John Lee is running for Council Position #6 in Bothell. He grew up in Bothell, is a former UW Husky and obtained his MBA from Seattle University. According to his campaign website, John is concerned with the issues that come with growth in Bothell and supports building infrastructure to keep up with growing needs. He is currently a general manager at Whelan Security.
Hira Singh is running for Council Position #1 in Kent. He is currently a senior software developer at Starbucks, and he is running on a platform to support programs and policies that build strong communities such as after-school programs, summer teen job opportunities, apprenticeship programs, and making early education accessible and affordable. Hira is also a volunteer teacher at the local Punjabi School, which helps teach children computer literacy, music and leadership development.
Pamela Banks is opposing incumbent Kshama Sawant for Seattle City Council Position #3. Pamela has spent her career uniting people to address complex problems, making progress on racial and economic justice, fair wages for women, and safe, affordable housing for all. She is committed to addressing the affordable housing crisis, is a vocal advocate for police reform, and fights for strong neighborhood schools. Pamela is endorsed by King County Young Democrats, Councilmember Bruce Harrell and former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.
Kshama Sawant is the current incumbent for Seattle City Council Position #3 and has helped pass the $15/hour minimum wage, prevented rent hikes, and raised funding for a women’s shelter. She continues to be focused on making housing affordable, expanding public transit, and implementing a municipal broadband. She is endorsed by former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, current King County Council member Larry Gossett and numerous community organizations.
Incumbent Bruce Harrell is running for Seattle City Council Position #2 and is opposed by Josh Farris and Tammy Morales. Bruce has been a Seattle Council member for eight years and is supported by current Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Congressman Adam Smith. He supports public safety, transportation, jobs/education, and housing issues. While in office, Bruce has sponsored transportation improvements and increased the number of police officers.
Peter Kwon is a former UW Husky alum and currently works as a systems engineer. He is running for SeaTac Council Position #3 and wishes to improve safety, community involvement, and the education system. He has worked in Seatac to clean up abandoned homes, created yard work parties to help those in need, and currently is leading efforts to design a website to resolve neighborhood conflicts.
Mia Su-Ling Gregerson graduated from the University of Washington and is currently a State Representative, Mayor of SeaTac and the incumbent City Council member. Mia has worked to extend the light rail and advocated for healthy, clean and safe neighborhoods. She has also brought to SeaTac a Smart Growth America grant that provides technical assistance for communities around the light rail stations.
Lloyd Hara is running for King County Assessor. During his time serving as assessor, King County was the first assessor’s office in the nation to use I-pads in the field, increasing productivity and providing quicker information. The office also eliminated the need to travel downtown to review and file an appeal with the launch of e-appeals, a tool that helps compare homes to similar homes. According to his campaign website, in only the second year, 52 percent of all appeals were received online. This greatly reduced “paper chasing” and improved response time. He also helped launched LocalScape.property an online portal that provides real-time community property data coupled with education, permitting, census and sales information.
Hiroshi Eto is running for Director District No. 5, Federal Way School District No. 210. He believes his skills in budget planning and setting goals in policy and operations can be extended to the board’s expenditure review. Eto said the board’s main focus is to ensure kids in the district are college-ready upon graduation. He recalls that top graduates of the Federal Way school system felt unprepared in college compared to their peers. He has lived in Federal Way for 10 years.
Vandana Slatter is running for Bellevue City Council Position No. 5. Slatter was appointed to the Washington State Board of Pharmacy by Gov. Christine Gregoire in 2007, is a Board Member for the Overlake Hospital Foundation, and served as a Trustee of the Children’s Institute for Learning Differences. She completed the first Bellevue Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training with other neighborhood leaders, and works with organizations that build community through support of urban green spaces and social entrepreneurship. (end)