Teresa is a progressive problem solver, capable of bringing diverse coalitions together to solve difficult problems facing the city. She leans heavily on her health and labor background to advocate for affordable housing, fair living wages, and healthcare policy.
Teresa is a thoughtful, highly intelligent and articulate spokesperson for labor and the city. She is credible and capable and while seemingly eager to engage productively with tech, her political support network is notable anti-business and vilifies the tech industry. She would have a substantial challenge appeasing those voices while engaging our industry as a partner in building a better city.
Teresa is the Political and Strategic Campaign Director of the Washington State Labor Council. She clearly wants the tech community to see her as more than a shill for labor. She continually noted her aptitude for and skill in coalition building from her time working in Olympia.
Teresa expressed a desire to use the lobbying authority of the city to help advocate state level solutions in Olympia, indicating that government revenue policies are best managed at the state level. Teresa also added that she is comfortable with a city like Seattle serving as a catalyst for the state on progressive policies. She is deeply concerned with the regressivity of our 80-year-old state tax code and supports the City Council’s efforts to push the state toward an income tax.
On the topics of affordability and housing, Teresa looks for creative solutions with a focus on building community density and focusing housing around transit centers. She wants a Seattle where everyone working in Seattle can afford to live. Teresa imagines a city that is not only affordable, but compassionate, continuing the policy of being a “welcoming city” for immigrants and climate refugees.
She has a long list of supporters and endorsements, mostly drawn from elected Democratic officials, labor groups, and community-based organisations.