Credit: Nate Gowdy

nikkita_oliver_credit-_nate_gowdy_-4.jpg

Nate Gowdy

The majority of the Stranger Election Control Board voted to endorse Cary Moon for mayor. We voted to endorse Nikkita Oliver. Here, we explain why. Find the full SECB endorsements here and the cheat sheet here. Ballots are due August 1.

Democrats keep losing. In recent special elections in South Carolina, Kansas and Georgia, Dems counted on outrage over Trump to bring voters to the polls. That messaging didn’t work during the presidential election, and it continues to fail. “We’re not pussy-grabbing racists,” does not constitute a political strategy, but don’t tell that to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Seattle has the opportunity to chart a path forward for liberals and progressives alike. But we won’t lead by paying lip service to Trump outrage. We won’t lead by electing cookie cutter Democrats promising to guard the city’s status quo. True leadership in Seattle means grappling with our extreme income inequality, our housing affordability crisis, and our police violence. We lead by developing ideas that actually solve the city’s most pressing problems for people. We lead by inspiring young and historically marginalized voters to hit the ballot box.

Ana Sofia Knauf reports on Neighborhoods for The Stranger. When she’s not commuting to work by bus, she’s worrying about Seattle’s rising rents, giving herself headaches thinking about race, or trying...

Steven Hsieh is news editor at The Stranger.

Sydney Brownstone writes about the environment, sexual assault, and general news for The Stranger. In 2017, her boss and Pulitzer winner Eli Sanders nominated her coverage of Seattle porn scammer Matt...

Heidi Groover is a staff writer at The Stranger.