might be a great Representative, but let’s all keep his feet to the fire and make sure that he’s truly representing our needs in Olympia.