On June 21, candidates for Seattle City Council and King County Prosecuting Attorney gathered at Town Hall to participate in a forum to address immigrant and refugee issues in the Seattle community. The event was hosted by Hate Free Zone as part of the organization’s continuing effort to enfranchise the immigrant and refugee communities in the democratic process.

“Immigrants are hungry to participate in democracy,” said Shankar Narayan, Hate Free Zone’s policy director. “Part of that process is empowering voters.”

The forum was designed as an opportunity for candidates to clarify their positions on immigration issues. “We wanted to get candidates on record talking about immigrants specifically, and to make candidates accountable to the immigrant community,” said Narayan.

The event drew candidates from four of the five City Council positions that will be decided in an August primary, as well as two of the three candidates for King County Prosecutor. The candidates’ presence, according to Narayan, was indicative of a growing effort to capture immigrant and refugee voters.

The council candidates committed to increasing funding for translation services in city hall and for immigrant and refugee welcoming centers. Additionally, the candidates supported the creation of an advisory council that would be made up of members of the refugee and immigrant community and would advise city government on relevant issues. All candidates additionally pledged to take part in a local delegation to Washington, D.C. that would call for a moratorium on federal immigration raids until comprehensive immigration reform is passed.

Both Democratic prosecutor candidates—Keith Scully and Bill Sherman—committed to establishing a position of refugee and immigrant liaison in the prosecutor’s office, as well as to using the prosecutor’s office to push law enforcement agencies to be sensitive and respectful in their dealings with the immigrant and refugee community. King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, appointed to office in May after the death of longtime prosecutor Norm Maleng, did not attend.

The City Council candidates present were City Councilmember Jean Godden and her challenger Joseph Szwaja, as were City Councilmember David Della and his opponent Tim Burgess. Bruce Harrell, John Manning, Alfred Runte, and Venus Velazquez are all vying to replace City Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck who is not seeking reelection. City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who faces no opposition, was present while City Councilmember Sally Clark was not.

—Patrick Reis