David Chen
David Chen, a candidate for Shoreline City Council Position 4, resigned from his position as CRISTA’s General Counsel on Sept. 12. This comes in light of a letter disavowing same-sex relationships sent to staff and families of students at King’s High School in Shoreline from parent organization CRISTA Ministries.
In a statement, Chen said, “The letter sent by my former employer in July detailing their anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs made working for them untenable. The positions reflected in CRISTA’s letter are wrong. This kind of discrimination by an organization that is supposed to support and educate students is completely unacceptable. As the father of three young children, I’m proud to stand up for what I believe in and lead by example.”
Some have called into question the timing of Chen’s resignation. On Sept. 11, the 32nd Legislative District Democrats voted to censure Chen and called for all Democratic elected officials to rescind any endorsements because of his affiliation with a school perceived to be anti-gay.
Chen had been with CRISTA Ministries since 2009, according to his LinkedIn page.