MLK Labor Statement on Initial King County Election Results

November 3, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Charles Lapham, MLK Labor Communications Director
503-713-3032, Charles@MLKLabor.org

“Elections in King County are rarely decided on Election Night and this year is no exception. In the next few days, the hardworking staff at King County Elections will ensure every vote is counted and winners are declared. As it currently stands, many races are too close to call.

In the initial results, the majority of candidates endorsed by MLK Labor are ahead and we have every expectation that their leads will grow as more votes are counted. Although the first drop of ballots was disappointing for three labor-backed Seattle candidates, we want to offer our congratulations to our union sister Teresa Mosqueda for winning re-election to the Seattle City Council, Dow Constantine for winning re-election as King County Executive, Sarah Perry for defeating a Republican incumbent and winning election to the King County Council, union brother Jimmy Matta for winning re-election in Burien and the slate of pro-worker candidates in SeaTac who appear victorious.

We also want to congratulate the other rank-and-file union members who seem likely to win their elections, including Hospital Commission candidates Monique Taylor-Swan and Dustin Lambro, Iris Guzman and Jake Simpson in SeaTac, Tosh Sharp in Tukwila, Leandra Craft in Federal Way, Larry Brown in Auburn, Seattle School Board candidate Brandon Hersey, and Kent School Board candidate Joe Bento.

Regardless of the final results, our values guide our work. We will work with elected leaders and hold them accountable as they work to address our affordability crisis by building more affordable housing with union labor, fighting layoffs and austerity of any kind, and protecting Black and Brown workers from racist police violence and incarceration.

We also want to thank the hundreds of rank-and-file union members who volunteered their time this election season. Our Labor Neighbor voter outreach program knocked on more than 75,000 union families’ doors this year and we know this made the difference in many of our endorsed races. In Seattle alone, the labor movement knocked on more than 50,000 union voters’ doors, more than triple our 2017 effort to elect Councilwoman Mosqueda. A team of mostly rank-and-file union members from various MLK Labor affiliated unions, including UNITE HERE Local 8, SEIU, UFCW Local 21, the American Federation of Musicians, and others took time out of their jobs to talk with union workers around the city about this crucial election. We thank all canvassers for pouring their souls into a campaign they believed in.”

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MLK Labor is the central body of labor organizations in King County, Washington. We are affiliated with the National AFL-CIO, the central labor organization in the United States, representing more than 13 million working people. We represent more than 150 unions and 100,000 workers. United, we are a voice for the interests and needs of working people in King County.