The August primaries whittled down this race to Washington State House Rep. Beth Doglio and former Seattle Chamber of Commerce CEO Marilyn Strickland. Electing either candidate would mark an achievement for representation in local politics, with Strickland becoming the first Black member of Congress from Washington and Doglio becoming the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from Washington. But on the issues, the answer is clear.
Doglio is a longtime climate activist who rejects corporate PAC money, and who spent her time in Olympia trying to pass decent-to-very good legislation, including a bill that would tax CEOs based on the income gap within their companies.
Meanwhile, as the CEO of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Strickland spent much of 2018 fighting Seattle’s head tax. She also oversaw the Chamber when Amazon filled its political arm’s coffers with $1.45 million in donations to crush the progressive candidates running for Seattle City Council. As Mayor of Tacoma, Strickland partnered with businesses to oppose a $15 minimum wage, and she “presided over a controversial [police] department with a history of excessive force and failed to implement even marginal promised reforms like body cameras,” according to The Intercept. Both Doglio and Strickland supported Initiative 940, which made it easier to prosecute cops who kill, but Doglio used the power of her office to actively boost the initiative while Strickland “had little involvement in the campaign.”
