Still a month from the filing deadline and five months from the primary, Mayor Ed Murray has made his first endorsement of a non-incumbent running for city council: Lorena González, who’s leaving her job as legal counsel to the mayor* to campaign for a citywide council seat.
“Lorena has an unwavering dedication to this community,” Murray says in a press release from González’s camp. “She is smart, tireless, and truly appreciates the transformation of Seattle to a diverse, world-class city. Lorena represents a new generation of leaders that will bring fresh strong leadership, ideas and perspectives to City Hall. I look forward to working with her in this new role.”
This should come as a surprise to no one since González seems all but hand-picked by Murray to replace outgoing Council Member Sally Clark (González announced her run just a few hours after Clark said she was bowing out).
But it’s also a not-at-all-subtle message from Murray to anyone else thinking about running for that seat, like, say, James Keblas. Murray fired Keblas last year from the Office of Film + Music, sparking confusion and outrage in the local film and music scenes. This week, Keblas told me he’s thinking about running for the seat. (Also in the race so far: Central District activist Bill Bradburd and bakery owner Terry Hofman.)
According to the press release from González, she’s also won an endorsement from King County Executive Dow Constantine, making her “the first non-incumbent to earn the support of the region’s two most prominent leaders.”
*This means González, who is an attorney, serves as a senior policy advisor to Murray on legal issues around legislation he wants to get passed and is a “liaison” between the mayor and the city attorney’s office, according to a mayoral spokesperson.
