ELECTION 2019: City Council campaign launch party Thursday for Phillip Tavel

The District 1 City Council race is intensifying, with 7 months until the primary. On Friday, we broke the news of a fourth candidate in the race, Jesse Greene. Now there’s news that the first candidate to register his intention to campaign, Phillip Tavel – who also ran in 2015 – has scheduled his official launch event. Thursday night at 6:30 pm (doors open at 6), he and supporters will gather at Easy Street Records – here’s the official flyer (PDF). Four candidates in all have registered campaign intentions (formal filing is in May, but paperwork is required sooner in order to fundraise), also including Brendan Kolding and Isaiah Willoughby. Incumbent Lisa Herbold has yet to announce whether she plans to run for re-election

my two cents ... January 26, 2019 (5:25 pm)

” … Lisa Herbold has yet to announce whether she plans to run for re-election”Ha ha ha … Councilmember has been running for re-election about 30 seconds after barely beating out S. Braddock. Then again, the attention shown to the constituents that make up the vast majority of the district have been ignored at the expense of various PR opportunities and wasted efforts tilting at windmills. A little too much of a personal “grass roots activist” approach as opposed to someone responsible and elected for representing the community of the 1st District. All I have seen is blustering and bloviating and not enough tangible progress.

Jon Wright January 26, 2019 (9:01 pm)

Have you ever emailed her? Have you ever gone to one of her live, in-district office hours? I don’t always agree with Councilmember Herbold, but I have always found her helpful, responsive, and thoughtful. In my experience she spends LOTS of time helping constituents. Perhaps if you have concerns you could show up at one of her office hours and share them in person instead of casting anonymous aspersions via an online comment.
- Jon Wright January 26, 2019 (9:08 pm)
  
  P.S. Sorry Phil for contributing to taking this thread about you off topic. :-/
  - M January 27, 2019 (5:00 am)
    
    I don’t think it’s my responsibility to personally coach an elected official. I’ll improve the situation by voting her out.
    - Jim January 27, 2019 (11:33 am)
      
      What a crazy thing to say, M. Of course it’s your responsibility to let your elected officials know what’s bothering you. They’re not mind readers.
- Cool Rick January 27, 2019 (7:04 am)
  
  I have emailed her multiple times and been ignored. She’s been a poor council member, objectively, and needs to go.
  - impatient voter January 28, 2019 (10:29 am)
    
    I agree with Cool Rick.I had emailed Herbold two or three times and mostly got canned responses. I guess that’s ok, although I would rather know that she heard me (even if we disagree) than receive a long issue-explainer that omits her views.But then I emailed her another time, and she took three months to reply, claiming she had been too busy. I registered my dismay and haven’t emailed since.I worked in a different big city for a councilmember who made constituent service the top priority. I’d get in real trouble if I hadn’t replied to a constituent within 24 hours with an update on what we were doing to resolve the issue. These weren’t all precinct captains or community-group leaders or even Democrats–literally anyone who called or emailed got the same standard of service. Of course that colors my perspective now as a voter.I’ve admired other city councilmembers who had different styles, but they all knew how to listen and how to be vocal on behalf of the community. There are big things happening in District 1, and (from my perspective as an outsider here) Herbold doesn’t seem to be involved or trying to make them better. Instead, her efforts seem chiefly designed to impress the in-crowd at city hall. Count me as unimpressed.
- My two cents ... January 27, 2019 (1:16 pm)
  
  @jon why yes, I have – result? Blah blah blah .. or else no response. Voting action/policy focus is seemingly directed at a very small segment of the 1st District and Seattle as a whole. Represent us? No. Tangible progress towards the issue of the community and city as a whole? Non-Existent. Opportunities to “rally the people” against some cabal – dark forces – issue du jour? Countless ….
  - CAM January 27, 2019 (6:24 pm)
    
    Or, she heard you but disagreed and was also aware that the majority of people in this area disagreed with you. Just because somebody doesn’t do what you want does not mean they haven’t listened to you.