Get out the Vote!

As of Wednesday morning, only 12% of Seattle and King County voters have returned their ballots. It is time to fill our your ballot, put a stamp on that envelope and send it back in! It's a long ballot for us this year, so make sure you know what you are voting on.

GSBA has officially opposed Initiative 517. Read more about our decision here.

Still confused about some of the candidates and positions on the ballot? There are a lot of ratings and voter information guides out there:

Voter Information:
Living Voters Guide (CityClub)
2013 General Election Voters Guide (Office of the Secretary of State)
Profiles of GSBA-member candidates: Sally Bagshaw, Dow Constantine, Ed Murray, Albert Shen

Candidate Ratings and Endorsements:
SEAMEC - rating candidates on LGBT issues since 1977; also available in the Seattle Gay News
Municipal League
The Stranger Election Control Board
Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy (CASE)
Seattle Times
Progressive Voters Guide
NARAL Pro-Choice Washington

Candidate Profile: Sally Bagshaw

GSBA has invited all of its members who are running for office to provide a profile to share with the rest of the membership. We have given each of them a set of questions to respond to so that you can get to know them better. We are posting the profiles as we receive them. GSBA does not endorse candidates, but we are happy to let those candidates who are part of our organization introduce themselves to the rest of our growing membership. Don't forget to vote and mail in your ballots before November 5!

Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Running for Re-election to Seattle City Council

sallybagshaw.com

These last four years I have asked this question daily:  What type of community do we want to create?  For me, it is one that is fair, respectful, and supports everyone in our city to live a healthy life of his or her choosing.

We have seen some challenging years economically, yet we have much to applaud.  Last November we celebrated together as voters in our state approved R-74.  We celebrated again this summer as the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that all loving couples deserve equal treatment and respect under federal law. 
As a lawyer, I have advocated for equal rights for all committed couples.  I believe children and families in our community are strengthened when marriage is available to all who choose that path. 

We have made steps in the right direction, yet I recognize we have much more work to do: many members of our LGBT community have told me they continue to feel the effects of discrimination in the workplace. Many youth feel humiliated at school and rejected at home. And hundreds of LBGT immigrants face barriers to housing, safety, and personal security. All of these issues matter to me personally, and I will work with you and other leaders in our community to shine a light on these problems until everyone feels respected and is fairly treated.

These past four years on the Council, I have a list of accomplishments I am proud of, and it’s a list I want to expand.  As chair of the Parks and Neighborhood committee, I have assured our 400+ parks and programs are efficiently maintained and available to everyone.  Specifically,

• I made sure the city kept its word and honored its deal with MOHAI. This treasure draws thousands to the new South Lake Union Park.
• I oversaw a lengthy analysis of our community centers. We adopted a new management system, saving the city $1.2M a year.
• I have supported an interdepartmental effort to create Neighborhood Greenways and a connected network of safe and separated bicycle lanes citywide for all ages and abilities.

These next four years I will dedicate my efforts toward creating a transportation system that is a comprehensive, connected network.  Fund more transit! I will work with human service providers and our police and mental health providers to address safety problems in every neighborhood.  And I will work with you to create a safe and respectful community for all.

I listen and treat people with respect. That is what I have been doing and what I want to continue to do. The GSBA has been there for me throughout the years; I want to continue to be there for you, as YOUR Councilmember.  Thank you for your support!

Candidate Profile: Albert Shen

GSBA has invited all of its members who are running for office to provide a profile to share with the rest of the membership. We have given each of them a set of questions to respond to so that you can get to know them better. We are posting the profiles as we receive them. GSBA does not endorse candidates, but we are happy to let those candidates who are part of our organization introduce themselves to the rest of our growing membership. Don't forget to vote and mail in your primary ballots before August 6!

Albert Shen
Running for City Council - Position 8
Website

1.       What are the top 3 reasons you are seeking to be elected to Position 8 of the Seattle City Council?
2.       What are your top 3 priorities for your first year in office?
3.       What do you consider your top 3 achievements and/or qualities that make you qualified to be a Seattle City Councilmember?
4.       What LGBT issues will you address in your first 6 months in office?

 I’m Albert Shen and I want to serve on the Seattle City Council.

I’m the son of Chinese immigrants and grew up in Pullman, WA. I came to Seattle nearly 30 years ago to study global warming and environmental chemistry at the University of Washington.

I live on Capital Hill and own a small business, a civil engineering firm. You’ve probably never heard of my business, but my team has worked on some of our most important regional projects, like Sea-Tac Airport’s Rental Car Facility, Seattle’s e-Park system and currently on the Seattle Waterfront Redevelopment Program. For our contributions, we were honored as Seattle’s Small Business of the Year in 2009.

For over 20 years, I’ve been committed to making Seattle stronger. I volunteered on President Obama’s National Finance Committee. Governor Gregoire appointed me to the Seattle Community College Board of Trustees and I volunteer on many other local non-profit boards.

I am running for Seattle City Council because we are still staggering out of the worst economic recessions of all time. Small businesses suffered disproportionately and our city has to do better to support the growth of our diverse small businesses base in Seattle.  We need policies that promote the start up and growth of businesses in Seattle otherwise higher per capita earning jobs cannot be created.  I want to see the City take leadership on fixing our educational policy and bring a back to basics approach with public safety and get our officers visible on the streets again so everybody can feel safe to walk in any neighborhood.

Relationships are a fundamental part of our local economic success.  I have been to the White House, US Congress and the WA State Legislature to advocate for our local small business success in Seattle.  Recently, I worked with the US-Small Business administration to create an ambassador program for the local ethnic chambers of commerce so federal resources can reach underserved ethnic business communities.   I will work with our federal partners to bring the same resources to the LGBT community and develop innovative programs to grow our economic base.

With the passage of equal rights marriage in Washington State, we have a unique opportunity to leverage the uniqueness of Seattle and Washington State as a marriage destination.  I want to prioritize funds for the LGBT business chambers so nationwide marketing can be done to promote our local LGBT businesses.  This attracts visitors to Seattle so revenue can be generated for our local economy and build upon our success.

As a small business owner I understand the challenges that owners have had to face during the recession.  We cannot get complacent and I want to bring my small business perspective to our City Council so our economy will be the strongest one in the nation.