Seattle District 7 candidate ratings

District 7 includes downtown, Queen Anne, and Magnolia. Though there's higher population density in downtown and Belltown, the more suburban enclaves tend to punch above their weight in off-year elections. This may explain why many candidates in this district appear skeptical of density and in favor of an expensive Magnolia Bridge replacement.

ExcellentMichael George

Michael George is a professional transportation and housing planner who has been involved in planning Link, RapidRide, and every ST TOD project. He is the only D7 candidate who supports congestion pricing, red light cameras, and the streetcar. However, like most candidates he supports replacing the Magnolia Bridge and is less than full-throated in supporting duplexes and triplexes in single-family zones.

Good

Naveed Jamali's transportation platform reads almost like an STB blog post (except for the opposition to red light cams). He upbraids the City on taking away funding for pedestrian and bike infrastructure improvements. While he has a great platform and an admirable record of military service, we'd like to see a longer record in local politics or policy chops on local issues.

Fair

Jason Williams supports congestion pricing and the Center City Connector, but not traffic enforcement cameras. He has some good ideas, but is relatively inexperienced in the political sphere.

Former Interim Police Chief Jim Pugel is in favor of "strategic" upzones, whatever that means. He is generally in favor of increasing transit and reducing car traffic. He has little to say on bikes ROW and the climate crisis. For a former peace officer concerned about public safety, he has surprisingly little to say about Vision Zero.

Andrew Lewis has done his homework on plans for public affordable housing. His transportation plan champions a western/tunnel approach for Ballard Link, connector bus routes to RapidRide and eventually Link, and an equivalent replacement of the Magnolia Bridge. Like his former employer Nick Licata, Lewis is also an opponent of the Center City Connector. Missing from his platform are acknowledgements of bikes as a mode and the climate crisis.

You have to dig a little, but James Donaldson says good things about the importance of bike and pedestrian amenities when rebuilding bridges (e.g. the Magnolia Bridge). Missing: housing production and climate action plans.

Gene Burrus: "When it comes to housing affordability, you cannot repeal basic laws of supply and demand." Ah, yes. But then his transportation platform is a screed against taking away traffic lanes in general and the 2nd Ave PBL in particular.

Poor

Isabelle Kerner, Daniela Lipscomb-Eng, and Don Harper are all pro-car, against multifamily housing, or some combination of the two.

The Seattle Transit Blog Editorial Board currently consists of Martin Duke, Frank Chiachiere, and Brent White.