Why We're Endorsing Debora Juarez for City Council District No. 5

Debora Juarez Courtesy Debora Juarez

North Seattle is more than legal weed shops around the Aurora Bridge. North Seattle is also a lot of single-family housing, a place with awful transit options, and a bunch of neighborhoods that seriously lack in sidewalks. But way-north Seattle is also offering up a brand-new seat to the city council, and lots of interesting newcomers are running. Like Debora Juarez. This lady’s 56 and gives us 2015-Rihanna “Bitch Better Have My Money” vibes. (WE ENDORSE ANYONE WHO FLASHES RIHANNA VIBES.) Juarez, a member of the Blackfeet Nation, grew up on the Puyallup Indian Reservation, served as a public defender, is a two-time cancer survivor, landed a brief gig as a judge at the King County Superior Court, and was a trial attorney for one of the biggest tribal treaty rights cases of the fucking century. That said, she did pull a weird, lawyerly dodge on a question about Shell’s presence at the Port of Seattle. While Juarez says she’s anti—Arctic drilling, she also believes the city council shouldn’t have challenged the port’s jurisdiction and blargh blah blahhh. Fuck, does she even WANT The Stranger’s endorsement? We resent Juarez for not handing us that one, but we’re endorsing her regardless. We want to see her turn the volume up on her social-justice activist/Bitch Better Have My Money side while dialing down Lawyers-Can-Dodge-Anything Debora. Mercedes Elizalde, a program coordinator at the Low Income Housing Institute, and Halei Watkins, a Planned Parenthood organizer, are also super strong, progressive contenders in this race; we think they should run again. But vote Juarez.