curated by Vee Hua 華婷婷
City of Seattle at-large Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda announced in early February that she will run for King County Council District 8, following the departure of current Councilmember Joe McDermott. The West Seattle resident is currently serving her sixth year in office and is the City Council's Budget Chair.
In a press release sent out from her team, Mosqueda showed a passion for solving problems around behavioral health, public health, housing, displacement, affordable childcare, accessible transit, and job opportunities, "to improve the opportunity for working families to be healthy, housed and resilient."
As previously reported by the Emerald, Mosqueda's leadership in the passage of the JumpStart Housing Community Self-Determination Fund has helped "to allocate 13% from JumpStart's progressive payroll tax to support community-based organizations (CBOs) and their efforts to combat displacement, gentrification, and housing insecurity."
Mosqueda has also cited her ability to bring together diverse constituents and coalitions at city, county, and state levels to pass policy changes. She has helped to raise the statewide minimum wage, pass sick leave for gig drivers, and implement Apple Health health care for Washington youth, as well as increase funding for reproduction rights, abortion care, mental health support for students, and childcare centers.
King County District 8 covers South Seattle and South King County communities which include South Park, Georgetown, Chinatown-International District, White Center, Burien, and Tukwila.
"District 8 is my home," Mosqueda shared in the press release. "Our neighborhood is surrounded by working families, play areas and parks, nearby public beaches, bustling small businesses, bike lanes and trails, community centers and childcare, and multiple lines of transit — this is the kind of welcoming and accessible community I hope for all District 8 residents."
If Mosqueda wins the bid for King County Council, she could possibly be the first Latina to serve in that role.
Visit TeamTeresa.org for more details about her King County Council candidacy.
The Gathering Collective — a cocreated effort between King County and community members, which has been led by cochairs Dow Constantine, Abigail Echo-Hawk, and Dr. Ben Danielson — announced an investment in $25 million to Black and Indigenous communities. The grants will "advance equitable economic recovery and racial justice through a community-centered, co-creative grantmaking process," according to their website. It will also help "establish a longer-term, multi-generational vision for King County to become an anti-racist government."
Applications will be divided by four focus areas: General Grants, Capacity-Building Grants for Community-Service Providers, Small Business Grants, and Physical Infrastructure Grants. Focus communities include Black and Indigenous communities, including American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, American Samoan, and Pacific Islander populations.
Grant applications will be accepted through March 28, and more information can be found on the King County website.
Benaroya Hall invites teens 13—19 — individually and as a group — to submit artwork, performances, and presentations. Acceptable mediums include music, spoken word, poetry, theatre, acting, visual art, and digital art, and all selected artworks or performances will be presented at Benaroya Hall in a multiday, youth-led festival called "Dear Humanity." The festival will take place between April 16 and 21.
Selections will be made by a teen panel of representatives constituting of the organization's partners, and each selected artist will be given a stipend of $50. For group applications, each member of the application will be given $50, with a maximum of four people per group or $200 per application.
Submissions are due Feb. 22. More information can be found via a Google Form application. For questions about the application process, please email Seattle Arts Fellow Lorin Green at Lorin.Green@SeattleSymphony.org.
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