The South Seattle Emerald met with candidates running for King County Council’s District 2 seat. District 2 spans from the University of Washington to Skyway and encompasses the Central District and Southeast Seattle. Incumbent Councilmember Larry Gossett has run largely unopposed for years, but this race faces newcomer Girmay Zahilay, who led the race in the August Primary. These interviews invite the candidates to talk about their campaigns in their own words. Today, we speak with Larry Gossett.
The South Seattle Emerald met with candidates running for King County Council’s District 2 seat. District 2 spans from the University of Washington to Skyway and encompasses the Central District and Southeast Seattle. Incumbent Councilmember Larry Gossett has run largely unopposed for years, but this race faces newcomer Girmay Zahilay, who led the race in the August Primary. These interviews invite the candidates to talk about their campaigns in their own words. Today, we speak with Girmay Zahilay. These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Girmay Zahilay ahead of Larry Gossett in King County Council District 2 race
by Aaron Burkhalter
Candidates Tammy Morales and Mark Solomon will advance to the general election in the race for Seattle City Council’s District 2 seat, which represents Southeast Seattle. After the first tally of ballots for the Aug. 6 primary, the two candidates stood out in a crowd of seven people who had filed for the position previously held by three-term incumbent Bruce Harrell, who declined to run for a fourth term.
King County Elections has already received more than 30,000 ballots, but there are still five more days to vote before the results are tallied on Aug. 6. The results will determine which candidates move forward into the general election, most notably in the packed races for Seattle City Council seats representing seven geographic districts around the city.
On stark display Thursday night at Dimmitt Middle School in Skyway was the generational, and in turn experiential, divide between a septuagenarian incumbent who has been in office nearly a quarter century and his insurgent challenger for the District 2 seat on the Metropolitan King County Council.
Half a dozen candidates for the Seattle City Council’s District 2 spot met for a Tuesday night forum at the New Holly Gathering Hall as they answered questions on transportation, housing, and the environment — three of the most important issues for local residents facing gentrification and displacement, pushing them farther and farther away from their jobs, forcing them into cars, and driving up carbon emissions.
Candidates draw contributions from individuals, organizations, and Seattle’s Democracy Vouchers program. Next candidate forum is at New Holly on May 28.
by Carolyn Bick
Seattle’s elections are this coming November, and the field doesn’t want for candidates, particularly in South Seattle’s District 2.
While two have dropped out, there are still seven candidates running for Seattle City Council’s open District 2 seat, the winner of which will represent the neighborhoods of Southeast Seattle and Georgetown.
The South Seattle Emerald asks readers a question each week via social media and our newsletter. This week we wanted to know: What Are You Looking For in a District 2 Seattle City Council Candidate?
