Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has decided not to run for a second term, and the election to choose her replacement will be held Tuesday, Nov. 2. | stock photo
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has decided not to run for a second term, and the election to choose her replacement will be held Tuesday, Nov. 2. | stock photo
Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro has endorsed Seattle City Council President Lorena Gonzalez for mayor of Seattle.
“More than ever, we need local leaders who are committed to effectively addressing the issue of housing and homelessness,” Castro, former mayor of San Antonio, tweeted. “That’s especially true in Seattle, which is why I’m proud to endorse M. Lorena Gonzalez for mayor,” Castro tweeted. “Join me in supporting her campaign.”
Gonzalez responded that she is happy to accept Castro’s endorsement.
Julian Castro
| Department of HUD
"I am honored to have the endorsement of former HUD Secretary Julian Castro,” Gonzalez tweeted. “As one of the nation’s foremost experts on housing and homelessness policy and a former mayor, he knows exactly the kind of leadership Seattle needs to end our humanitarian crises."
Gonzalez was the first Latinx elected to the Seattle City Council, according to her profile on Seattle.gov.
She was previously a partner in a Seattle law firm, specializing in representing workers in wage-theft and anti-discrimination cases and victims of police misconduct and sexual abuse, according to her Seattle.gov biography.
Gonzalez's family members were Spanish-speaking migrant farm workers in the lower Yakima Valley in Washington.
“Council Member Gonzalez earned her first paycheck at the age of 8, alongside her parents and five siblings,” the biography says. “She relied on scholarships and worked three jobs to attend community college and later Washington State University.”
Gonzalez was first elected to Seattle City Council in 2015.
After running unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for president, Castro formed a political action committee called “People First Future,” which backs progressive candidates, NBC reported.
“My campaign was focused on an America where everyone counts and where we invest in the most vulnerable communities, so that all of us can prosper,” he told NBC. “I want to make sure that we elect bold, progressive leaders who believe in that same vision.”
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