It is that time of year to release our 2024 Seattle Election Guide. We have been creating and sharing an election guide since the 2016 election. Back in 2016, Kim and I saw a real threat coming to dislodge the recent LGBTQ+ and women’s rights we had been working so hard for over the past two decades. Kim and I decided to release our first election guide, and have been going at it since. Our guide obviously endorsed Hillary Clinton and it was shocking to see the mediocre response that our endorsement received.
Fast forward to now: We definitely see the same situation brewing. We have friends’ kids who are opting out of this election. Meanwhile, they went to private schools and grandparents paid for their college education. Meanwhile, we have friends of color who are pushing hard to get everyone they know registered to vote and have a voting plan. The disparity at which people are approaching this election is very telling!
So: Don’t be a fool, and get your shit together. Democracy is not a perfect system and we rarely get everything we want. But a move to a strongman dictatorship is not really a world I’m interested in having to navigate!
Here is Team Diva’s 2024 Seattle Election Guide! We hope our guide will inspire you to vote and look into the issues we’re all facing.
Team Diva’s 2024 Seattle Election Guide
Before we start, make sure you have a voting plan. And make sure that your friends and family understand why this election is so important!
The way we came up with our 2024 Election Guide came down to the following factors:
- Affordable Housing
- Abortion Rights
- Tax Equity
Let’s lock in and make this election one to celebrate!
President – Kamala Harris
Duh! When we found out that Kamala Harris was going to be in the race we were traveling in Italy, and we could not wait to get back to the states and get to work. Kamala Harris is someone we have long admired and are excited to have in office. She has been a long supporter of LGBTQ+ rights (unlike Biden) and she understands the value of racial equity in our country.
In addition, her housing plan is exactly what we need to help people become homeowners. Homeownership is the most secure way to create generational wealth in this country and it is a dream that is quickly slipping away.
We also need to make sure to elect a congress and a senate that will support abortion rights. What is happening to pregnant people in our country is heartbreaking. President Harris cannot do it on her own.
And last but not least is tax equity. There is no reason why Elon Musk should pay a lower percentage of his income in taxes than people like you and me. Full stop!
Washington State Initiative Measures – 2024 Seattle’s Election Guide
Anytime we have a statewide initiative, ask yourself who benefits from these initiatives. In the case of the following initiatives, the people who benefit are the wealthiest in our state and big oil companies. Brian Heywood is the wealthy hedge fund mogul behind the following initiatives. These initiatives will undermine what little progress we have made to protect the environment, fund education, and more!
Initiative 2066 – Vote NO!
We 100% should be regulating natural gas in our state. An independent nonpartisan research organization Sightline states “Initiative 2066 could prevent Washington from encouraging the most energy-efficient heating and cooling systems in new buildings.”
Initiative 2109 – Vote NO!
One again we have the wealthiest among us trying to defund schools. The excise tax impacts fewer than 0.2% of Washington state’s population. Meanwhile, if this initiative passes it will eliminate over $2B in education funding. Right now in Seattle Schools, we are already facing a budget deficit. When are we going to fund education versus funding the wealthiest among us?
Initiative 2117 – Vote NO!
We just watched two hurricanes decimate the southern part of the United States. These wealthy oil companies are going to sit here and tell us we do not need to have a Carbon Tax Credit! WTF!!!!!
Initiative 2124 – Vote NO!
This initiative would decrease funding for Washington state’s public insurance program that provides long-term care and benefits. My sister will live the rest of her life in an assisted living facility. Part of her $7,000 a month medical bill is paid for by a public insurance program. What happens to people when this funding is no longer available? The person behind this initiative is a hedge fund bro that simply doesn’t want to pay his fair share of taxes and wants to bring harm to those who can least advocate for themselves!!!!
US Senator for Washington State – Maria Cantwell
Our Diva Maria Cantwell is an amazing senator. We are super lucky to have her as our senator. Maria understands that we all should have a chance at this American dream. She was the first person to graduate from college in her family. And she did it using financial aid. Moving forward and allowing all people to have access to the American dream is critical in this race!
US State Representatives for Washington State – 2024 Seattle Election Guide
Most of these are a no brainer but there are a few I am going to take some extra time to recognize. I’ve shared a few brief notes about why they are important to not only vote for, but to also donate to their campaigns.
US State Representative – District 1 | Suzan DelBene
Suzan is a Diva. Let’s keep her in office.
US State Representative – District 2 | Rick Larson
You all, the other guy is running as a MAGA Republican candidate.
US State Representative – District 3 | Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
District 3 is where we have our lake house. We see first hand how the lack of housing, education, and job opportunities can impact a community. Marie is one of the most interesting candidates I have seen in a long time. Her heart and soul is in this district. She BARELY won this district in 2022. Kim and I are donors to her campaign and will be going down to do door knocking for her later this month.
US State Representative – District 4 | Dan Newhouse
Yes, we are endorsing a Republican in this race. Why? US House Rep Dan Newhouse voted to impeach Trump and is up against another Republican in this race. Also my Democrat friends: May I suggest we get our shit together in this district?!
US State Representative – District 5 | Carmela Conroy
This is the first time in many years that this district will have someone new. It has long been a red district. However, I am curious with the recent influx of Californians to the Spokane area if this district is flippable?
US State Representative – District 6 | Emily Randall
Divaland, let’s make sure a rad lesbian is elected in this district. She is an alum of Planned Parenthood and gets why abortion rights are critical to so many of us. Full disclosure, we are donors to Ms. Randall’s race. Let’s bring it home!!!!!
US State Representative – District 7 | Pramila Jayapal
Pramila Jayapal is a Diva. Let’s keep her in office.
US State Representative – District 8 | Kim Schrier
We love Kim Schrier. I think in today’s day and age, we need a progressive doctor to school those MAGA anti-abortion bros!!!!
US State Representative – District 9 | Melissa Chaudhry
I wait for the day when Adam Smith will step aside. He is the senior US State Representative for Washington state. He has been in his position for so long that he is an institutionalist. Someone in this safe democratic position should be out there leaning into progressive issues and getting shit done! And that is not Adam Smith.
Way back in the day Kim was a public advocate for HIV/AIDS issues. Adam Smith would drag his feet on supporting people with HIV/AIDS. He is a typical opportunistic Democrat that changes his mind based on how the wind is blowing.
Adam Smith should be out there doing what needs to be done to create more housing in our state, standing up for immigrant communities, and being a baddie. Instead he is a milk toast Democrat!
Melissa Chaundhry is someone who would be a new and fresh voice in the district. I think her perspective is needed and would be a refreshing addition for our very diverse district.
Governor – Bob Ferguson
The other guy’s staff called Kim to complain that we organized a postcard writing campaign to him about his views on abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. Meanwhile, Bob Ferguson has used his time as Attorney General to stand up for immigrants, consumers, and to break up the grocery monopolies to make food more affordable.
Bob is a Diva!!!
Lieutenant Governor – Denny Heck
We really like Denny Heck. He has been great at correcting our weird tax code in this state. He believes in housing affordability and he is heavily invested in our public schools. Meanwhile, the other guy running wants to cut social services and education.
Secretary of State – Steve Hobbs
We love Steve Hobbs’ approach at increasing access to elections for everyone. He has fought hard against disinformation and these ass-hats who do not believe in fair elections. Meanwhile, the guy he is running against believes that the Christian Bible should be the guide for voters.
State Treasurer – Mike Pellicciotti
The person in charge of our state’s money should be a person we can all count on to be accountable. Mike Pellicciotti has never accepted campaign donations from corporations. He is for and by the people. Meanwhile, the person running against Pellicciotti has aligned herself with far-right book-banning bullies like My Family My Choice. This group should say My Family You Got No Choice. There is absolutely no reason to have anyone like this as our state’s treasurer.
State Auditor – Pat McCarthy
Pat McCarthy has done a great job increasing accountability and transparency. She has also done a great job at pursuing white-collar crime and unemployment benefit cases. The person Pat McCarthy is running against is one of those election deniers. Once again we do not need this ass-hat in office!
Attorney General – Nick Brown
I am most excited by this race. Washington state has a long history of having badasses in this role. And Nick Brown is one of the most exciting races this year. He has a long history of standing up against big and well-funded interests like corporations doing wage theft, the NRA, and standing up against voter suppression. Washington State has the opportunity to have its first Black attorney general. Let’s do this!
Commissioner of Public Lands – Dave Upthegrove
Whew! Dave barely made it through the primaries because we had so many Democrats running. Luckily for us we have a gay environmentalist who wants to use this office to do good! Specifically, he wants better management of our forests. How sexy is that!
On a side note: We have a lot of respect for Jaime Herrera Beutler who is running against Upthegrove. She was one of the few Republicans who stood up and voted to impeach Trump. Unfortunately, while she was in congress she voted against the Build Back Better bill which is a huge win for environmentalists at a national level.
On this one, let’s vote a gay environmentalist into office!
Superintendent of Public Schools – Chris Reykdal
Chris Reykdal has done a great job trying to improve public school outcomes. He has rightfully pointed out that we desperately need more funding for public schools. Unfortunately, this is a legislature issue. Reykdal has worked to reduce learning gaps, raise educator salaries, increase free meal access, and expand dual and tribal language learning programs.
Meanwhile, the person running against Reykdal is a book-burning MAGA extremist.
Insurance Commissioner – Patty Kuderer
We are super excited about having someone in office who is as hard of a worker as Patty Kuderer. She has been a good champion for healthcare, abortion rights, and education. She is also pushing to improve access to climate change insurance for homeowners and businesses. Something that is critical in our state!
Meanwhile, the person running against Kuder wants to remove regulations that keep healthcare costs lower. He is vehemently opposed to universal healthcare policies that would allow all Washingtonians, regardless of income status, to access the care and medicine they need. And he has ZERO solutions for our increasing insurance costs and coverage for the rural parts of our state.
Washington State Legislature – Seattle Districts
In general, our legislature districts do not have many changes in our Senators or Representatives. But this year in the 43rd district, we have a very exciting race. We have been following Shaun Scott’s organizing and commitment to our city for a long time now. We were thrilled to see him run for the 43rd district state representative position #2. The person running against Shaun Scott is a de facto Republican running as a Democrat. Every major player in Washington state politics knows this including Planned Parenthood who endorsed Shaun Scott.
Full disclosure: we made a small donation to Shaun Scott’s campaign.
11th District
- Bob Hasegawa – State Senator
- David Hackney – State Representative Position #1
- Steve Bergquist – State Representative Position #2
32nd District
- Cindy Ryu – State Representative Position #1
- Lauren Davis – State Representative Position #2
34th District
- Emily Alvarado – State Representative Position #1
- Joe Fitzgibbon – State Representative Position #2
36th District
- Julia Reed – State Representative Position #1
- Liz Berry – State Representative Position #2
37th District
- Sharon Tomiko Santos – State Representative Position #1
- Chipalo Street – State Representative Position #2
43rd District
- Nicole Marcri – State Representative Position #1
- *Shaun Scott – State Representative Position #2
46th District
- Gerry Pollet – State Representative Position #1
- Darya Farivar – State Representative Position #2
City of Seattle 2024 Election Guide
Oh Seattle. What type of city do we want to be?
City of Seattle – Proposition 1 | Tax Levy for Transportation Renewal – Yes
Just as a note. We need a better way of raising funds in this city besides Property Taxes and small business B&O taxes. There are a whole lot of high income renters who are not responsible for carrying the load of the services in this city.
City Council Position 2 – Alexis Mercedes Rink
The city of Seattle needs to get it act together when dealing with this budget shortfall and our housing crisis. TWICE now the current council either killed an affordable housing project or punted a citizen’s vote to a special election next year. This special election will cost MORE money for the city as we lay off critical social service workers.
Tonya Woo voted to enact these issues. In addition, the fact that we are pulling money from social services to give our do nothing police department a raise is ridiculous to me. We are homeowners and pay property taxes in this city. The two times we have had to call the police for an issue in our southeast Seattle home they neglected to show up. We had a client who saw on their camera that their house was being broken into, they called the police, gave the police the license plate of the culprits, and nothing happened. Woo wants to give this same department a raise while we layoff other city workers.
Here is the deal. Alexis Mercedes Rink hits all three of our big issues.
- Reproductive Rights – Raised money door to door for Planned Parenthood.
- LGBTQ+ Rights – Endorsed by LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.
- Housing – Will invest in affordable housing projects and change the zoning to allow more housing opportunities. It is high time we got out of our NIMBY ways and created more affordable housing projects in this city.
Please note: Kim and I used our housing vouchers for Alexis Mercedes Rink.
State Supreme Court
The State supreme court has been pivotal in holding the state accountable for funding schools in our state and making sure we can sustain an equitable life in Seattle.
Here are the Washington State Supreme Court candidates we are supporting:
- 2nd Position, Justice – Sal Mungia
- 8th Position, Justice – Steven González
- 9th Position, Justice – Sheryl Gordon McCloud
Thank You For Checking Out Our 2024 Seattle Election Guide!
I just want to reiterate how important it is to get out and vote. There is a lot at stake this election, from local elections to of course our federal elections. Democracy is not a perfect system, but we can always work hard to move things in the right direction.
