Lisa Herbold, the longtime aide to city council member Nick Licata who for a couple weeks has been teasing us about running for a council seat, announced today she is in fact running.
“Nick’s departure leaves big, progressive shoes to fill on the council,” Herbold says in an announcement. “Fortunately, I’ve been looking at his shoes every day for almost two decades, so I’m confident I am prepared.”
Licata said last month he wouldn’t seek reelection, leaving a serious gap in the council’s progressive bloc.
Herbold has a history of working as a community organizer on housing and social justice issues and helping Licata get stuff done inside City Hall.
Unsurprisingly, Licata has endorsed her candidacy, calling her “the most qualified candidate I can imagine.”
“Friends and adversaries alike recognize her intelligence, compassion, and savvy,” Licata says in Herbold’s announcement, “but few know as intimately as myself just how important she has been to Seattle and its residents since 1998.”
But Herbold wasn’t even the only one to jump into the West Seattle race today. There are now seven candidates in that race.
We broke the news this morning that SeaTac minimum wage organizer Brianna Thomas is running for the seat.
And this afternoon, Shannon Braddock—self-proclaimed “PTA mom” and chief of staff to King County Council member Joe McDermott—announced her candidacy.
In her announcement, Braddock says she “works alongside McDermott on a range of issues, including supporting strong investments in transit, viaduct mitigation, and critical funds for human services.”
She says she wants to improve transportation and transit, advocate for affordable housing, and push for better services focused on children.
“I will bring a needed combination of policymaking experience, progressive values, and the perspective of a public school parent to the council,” Braddock says. “As Seattle grows, we need leaders rooted in our communities who can both advocate for everyday priorities and keep Seattle on the forefront of innovation and positive change.”
