Council Member Lisa Herbold wants Jon Grant on city council.
Council Member Lisa Herbold wants Jon Grant on city council. City of Seattle

Saying his campaign platform "reminds us that we must do more for those with the least," Seattle City Council member Lisa Herbold today endorsed Jon Grant for citywide council Position 8.

Herbold, who was elected to the city's governing body in 2015 after serving as a council aide, has a long history working with Grant on tenants' rights issues. Both Herbold and Grant, the former head of the Tenants Union of Washington State, ran for council in 2015. That year, landlord groups warned that electing Grant and Herbold could mean a flood of new renter-friendly legislation, and landlords spent big trying to defeat them. Herbold won a narrow victory; Grant lost and is running again this year.

As the mayor and city council have rolled out plans to upzone certain neighborhoods, and in return require developers to build affordable housing, both Grant and Herbold have argued the city isn't asking enough of developers. (The mayor and some other council members argue increasing affordability requirements will only stifle much-needed housing supply.)

"Jon shares an important message that reminds us that we must do more for those with the least and we must require those benefiting from the City's development boom to do more too," Herbold said in a statement today, praising Grant's work at the Tenants Union.

"While it's true that the city needs Jon's experience on housing policy," Herbold said, "what I appreciate most about Jon is that he grounds his work in the lived experience of people. He works hard and always puts the interests of the community first.”

The race for the citywide council seat will be one of the year's most competitive. Grant is running as a democratic socialist and faces several viable opponents, including labor-backed Teresa Mosqueda and Chamber of Commerce-endorsed Sara Nelson.

Herbold is Grant's second council endorsement, following Kshama Sawant last month. Mosqueda has been endorsed by three members of the council: Sally Bagshaw, Lorena GonzĂĄlez, and Rob Johnson. She is also endorsed by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.