New District Elections Brings New Opportunity to Shape City Hall: Candidate Endorsements Mostly New Faces with Strong Community Ties

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This year, UFCW 21 did an early endorsement for Mike O’Brien (District 6) and Kshama Sawant (District 3). Today, UFCW 21 is announcing the rest of our endorsements for Seattle City Council.

With both Congress and the State Legislature tied-up in knots and mostly stalled in partisan gridlock, many active organizations across the nation are finding that city halls can be the best chance for creating change. Local Seattle examples from Paid Sick Days to a higher minimum wage have not only passed, but helped contribute to a nationwide movement for change. As a result, local Seattle City Council races are more important than ever.

In addition to the early endorsement (5/6/15) of O’Brien and Sawant, and our endorsement of Bruce Harrell (District 2), UFCW 21 Seattle City Council Endorsements include these new candidates for City Hall:

Lorena González: Position 9, City Wide

Jon Grant: Position 8, City Wide

Rob Johnson: District 4

Dual Primary Endorsement: Sandy Brown and Halei Watkins: District 5

“The new labor standards we have passed in Seattle in the last four years are great, but workers still face many struggles that require legislative solutions, like affordable housing, transportations, hours and scheduling, police accountability, and environmental protections.”

— Sarah Cherin, Political and Public Policy Director of UFCW 21.

Lisa Herbold: District 1

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With every city council position open this year, 2015 provides a real opportunity for a set of values in city hall and local expertise on issues that matter most to our members and the communities we all live in:

Mike O’Brien
(Champion for labor, environment, accountability and our community benefits)

Kshama Sawant
(Leader on Higher Wages, better labor enforcement)

Jon Grant
(Housing)

 Rob Johnson
(Transportation)

Lorena González
(Employment rights and labor enforcement)

Sandy Brown
(Social Services)

Halei Watkins
(Civil Rights)

Lisa Herbold
(People’s knowledge of City Hall, strong progressive)

Bruce Harrell
(Ban the Box, Minimum Wage, Worker Scheduling)

UFCW 21 Endorses Early for O'Brien and Sawant in Seattle Council Races

UFCW 21, the state's largest private sector union, announced this morning that it has endorsed both Mike O'Brien (District 6) and  Kshama Sawant (District 3) for the 2015 Seattle City Council races. These are early endorsements. More decisions are yet to be made about other candidates for Council seats.

"Mike O’Brien and Kshama Sawant have given our members many reasons to vote for them and have earned the support of UFCW 21. Both have been leaders on the Council for working families.  They fought for a strong minimum wage law and they understand good jobs have to be part of smart development for all," said Todd Crosby, Secretary-Treasurer for UFCW 21.

O’Brien was a champion for the Seattle Paid Sick and Safe Days law and both he and Sawant have supported the strong enforcement of the law.

These two elected officials consistently consider the interests of workers and good jobs over the interests of big developers and big corporations. O'Brien and Sawant are proven leaders on the council and have led on issues important to us. We look forward to them returning to the Council.

UFCW 21 has over 10,000 members who live or work in Seattle. These members are part of our large union of 45,000 members across the state. UFCW 21 members work in grocery stores, retail, health care and other industries. Our union considers endorsements for candidates who are champions for working people.  

Kshama Sawant (District 3) 

Mike O'Brien (District 6)