Joe Szwaja, Candidate for Position One, Seattle, WA
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Incumbent's Support Eroding -- 36th District Democrats Say No to Jean Godden
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 13, 2007
In a stinging rebuke to an incumbent from their own Party, the 36th District Democrats declined to endorse Jean Godden for Seattle City Council, Position 1 last night. Though Joe Szwaja, Godden's strongest challenger, is running a non-partisan race for Position 1, he is unlikely to receive the endorsement of District Democrats because he is not a member of the Democratic Party. But with this "no endorsement," rank and file Democratic party activists have begun to show that they are ready for change, and many Precinct Officers are publicly or privately supporting Joe's City Council campaign.
The 36th District Democratic Party meeting was held at the Calvary Lutheran Church Thursday night. A significant majority of its voting members followed their organization's Executive Board recommendation and voted to withhold a primary election endorsement from an incumbent Democrat.
Joe received an extremely warm reception from 36th District members. He was granted time to speak to the members while Councilwoman Godden was not. He had four people speak on his behalf to Councilwoman Godden's one. Joe's progressive vision to keep Seattle livable and affordable in this time of rapid development resonated with Democrats fed up with a skyrocketing cost of living, perpetual gridlock, and a City Council that has not had the strength or vision to champion real alternatives to Mayor Greg Nickels' anti-neighborhood, pro-developer agenda.
Amy Hapopian, a 36th District Precinct officer, urged her fellow Democrats to refrain from endorsing in the Seattle City Council Race, Position 1. The district bylaws prohibit endorsing non-Democrats, so Szwaja, as a Green Party member, was not eligible for endorsement. She said, "if Joe Szwaja wasn't so Green, he'd be the best Democrat in the race; I yield the remainder of my time to Joe Szwaja."
Regarding the 36th District endorsement meeting, Joe noted, "As someone who is pushing for basic neighborhood services and transit solutions over downtown development interests, it was great to hear so many people speak in favor of our campaign, especially in Ballard, the neighborhood where I first lived when I moved to Seattle fifteen years ago. Our campaign is building support from many quarters and gaining great momentum going into the primary."
Joe will be attending the 43rd District Democrat meeting next Tuesday, July 17, where he hopes that rank and file Democratic Party activists will continue to reject the candidacy of "go-along Jean Godden."
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Press Contact
Joe Szwaja, 206.420.1830
campaign@joeforcouncil.com
Gentry Lange, 206.498.3937
gentry@gentrylange.com