Through the Static

You asked, and here we are to deliver. Below we’ve got our list of endorsements for the upcoming August 4 primary elections. Check them out!

Seattle City Council District No. 5: Nilu Jenks

Jenks is pro-Palestinian and pro-humanity. Her family lineage and background that ties into conflicts overseas means she has genuine concern and care for Palestine and surrounding nations. We trust that her lived experience will influence her policy choices. Jenks also has a breadth of experience creating policy, and thoroughly explained to TtS the steps she would take to solve issues facing the city, including expanding affordable housing, improving public safety, food access partnerships, as well as strengthening support for vulnerable communities and immigrants. She expressed tangible solutions, and her work experience in gun violence prevention, voting rights, and housing policy, alongside her years of working with state lawmakers, make her the best choice for this seat.

While we ultimately endorsed Jenks, Silas James deserves recognition for involvement with the community—he does not show up to events because the cameras are recording, but because he truly believes it is the right thing to do. James has also earned the respect of people across different groups, even those who have disagreed with him politically. James has proven to be approachable and able to have conversations rather than avoiding difficult topics.

King County Council District No. 2: Toshiko Grace Hasegawa

Hasegawa is leading with a detailed approach, focused on solving county issues and addressing them through housing and infrastructure investments. She is well-versed in the system; she has executive experience with major public agency (President of Port of Seattle Commission); she knows the ins and outs of budgets; and she has proven to be trustworthy about her actions, including transit, government operations, and police. Furthermore, Hasegawa demonstrated selfless wants for the position and is about the community.

Rebecca Saldaña is widely respected in this race and a familiar name in Olympia, and not by accident— her ties to Washington’s labor movement run deep. She has strong roots in coalitions that she has built, and a steady approach to work with everyone, paired with years at the legislature and a clear focus on worker’s rights.

King County Council District No. 8: Teresa Mosqueda

Mosqueda knows the ins and outs of policy, and has years of experience turning progressive goals into real action. As King County continues to face an affordability crisis, Mosqueda’s record, leadership, and commitment to working families stand out. She also has experience serving two terms on the Seattle City Council, before joining the King County Council in 2024, which further highlights her experience for the position.

King County Assessor: Rob Foxcurran

Recently the public’s trust in the King County Assessor’s Office has taken a strong beating, and Foxcurran is stepping up to the plate to take a swing at winning the public’s trust with transparency. It may not be one of the most talked about position on the ballot, but the Assessor’s role is crucial, as there is a direct impact on nearly every Seattle resident via property taxes, for example. Foxcurran has worked as a King County hearing examiner and senior city appraiser, which gives him hands-on experience with assessment issues. On the policy side of things, Foxcurran backs a wider lane for tax relief, aimed at both homeowners and renters, and he’s also calling for an office that’s easier to see into and tougher to dodge, with real accountability. Taken together, his background, his fairness-first approach, and his attention to affordability are the case he’s making for why he’s the top pick for King County Assessor.

State House of Representatives District 37, Position No. 1: Kelabe Tewolde

Tewolde earned our endorsement because his lived experiences with the affordability crisis, and his commitment to rejecting corporate campaign contributions, unlike his opponent, Sharon Tomiko Santos. Tewolde came across as the most genuine candidate we have interviewed this election season: he spoke with real conviction and a clear desire to represent and serve the community that he calls home.

State House of Representatives District 37, Position No. 2: Jaelynn Scott

Scott has a strong background full of accomplishments as a community organizer and leader in the Seattle-area. She is a Democratic socialist who is seeking to tax the rich, ensure housing is a human right, and increase public safety. Her leadership at the Lavender Rights Project shows Scott’s dedication to marginalized communities, and TtS is confident Scott will continue to safeguard people’s civil liberties while in office. Furthermore, her opponent is a college student studying math and physics. Seeing younger generations step into elections is exciting, although TtS does not feel as though he has the same qualifications or level of community connections.

State House of Representatives District 43, Position No. 1: Nicole Macri

Macri has a strong track record spanning almost a decade, showing that she can move policy from not only just talk but her actions. Her record includes tenant protections, LGBTQ+ rights, and healthcare. She has years of experience addressing homelessness and promoting supportive housing. Macri’s experience and time spent in office thus far has overwhelmingly proven deliverable results for District 43. That is why we endorse her.

State House of Representatives District 43, Position No. 2: Shaun Scott

While Scott is running for this seat with no contenders, he earns our endorsement. Scott has consistently advocated for policies that help working families be able to afford to live in Washington. In his time in Olympia, he has made worker protections a priority, pressed for affordable housing, defended tenants, and supported stronger funding for public schools. With costs still weighing on households across the state, his steady attention to workers, housing, and public investment all make a strong case for sending him back to the Washington State House for another term.

State Senator Legislative District 37: Tatiana Brown

Brown ultimately earned our endorsement because of her depth of policy expertise. Brown may be a younger candidate but she has experience with organizing, advocacy work, and public policy that has prepared her to lead in this position, including a dual master’s degree in Master of Public Health and Master of Public Policy. What stood out was her belief that policy should be created with and by the people most affected by it. During our interview, she expressed support for LGBTQ+ rights, including creating a city where Queer and Trans people can live safely, solidifying our endorsement.

Chipalo Street has much experience in a range of different professions outside of politics, including in technology and engineering. His voting record through his time in office speaks for itself: he was one of a few who gave the final arguments for rent stabilization, and introduced a bill preventing law enforcement officers from pulling people over for traffic infractions that do not endanger road safety. Street holds several similar beliefs as Brown, like not framing public safety as a policing issue, and expanding economic opportunity. Where Street differs from Brown when it comes to campaign funding is his acceptance of PAC money from corporations such as Microsoft, which has been complicit in the genocide in Gaza.

State Senator Legislative District 43: Hannah Sabio-Howell

We are endorsing Sabio-Howell because she had the most detailed and concrete policy agendas we have heard combined with legislative experience. She also identifies as a Queer woman, which strengthens her ties to the LGBTQ+ community. She explained how she would lower the cost of living and expand housing by building more, and tax ultra wealthy corporations so that they pay into the social safety net that they benefit from. Sabio-Howell’s campaign ethics are tight, with her stating that she has rejected corporate PAC funding, and supported a data center moratorium. She also made a great point about how after two decades of rising housing costs and underfunded public services that it is time for a new generation of leadership.

U.S. Rep. Congressional District 7: Pramila Jayapal

Need she an introduction? Jayapal has a proven track record of fighting the Trump regime, whether it be immigration enforcement, the Epstein files, or passing legislation that improves the well-being and protects the lives of Washingtonians, including immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities. Jayapal is one of the few elected leaders who does not take money from AIPAC.

U.S. Rep. Congressional District 9

We at TtS cannot in good faith endorse either Adam Smith, Kshama Sawant, or Melissa Chaudhry. Smith, who simply cannot serve another term, has proven himself to be a lover of violence, pushing U.S. funding and arms to Israel to carry out its genocide in Gaza, and Seattle Against War has previously stated how Smith refuses to adequately engage with constituents who want to see an end to the mass torture and murder of civilians.

We were hopeful for Chaudhry, a woman who fought the judicial system without a lawyer to get her husband released from ICE custody, to prevail. That takes an enormous amount of strength and grit. The Stranger‘s article, where Chaudhry said she will switch to the Green Party if elected into office and that she intentionally left out LGBTQ+ issues, is highly concerning. One, planning to switch parties only after stepping into office is shady as hell. Two, TtS is a Queer owned and primarily operated news publication. Our existence is not up for debate, and our rights are under attack every single day from this administration. Part of Chaudhry’s reasoning for leaving out LGBTQ+ issues and the community was to cater to her conservative Muslim audience, she said. We’re afraid that if elected, she would not prioritize the livelihoods of LGBTQ+ people.

Sawant fans: buckle up, you’re not going to like this. Sawant has a proven track record of accomplishments, many of which were over 12 years ago when she served on the Seattle City Council. Things aren’t what they used to be. Have you heard the phrase my way or the highway? That’s Sawant in a nutshell. She has burnt several bridges, and on numerous occasions, has grabbed microphones from community members to prop herself up: last summer, she fought over a microphone with two undocumented people as she announced her campaign, while the pair argued that their people cannot even vote. Furthermore, several months of her campaign were spent protesting at Smith’s house and town halls, where her husband assaulted a staffer by barging through the closed doors. Sawant is not responsible for her husband’s behavior, but she minimized his behavior.

We at TtS know that not every candidate will say yes to an interview, but once you do, you should either keep that commitment, or at the very least explain what changed. It came down to Sawant’s lack of follow-through and genuine disregard for others. For months, we contacted her team via email, phone, and in person. Her campaigners agreed to do an interview on two different occasions. Those interviews never happened, and our reporter’s cell phone number was used to be signed-up for campaign text alerts instead. We believe voters deserve a candidate that will be accessible and are willing to answer difficult questions, and Sawant has proved she cannot do that. Accountability starts before election day. If Sawant can’t keep her commitment to an interview, can voters be confident she will keep her commitments to them?

We support what Sawant stands for: universal healthcare, affordability, an end to the genocide in Gaza, but we cannot support who Sawant is as a person.

Thanks for tuning in to our endorsements this year, and happy voting!