Dan Strauss
Dan Strauss City of Seattle

Just minutes after Seattle City Councilmember Mike O'Brien announced that he will not be seeking a third term in office, Daniel Strauss announced that he'll be running for O'Brien's seat.

O'Brien's announcement came as a surprise to the SECB, which was—oddly—not invited to his press conference on Wednesday despite multiple emails to his campaign (doesn't O'Brien know who runs this town???) but Strauss isn't exactly a candidate out of left-field. A Ballard native, Strauss currently serves as policy advisor to Councilmember Sally Bagshaw. Before that, he was a legislative aide to Senator David Frockt, who has (unsuccessfully) pushed a single-payer healthcare system in Washington state. Strauss is also a longtime gun control advocate, working with the Alliance for Gun Responsibility.

As for his own policy positions, Strauss did not immediately return a request for comment and his website is either broken or just plain sucks, but a press release announcing his campaign says he wants to tackle housing, homelessness, and helping small businesses, the standard line for anyone running for office in the 6th District.

“Middle-income families are the backbone of our economy," Strauss said in his announcement. "Few social workers, like my Ballard parents, can afford now to set down roots in our city. We need to build thousands of units of affordable housing across our city and region to address these needs, and do so thoughtfully. We need high-quality, affordable childcare near our transit stations and in our business districts. We need to bolster small businesses, labor, and hometown industry; and ensure every neighborhood is safer. Frankly, we need to do better for our neighbors by including them early in decisions.”

Strauss says he will be participating in the Democracy Vouchers program. So far, Jay Fathi and Kate O'Brien Martin have formally announced their bids for the 6th District. Jon Lisbin, an entrepreneur and NIMBY, has also filed with the Seattle Ethics and Election Commission, and, according to Erica C. Barnett, former Councilmember Heidi Wills is expected to anounce as well.