2019 Seattle Council Races: Jason Williams In, Beto Yarce Out

SEATTLE, WA - One leading candidate in the 2019 Seattle City Council race dropped out on Tuesday, but one more jumped in.

Businessman Beto Yarce said in a statement Tuesday he would leave the District 3 race against incumbent Kshama Sawant to focus on his nonprofit, Ventures. Just a few hours later, Magnolia resident and Microsoft employee Jason Williams announced he would run in District 7 to replace Councilwoman Sally Bagshaw.

Williams, 31, grew up in Federal Way in a working-class home. He attended Yale and Seattle Pacific University, and has worked for consulting giant Accenture. During the height of the recession, he says he drove a forklift at Ikea.

Williams launched his campaign with talk of greater equality in Seattle, and making sure local students can graduate and get a living wage job here.

“We need to give everyone a fair chance at a good life in Seattle. I look at my daughter, and at this city that is so special, and I need to do everything I can to make it a City that all communities can be proud of,” he said in a press release.

But Williams doesn't like the current form of a major affordable housing project in District 7. The redevelopment of Army barracks at Fort Lawton in Magnolia would add over 200 units of housing - including apartments and owner-occupied homes - for low-income people and senior citizens, plus more parks space.

"I think the exact location is not ideal as there is a dearth of services and jobs in the area, and there is also limited transportation in and out. If we can solve for those things, I could be more in favor," he said Tuesday.

Magnolia residents have been fighting the plan for years. Neighborhood activist Elizabeth Campbell, who is also running in District 7 in 2019, sued the city over it, successfully delaying the project for years.

Williams entered the race with some notable endorsements: former Federal Way state senator Tracy Eide; former REI CEO Dennis Madsen; and former Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County CEO Marlena Sessions.

More than three dozen people, including incumbents, are running in the 2019 Seattle City Council election. With Williams' entry into the race, District 7 now has eight people running, the most of any district.

Image courtesy Jason Williams