Well-known politicians and some new faces, candidates challenging them, gathered Wednesday night at The Hall at Fauntleroy space, Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes.
The Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) and West Seattle Chamber Of Commerce (WSCC) hosted a Candidate Reception in local and statewide elections. The GSBA serves the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied community. Some candidates will sail through the July primaries uncontested. Others will have to elbow their way through a crowded field. In some races, the top two vote-getters move on to the general election.
Patti Mullen of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and Louise Churnin, CEO of the GSBA, hosted. The GSBA is 30 years old, the largest LGBT chamber in the United States with 1,000 members, and the second largest chamber in the state of Washington.
"We promote business, work on civi rights and advocacy, and we have a scholarship fund and give over $150,000 a year to LGBT and Allied students," Chernin told the West Seattle Herald. "We love the West Seattle Chamber. We're good partners and together promote small business and equality. My daughter Rachel Churnin lives in West Seattle and works with GSBA."
Churnin said It is important to talk to each candidate about marriage equality, and that you can't assume they take a certain position just because they appeared at this event.
AUG. 16 Primary Candidates in attendance:
(We apologize if we left anyone out but were working from a provided list)
Incumbent Llyod Hara King County Assessor
John Creighton King County Council District 6
Incumbent Joe McDermott, King County Council District 8
Diana Toledo, King County Council District 8
Goodspaceguy, King County Council District 8
Incumbent Gael Tarleton, Port Commissioner Position 2
Incumbent Bill Bryant, Port Commissioner Position 5
Dean Willard, , Port Commissioner Position 5
Incumbent Jean Godden, Seattle City Council Position 1
Bobby Forch, Seattle City Council Position 1
Maurice Classen, Seattle City Council Position 1
Michael Taylor-Judd Seattle City Council Position 1
Incumbent Bruce Harrell ,Seattle City Council Position 3
Brad Meacham, Seattle City Council Position 3
Incumbent Tom Rasmussen, Seattle City Council Position 5
Dale Pusey, Seattle City Council Position 5
Incumbent Tim Burgess, Seattle City Council Position 7
David Schraer, Seattle City Council Position 7
Incumbent Sally Clark,Seattle City Council position 9
Dian Ferguson, Seattle City Council position 9
Incumbent Peter Maier, Seattle School Board District 1
Sharon Peaslee, Seattle School Board District 1
Kate Martin, Seattle School Board District 2
John Dunn Seattle School Board District 3
Incumbent Steve Sundquist Seattle School Board District 6
Marty McLaren, Seattle School Board District 6
Joy Anderson, Seattle School Board District 6
Nick Esparza, Seattle School Board District 6
Corrigan Gommenginger, Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer 2012
Bob Furguson Attorney General 2012
Again, the above were in attendance at the event. More candidates are running. All nine seats for Seattle City Council run citywide, so West Seattle residents vote for each position.
"This is one of my favorite groups," Gael Tarleton told the West Seattle Herald. "I go everywhere GSBA lets me. I love having the opportunity to hear how all of the different communities around the county are feeling about things today. It's not an easy time."
Dale Pusey, 32, lives in Delridge, and is running against Rasmussen. He is running for the first time, and is an accountant for JMA Information Technology.
"I feel that your common citizen and business owner no longer has a voice on the city council," he told the West Seattle Herald. "You hear of roads not being repaired, taxes being raised while services are being reduced. It just got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore.
"Hopefully I can do something to remedy it," he added. "How are we going to call ourselves a world-class city when there are potholes all over the streets when you can't get around in the traffic on your bicycle. Meanwhile the mayor is intent on putting new bike paths on roads that look like they should be horse paths. I rode my bicycle across the country in 2009 from Seattle to Bradenton, Floriday, near Tampa Bay, where I am from."
"I am a member and a fan of the Greater Seattle Business Association's work and a big fan of the West Seattle Chamber's work and they have been doing great collaboration for the past few years, Sally Clark told the West Seattle Herald. "It's a beautiful night in West Seattle."
Michael Taylor-Judd is a longtime supporter of the GSBA and a part of the LGBT community, he said. "God willing we will find some new revenue sources to help us pay for things like better transit, like getting across the West Seattle Bridge, which I have been working on for years."
He first became involved in Seattle politics as part of the campaigns to build the new monorail system.
"Whether it's buses or community centers, we need to work at sort of knitting our neighborhoods together better here in West Seattle," he said. "There are still some old separation lines like along 35th Ave. we could work on. I'd like to see a whole lot more people wander down to my side of 35th Avenue. There are still a lot of folks who think, 'That's where the scary people live and it's dangerous and don't go down there. I live east of 35th, down on Delridge. It's a great place and we're looking for the skatepark to open.
"I am one of only two (City Council) candidates, with Brad Meacham, asking tough questions about the deep-bore tunnel. We've got a tolling mechanism that needs to fund $400 million, but the latest data from the Final Environmental Impact Statement says we might see have of the traffic go out into the streets. They are projecting tolls of $4 to $5 each way."
"I want to move forward and I want a solution and the tunnel is just not the solution," said Meacham. "The state's own data show it's not going to solve the traffic problem. There are no exits to downtown. The way to do it is to add transit. Reconnect the streets south of downtown to north of downtown and to the waterfront, and fix I-5. We all want to solve the problem. We just don't want to waste a lot of money doing it."
"It's good to be in West Seattle," said Hara, running unopposed who will go straight to the main ballot. "There is a true spirit here. Those who live in West Seattle are West Seattleites for life. I look forward to marching in the parade."
"This is a 'parade tan,'" said Bryant with a laugh. He is Port Commission President. "I got this tan in Kirkland, Auburn, Kent, Burien. I'm going to chambers, community events, and garden clubs all over the community. We're running an aggressive campaign all over King County."
