The Seattle Times endorsed Jon Grant for the Seattle City Council last week, citing his “deep understanding of Seattle’s social-services apparatus,” and “experience managing costs and service delivery.”
In response, supporters of Teresa Mosqueda have been circulating an open letter to the people of Seattle expressing their disappointment in the Seattle Time’s decision and the fact that women’s accomplishments often get overlooked.
Women should get credit for the work we do, and for our hard-won experience. We must stop making excuses or standing by while others overstate their resumes at the expense of women whose qualifications, experience, and track record are indisputable.
The letter has over 500 signatures, including both candidates for Seattle mayor, Jenny Durkan and Cary Moon.
The Morning Wire: Keeping you informed on politics, policies, and personalities of Washington State.
Read the full letter below and view the growing number of signatures here.
Our Experience & Leadership Matters
October 19, 2017
As women, we know what it’s like to have our professional experience, accomplishments, and credentials questioned, minimized and too often underrated. We were disappointed to read The Seattle Times Editorial Board endorsement in the Seattle City Council Position 8 race.
Teresa Mosqueda is a proven leader in our community – a forceful champion of a more just and equitable society. She helped lead the successful statewide effort to expand access to affordable health care by expanding coverage for all children in Washington. She helped make sure the Affordable Care Act worked for all our neighbors, workers and families when she served on the Exchange Board for four years as the consumer and patient advocate. Teresa is a fighter for women and working people—helping to lead the coalition and write the statewide initiative that raised wages and provided paid sick leave for workers. She has fought to protect the rights of immigrants and refugees, and to guarantee reproductive justice for women. She is running for office and working full time, and continues to show an unwavering commitment to show up for causes beyond her campaign. That’s the kind of leadership our city needs.
Women should get credit for the work we do, and for our hard-won experience. We must stop making excuses or standing by while others overstate their resumes at the expense of women whose qualifications, experience, and track record are indisputable.
The Seattle Times Editorial Board lauds the “experience” of Teresa’s opponent, yet Teresa spent years helping craft the minimum wage and sick leave policy and leading the state-wide initiative that her opponent was hired for a period to work on.
Teresa not only has the real experience and applied skills to be an effective, inspiring Councilmember, she has the temperament to deliver while being deliberative and fair. At a time when our nation—and our city—are too often defined by what divides us, Teresa knows that to make real progress we must find common ground, build coalitions, and unite around shared values. A proven progressive, Teresa knows how to bring people together and get things done. Teresa respects people, she listens, and she is unafraid to speak her mind to create the changes our communities need. We need more people with these skills in City Hall.
That’s why Teresa has earned our support, and the support of more than 200 progressive organizations and diverse community leaders across Seattle. We hope you will join us in making sure our experience is honored and our voices heard. We hope you will also join us in voting for Teresa Mosqueda for Seattle City Council, Position 8.
Your support matters.
Public service journalism is important today as ever. If you get something from our coverage, please consider making a donation to support our work. Thanks for reading our stuff.