Seattle Union Leader Joins Packed Race for City Council's District 2 Seat

by Maya Tizon

South Seattle's Jamie Fackler has thrown his hat in the ring for Seattle City Council District 2, running on a platform focused on affordable housing, road safety, and mental health.

Fackler, a city building inspector and union steward, is the fourth candidate to enter the race, along with real estate investor Takayo Ederer, transportation policy and operations manager Adonis Ducksworth, and assistant city attorney Eddie Lin. The election will take place in November, following the resignation of former City Councilmember Tammy Morales in January.

Morales held the seat for five years. She endorsed Fackler after he announced his campaign last week. 

The current Council filled the vacancy with former U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Solomon, whose term runs through the rest of the year.

Spending most of his career in residential construction, Fackler, 52, did not become a unionized employee until he began working for the City of Seattle a decade ago. Since then, Fackler says he has stood up for city workers on issues such as minor workplace grievances and discrimination.

His work as a union steward made him realize organizing is what he's meant to do, Fackler said in an interview Wednesday. 

"The idea of standing up for people, organizing to drive change in the workplace and working together with colleagues on stuff bigger than ourselves … building that kind of collective power is really powerful," Fackler said. "It's such a huge thing that can drive change in this world."

Fackler has lived in D2 with his wife and children for about 25 years. He envisions a Seattle that has invested in affordable housing, safer streets for pedestrians, and comprehensive care for those who struggle with addiction.

As a 37th Legislative District board member, Fackler strongly advocated for Proposition 1A, a measure passed in February that will allocate $50 million a year to build housing for low-income and middle-income residents. The candidate criticized the current Council for "slow-walking" its funding, according to his campaign site. 

"We need to remove the red tape and provide full support for union built affordable housing that our community desperately needs," Fackler wrote on his campaign website. "Prop 1A is a critical step, and we must ensure its full implementation and support the developer who is committed to this vital work."

Fackler also aims for a different approach to addressing public drug use, particularly on 12th Avenue and Jackson Street. Fackler believes taxpayer money spent on encampment sweeps in this area could instead go toward treatment and housing for homeless folks. 

In 2023, Seattle spent an estimated $27 million on encampment sweeps, Real Change reported. 

His final goal is to address road safety along Martin Luther King Jr. Way, a light-rail stretch that has been the site of several deaths and hundreds of injuries since 2009, The Seattle Times reported in 2022. 

"South Seattle needs an organizer who's going to be able to pull people together, and fight for shared values and fight to improve this place," Fackler said. 

Fackler has not filed any campaign contributions as of April 17, according to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission. Lin leads in donations at $46,545, with Ducksworth at $27,913 and Ederer at $26,766.