Big night for Washington labor as votes come in

The Nov. 8 general election resulted in some great news for working people in Washington, reports the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), AFL-CIO.

In the critical 45th Legislative District race to determine which party controls Washington’s State Senate, labor-endorsed Democrat Manka Dhingra beat Republican Jinyoung Lee Englund, 55.4 percent to 44.6 percent in King County.

Meanwhile, union member Teresa Mosqueda, who is the Political and Strategic Campaign Director of the WSLC, outpolled  Jon Grant 61.5 percent to 35 percent to win a seat on the Seattle City Council. Mosqueda is a member of Office and Professional Employees Local 8, and  a graduate of the labor-backed Path to Power program that trains union members to run for political office.

In addition to Mosqueda, 10 other union members were elected to local government bodies throughout Washington. They included: Larry Brown, Machinists, Auburn City Council; Matthew Hepner, IBEW, East Wenatchee City Council; Clint Bryson, IBEW, Montesano City Council; Karl de Jong, IATSE and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Sedro-Woolley Council;  Anne Backstrom, Teamsters, Silver Lake Water & Sewer District Commission; Chris Roberts, United Auto Workers, Shoreline City Council; Chris Beale, United Food and Commercial Workers, Tacoma City Council;  Zak Idan Tukwila Education Association, Tukwila City Council;  Anna Trenouth, International Association of Fire Fighters, Whatcom Fire Commission; and Clark Gilman, Carpenters Local 129, Olympia City Council.

Meanwhile, in the Vancouver area the Southwest Washington Central Labor Council helped elect Anne McEnerny-Ogle as the first woman mayor of Vancouver. The labor council also successfully backed Alisha Topper for Vancouver City Council; Wendy Smith for Vancouver School Director, Position 3; and John Spencer for Port of Camas-Washougal commissioner, District 1. The labor council fell short in three races, including Kris Greene for Port of Vancouver commissioner; Megan Miles for  Evergreen School Board; and Damion Jiles for Ridgefield School Board.