♪♪
-Welcome to the Seattle Video Voters' Guide.
Your chance to hear directly from the candidates
and ballot measure participants
in the November general election.
King County will send out ballots
to all registered voters on October 19.
And ballot drop boxes will open on October 20,
or you can drop your voted ballot in the mail,
no stamp required.
In this edition, candidates for the office
of Seattle Municipal Court Judge and proponents
and opponents for Propositions 1A and 1B,
have been invited to participate.
The statements are up to two minutes long and unedited.
The speakers will appear on your screen
in the same order as on the ballot.
Municipal Court Judge.
Seattle Municipal Court's seven judges
hear cases involving misdemeanors
and gross misdemeanors, including domestic violence,
DUI, parking tickets, and traffic infractions.
The municipal court also hears cases
involving civil offenses such as violations of the city's fire,
housing, or zoning codes.
Each municipal court judge serves a four-year term
in this nonpartisan office.
This year, all seven judges are up for election.
All voters in Seattle
can vote in each of the seven judicial races.
♪♪
-Hi, my name is Adam Eisenberg,
and I'm running for reelection
to Seattle Municipal Court Position 3.
I joined the bench in 2017 with important
and diverse legal experience --
seven years as a criminal prosecutor,
five years as a civil defense attorney,
and 13 years as a commissioner and magistrate.
I also bring lived experience as a Jewish person and a gay man.
As a judge, I believe in restorative justice.
Restorative justice demands that we recognize our courts
have been plagued by systemic racism, bias, and prejudice.
Generations of injustice must be corrected
through honest dialogue
and reforms that address the root causes of criminal behavior
while providing alternatives
to the traditional response of jail and fines.
Among the crimes we see in Seattle Municipal Court
are domestic violence offenses.
I grew up with an abusive father,
and I know treatment is critical to healing the survivors,
their families, and the abusers.
That's why I helped create
the Domestic Violence Intervention Project,
a community-based program
that serves as an alternative to jail.
DVIP provides individualized treatment
to break cycles of abuse and trauma.
On a lighter note, I am co-director
of Youth Traffic Court.
That's where Garfield High School students
come to our court once a month and serve as judges,
jurors, prosecutors, and defense attorneys for other teens
who have gotten tickets in Seattle.
I am proud to have been chosen by my colleagues
to serve as their presiding judge,
and in my reelection bid I've been endorsed
by former Gov. Christine Gregoire,
Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven González
and Justice Mary Yu, County Councilmembers
Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Dave Upthegrove,
City Council President Debora Juarez,
and Councilmember Andrew Lewis.
I've also been endorsed by local democrats, unions,
prosecutors, public defenders, defense attorneys and many more.
The King County Bar Association has rated me
exceptionally well-qualified, and I earned the same rating
from four minority bar associations
during my first term.
I am committed to healthy, just, and inclusive communities,
and I would be honored to have your vote. Thank you.
-I'm a first-generation Indian American,
a child of immigrants,
born and raised in the Pacific Northwest,
and would be the first South Asian woman
elected as judge in Seattle Municipal Court.
Seattle faces serious issues with recidivism,
chronic homelessness, and non-treated mental illness
that have not been addressed by the existing judges.
The only method to hold the court accountable
for its failure to act urgently in Seattle's interest
is to challenge the currently seated bench.
I'm running against a judge who, in my opinion,
is the most biased, ineffective,
and pro-prosecution judge on that bench.
My career as a public defender
was a crucible of constant interaction with the courts,
the prosecutors, defendants, and the community.
I've taken 11 criminal cases to trial and prepared hundreds
that were either dismissed or pleaded before seating a jury,
all to outcomes that were the best
I could obtain for my clients
and aligned with a profound respect for the law.
My experience taught me to understand
that every defendant, witness, and victim
is a human being with their own challenges
and struggles who may be triggered by the trauma
they have experienced in their life --
a compassionate perspective that is under-appreciated
by the existing bench.
I've practiced in district courts
in both Snohomish and King County,
and most recently in Seattle Municipal Court.
During this final 10-month stretch in Seattle,
I saw a dramatic rise in petty crimes of desperation,
exacerbated by untreated mental illness,
a decline in the services available to defendants
and their families and a disturbing unwillingness
by the court to acknowledge
or address the issues that truly drive misdemeanor crime.
I stand for compassion, fairness,
and restorative justice,
and I've received exclusive endorsements
from the King County Democrats,
the Young Democrats of King County,
the Democrats for Diversity and Inclusion,
the Women's Political Caucus,
the Democratic Legislative Districts
of the 46th, 37th, and 43rd, and more.
I believe this support reflects that the current court fails
to adequately support public safety,
has not earned the confidence of Seattle and must do better.
If elected, I will elevate the standard of judicial competence
and integrity in Seattle.
I would be honored to have your vote.
♪♪
-My name is Judge Damon Shadid.
I'm running for reelection to the position
I've held on the Seattle Municipal Court
for the past eight years.
My two terms in office have been guided by a singular principle,
we can make Seattle safer and healthier
by addressing the root causes of crime
instead of the business as usual approach of jailing people
repeatedly and then releasing them back onto the street
in a worse condition than when they entered.
To accomplish this, I've taken a multi-pronged approach
to addressing crime in Seattle.
First, we needed a more efficient
and effective way of handling low-level property crimes,
I therefore created a new community court
unifying the court, the city attorney,
and the Department of Public Defense behind a shared vision
connecting defendants to services
on their very first court date,
instead of having to wait months for a case to resolve.
Second, we needed better ways to address people
who come to the court system with untreated
and sometimes long-standing mental health issues.
These people can often act out in violent and dangerous ways,
holding them in jail for long periods of time
can often destabilize them further,
making them even more dangerous when released.
I therefore expanded and re-imagined
Seattle's Mental Health Court to better serve
these challenging individuals.
Finally, we needed a better way
to support our essential case workers
who are on the streets every day helping connect
those experiencing homelessness to services and housing.
I created a consolidated calendar
that allows case workers to come to court
just one-half day per week to support their clients
who are involved in the criminal legal system,
thus giving case workers more time to work
with their clients on the street instead of sitting in court.
The common theme behind all these programs is collaboration.
No one institution or program can solve all of our problems,
we must work together to make our city a safer
and healthier place to live.
But we have much more work to do,
and I would ask for your vote in the November general election.
Thank you. My name is Judge Damon Shadid,
Seattle Municipal Court, Position 7.
-I'm Nyjat Rose-Akins,
and I'm running for Position 7
on the Seattle Municipal Court bench.
I love Seattle.
I became a U.S. citizen here, but I've seen it erode
with the breakdown of collaboration across the city.
I'm running for Seattle Municipal Court
to help repair this breakdown,
to improve community confidence in the court,
and to return to an individualized approach
to judicial decision making.
I'm running because I've spent the last 12 years
working with victims of crime in Seattle
and managing our community relationships with police.
In my 12 years at the City Attorney's Office,
I've partnered with community members,
government officials, law enforcement, and businesses.
I've seen firsthand that issues affecting communities
are rarely resolved in silos.
Real change takes collaboration from everyone involved,
a willingness to listen, and taking responsibility
when things are not working.
Systems can always be better.
I'm the candidate that can make Seattle Municipal Court better.
I've worked in the public sector in Seattle
for my entire legal career.
I worked in the Seattle City Attorney's Office's
Criminal Division for six years.
In that role, I developed a great understanding
of all types of cases that come before the court.
While working in the criminal division,
I tried over 60 cases,
I resolved cases in Mental Health Court,
Community Court, and Domestic Violence Court.
My awareness for how a criminal case
impacts all those involved has further deepened
since serving regularly as a pro tem judge within King County.
These experiences in the City Attorney's Office
and serving as a pro tem judge,
have shaped my judicial philosophy.
I understand that the court cannot single-handedly solve
all the problems affecting communities,
but by being innovative
and willing to try alternative approaches,
it can change the course of someone's life.
Judges should lead with compassion
but they also have to consider the facts presented and the law.
And for those reasons, I ask for your vote.
♪♪
-Seattle Proposition Numbers 1A and 1B.
Proposition 1A was submitted to the city clerk
as Initiative 134, and Proposition 1B
was proposed as an alternative to 1A
by the city council and mayor as ordinance 126625.
The two propositions concern allowing voters
to select multiple candidates on their ballots
in city primary elections.
Voters will be asked two questions --
one, if either of these proposals should be enacted,
yes or no, and two, regardless of the answer in Question 1,
which option would they choose
should one of these proposals be enacted, 1A or 1B?
The responses to Question 2 will only be counted
if there are more yes votes than no votes in Question 1.
Proposition 1A, Initiative 134,
would allow voters in primary elections for mayor,
city attorney, and city council, to select as many candidates
as they approve of for each office.
The two candidates receiving the most votes for each office
would advance to the general elections
consistent with state law.
The city would consult with King County
to include instructions on the primary ballot,
such as vote for as many as you approve of for each office.
As an alternative, the Seattle City Council and Mayor
have proposed Proposition 1B,
which would allow primary election voters
to rank candidates by preference.
In the first round of counting,
each voter's top preference would be counted.
The candidate receiving the fewest votes
would be eliminated.
Successive rounds of counting
would eliminate one candidate each round,
counting each voter's top preference
among remaining candidates until two candidates
remain to proceed to the general election.
King County would include instructions
on the ballot for voters.
Voters will be asked
if either of these proposals should be enacted,
then they will be asked to choose which option they prefer,
should one be enacted.
All voters in the city of Seattle
can vote on the two questions
in Seattle Proposition numbers 1A and 1B.
-My name is Sarah Ward,
and I'm a Seattle resident and attorney.
Proposition 1A, or approval voting,
is a simple, nonpartisan change that empowers voters.
It lets you vote for all the candidates you support
in Seattle primary elections instead of just one.
Just like today, the two candidates
with the most votes advance to the general election.
Proposition 1A means true representation.
When you can support multiple candidates,
every candidate will compete for your support.
With approval voting, candidates must propose policies
that are realistic to implement and popular with all voters,
not just their strongest supporters.
Proposition 1A will make our leaders accountable
to underrepresented groups they'd usually ignore.
In St. Louis, a majority-minority city,
voters made history by electing
the first ever Black woman as mayor using approval voting.
According to election experts, approval voting winners
represent voters better than any other election system,
including ranked choice voting.
That's why election reform groups,
like Equal Vote Coalition
and the Center for Election Science, support it.
Proposition 1A is also fast and free to implement.
City Council proposed Proposition 1B
uses a complex system
that would cost $3 million more per election
and take until at least 2027 to implement.
In contrast, approval voting
is so simple, the ballot does not have to change.
And just like today,
results are available the evening of the primary.
Proposition 1A could be used in Seattle as soon as 2023.
Vote yes on Proposition 1A
for representation and accountability.
-Ranked choice voting is a fair and better way to vote
that gives voters more voice and more choice.
Whether you're a renter or a homeowner,
you live in Rainier Beach or Magnolia,
you have deep roots in Seattle or you're a newcomer,
most of us agree that our democracy works best
when everyone is fully heard.
With ranked choice voting, you have the freedom
to vote for your candidates in the order you prefer.
And know that your vote and your voice will matter.
Ranked choice voting lets you rank candidates
based on your first, second, and third choices and so on,
so that even if your first choice candidate doesn't win,
you can still affect the outcome of the election
because your vote will count towards your next choice.
The other option on the ballot encourages you to select
all the candidates you could settle for
rather than the ones you really want to win.
And you can't differentiate
between the candidates you like best
and who you could just live with.
Ranked choice voting is a proven system
that is already being used in more than 50 cities
and counties across the U.S.
It has encouraged more positive campaigning
and data shows that voters like it and find it simple.
Together, and with the support of organizations
like the League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County,
the King County Democrats, Fair Vote Washington,
and many other community-based organizations,
we can give voters more voice and more choice
with ranked choice voting. Vote yes on 1B.
♪♪
-You've just seen all the video statements
submitted by Seattle candidates and ballot measure participants
on the City of Seattle portion of the ballot.
This program is a collaboration of the Seattle Ethics
and Elections Commission, the Seattle Channel,
and King County TV.
Again, ballots will be sent to all registered voters.
Look for your ballot in the mail after October 19,
and vote and return it by Tuesday, November 8.
Ballots can be returned via U.S. Mail,
or at a King County Election secured ballot drop box,
located in King County.
If mailed, a stamp is not required,
but ballots must be postmarked by November 8.
You can track the progress of your ballot online
and find the location of drop boxes by visiting
King County Elections at kingcounty.gov/elections.
Thank you for joining us.
We'd like to hear from you about the Video Voters' Guide.
To comment on this guide, please call 206-684-8500.