The race for the state House seat representing Position 1 in Washington's 37th Legislative District saw one of the closest primary results in the state. It reflected a national trend of voters supporting progressive newcomers over relatively moderate incumbents.
Sharon Tomiko Santos, first elected in 1998, is the longest-serving member of the state House. The current chair of the House Education Committee, she has based her current campaign on lessons from civil rights struggles to shape a better future for South Seattle. "I'm running because I am rooted here, and I want those other people who helped build those communities to not face displacement," said Tomiko Santos. "We welcome newcomers, [but] not at the expense of our core values."
Her opponent, first-time candidate Kelabe Tewolde, is an educator at Rainier Scholars, a nonprofit college preparatory program. He was raised by a single mother and is running because he sees that the struggles his students experience are similar to the struggles he experienced when growing up. "Families have to move because of the high cost of living … [or] dealing with the ripples of gun violence … [or] the education system failing our kids," said Tewolde. "These are the things I want to take on in Olympia."
In August, Tewolde narrowly won the primary race with 51.5% of the vote to Tomiko Santos' 47.8%. Ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, the candidates spoke with the Emerald: Tomiko Santos at the Panama Hotel and Tea House and Tewolde at Onda Origins Cafe. This is what the candidates had to say about cellphone bans in schools, payday loans, public safety, and more.
One education policy area where they diverge is school cellphone bans, which will be under consideration next year. Gov. Bob Ferguson plans to push for legislation next session to ban smartphones and smartwatches in all K–12 schools from bell to bell.
Tewolde supports a cellphone ban, citing his experience at Rainier Scholars, which banned phones during its sessions. Before the phone ban, "the kids weren't really connecting with each other, [and] they were just hunched over in their little cliques," said Tewolde. But after the ban, "the kids were joking around, talking, making bonds, and connecting. … And I think that social aspect was really great."
Tewolde wants to see a statewide ban, not just so students can connect, but so parents can be more involved in schools, instead of "having to helicopter and hover over their kid again."
Tomiko Santos, who hasn't taught youth, does not support a statewide cellphone ban in schools. Instead, she advocates for local school districts to make their own decisions.
"In order to have an effective [cellphone] ban, you need to have your local school community involved, which includes students, parents, classroom teachers, and the administrators," said Tomiko Santos. "Once you've done that, why do you need to have a statewide law?"
But Tomiko Santos also does not believe cellphone bans are "necessarily very effective in increasing student performance." She cited a recent New York Times article that said cellphone bans had a "close to zero" effect on test scores and did not improve attendance or perceptions of online bullying.
Another topic that revealed a schism between Tewolde and Tomiko Santos centered on payday loans. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, there is no formal definition of a payday loan, but it's usually a short-term, high-interest loan that is typically due on your next payday.
Last session, Tomiko Santos voted in committee in favor of a bill that would have raised the maximum payday loan amount from $700 to $1,200. The bill ultimately died during the session, but Tomiko Santos said that it was a "cost-of-living increase" for people reliant on payday loans.
In general, Tomiko Santos supports payday loans because people who don't have access to credit use them for emergencies, where "you need an influx of cash that you don't actually have right now." She also views critiques of payday loans as "privileged" thinking from many "white, educated, middle-class folks" trying to help people perceived as "poor [and] uneducated, who don't know any better."
Tomiko Santos said her vote for a different bill in 2007 helped establish "one of the most restrictive payday loan regulatory frameworks in the nation." The bill, which passed, further restricted payday lenders and strengthened protections against fraud.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures and CNBC, some states have less restrictive payday loan laws, but nearly half of U.S. states have lower interest rates than Washington state.
But Tewolde points to Tomiko Santos' vote to increase payday loan amounts as "irresponsible" and "going away from the values of the most diverse district in the state." Tewolde is critical of payday loans, saying they are "really dangerous because it puts people in cycles of poverty."
According to a 2016 fact sheet from The Pew Charitable Trusts, most payday loan borrowers paid more in fees than they originally borrowed, and the Consumer Protection Bureau found that 80% of payday loans were taken out within two weeks of repayment of a previous payday loan.
On public safety, like many candidates running in South Seattle, Tewolde and Tomiko Santos want greater investments in communities to reduce crime. But the candidates are split on what accountability regarding public safety looks like.
Tewolde said he would not support a bill proposed by state Rep. David Hackney (D-Renton), which would mandate that juveniles receive law enforcement intervention after committing two gun offenses instead of four. "When a kid interacts with the justice system … their likelihood of getting stuck in the cycle amplifies," said Tewolde. "We need to be focusing our efforts on making sure that we are preventing that kid from ever getting in that space."
When it comes to accountability, Tewolde thinks that, alongside restorative justice and diversion, there should also be a focus on victims of crimes and their families. "For victims, I totally understand why they would see all this money going towards helping rehabilitate that perpetrator and see that as unfair," said Tewolde. "[Especially] if there's not also addressing the harm that was done to the victim."
Tomiko Santos said she would support Hackney's bill to reduce the number of gun offenses for youth, but with more support for the youth offender. "I would really want to see [the bill] paired with alternatives to incarceration," said Tomiko Santos. "There has to be a heavy dose of counseling and mentorship, so that once you have one [offense], you don't get to two or three."
For Tomiko Santos, the increase in violent crimes in South Seattle is tied to governments not investing in the region. "The Chinatown-International District has one of the highest [rates] of violent crime because of the disinvestments by the city, county, and state," she said. And because of the surge in violent crime, people have to "teach our elders self-defense," which Tomiko Santos sees as an "indictment" of the current system.
In her previous 14 elections, Tomiko Santos has either run unopposed or won by large double-digit margins. But this reelection bid was the first time that she came in second.
Tomiko Santos blamed her "poor showing in the primary" on gentrification and displacement. "It's not just about people moving in who don't know me … [but also] the displacement of people who do know me," said Tomiko Santos.
Tomiko Santos admits that she is "truly famously technophobic," and door knocking is more difficult these days because newly constructed apartment buildings are often locked. How will she meet voters who are new to the area and hard to reach through traditional methods? "We are doing something different for me, [which] is we're going on television. So I'm kind of excited about that," said Tomiko Santos.
Tomiko Santos sees that "communities are changing" but hopes that voters, regardless of how long they've lived in the district, see that her "priorities are shaped and honed by the lessons of communities who faced deep struggles." Tomiko Santos said she is an "independent" voice in the Legislature, one who is an "experienced warrior."
But Tewolde said that when voters learned about Tomiko Santos' tenure, it made them want to vote for someone new. "The overwhelming answer when I talk to people at the door is that when they heard how long my opponent has been in office, it was shocking to them," said Tewolde. "And it didn't matter their age. … They'd be like, 'That is too long for someone to hold office.'"
Tewolde said that he was "underestimated" in the primary, which he said was "honestly to my benefit, because it made me work harder." Overall, Tewolde thinks "the district [is] ready for change," and his "grassroots campaign" will deliver.
Ballots for the general election have been mailed. To ensure all votes are counted, officials encourage voters to return ballots to a local drop box by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, Washington Bus and the Emerald will host "Elections Unfiltered," where South End candidates will have five uninterrupted minutes to tell voters what they think. The free event will be held at Third Place Teas, 719 S. Fourth St., in Renton. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
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