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Seattle Subway 2025 Primary Election Endorsements

Summary

King County Executive Claudia Balducci

For decades, Claudia has been one of our region’s most dedicated and effective champions for public transit. From her time as mayor of Bellevue, where she fought to bring light rail to the Eastside, to her leadership roles on the King County Council and the Sound Transit Board, Claudia has been at the forefront of every major transit victory in the region for years. Her deep institutional knowledge and relentless advocacy make her the clear choice to lead King County as Executive toward a more connected, sustainable, and mobile future.

While her opponent, Girmay Zahilay, is a promising progressive voice, his record on delivering complex, regional transportation projects simply cannot compare to Claudia’s decades of dedicated, effective leadership. And unlike Girmay, Claudia is a regular transit rider!  So, like, better luck next time, Girmay.

She was the driving force behind the early opening of the Link 2 Line on the Eastside, bringing the benefits of light rail to communities years ahead of schedule. As Chair of the Sound Transit System Expansion Committee, she has provided critical oversight for the delivery of ST3, the largest transit expansion in the nation. Beyond light rail, Claudia has championed the 42-mile Eastrail regional trail, creating a vital corridor for active transportation, and successfully advocated for making transit free for all riders 18 and under. These are not just policy positions; they are transformative projects that have reshaped our region for the better, and they happened because of Claudia’s leadership.

Looking forward, Claudia’s vision clearly aligns with the future Seattle Subway is fighting for. She understands that transit is the key to affordable housing, combatting climate change, and expanding economic opportunity. Her unwavering commitment to transit-oriented development will ensure we build vibrant, walkable communities around our historic investments in light rail. Furthermore, her push to adopt a “Safe System” approach to road safety demonstrates a commitment to protecting all users of our transportation network, especially the most vulnerable. We need an Executive who not only believes in transit but knows how to deliver it. That leader is Claudia Balducci.

Mayor Katie Wilson

Seattle Subway is proud to enthusiastically endorse Katie Wilson for Mayor of Seattle. 

We would’ve started out with some retread joke about Bruce Harrell, guns, and parking spots from hell, but we didn’t want to bury the lead: we’re not just against Bruce Harrell, we’re very much for Katie Wilson.

It’s pretty easy to see why we’re endorsing her: Katie is not just a candidate who supports transit; she is a proven champion who has dedicated her career to fighting for a more mobile and equitable city. As a co-founder and the long-time leader of the Transit Riders Union, she has been on the front lines, building powerful coalitions and winning transformative victories for our communities. From her instrumental role in creating the ORCA LIFT low-income fare program to her unwavering advocacy for funding that keeps our buses running, Katie has a track record of turning progressive transit ideas into reality. 

In an era of escalating climate and affordability crises, Seattle cannot afford four more years of flaccid, status-quo leadership on transportation. Big Business Bruce Harrell, as Katie calls him, has overseen a city whose priorities involve cancelling speed cushions in front of wealthy donors’ homes; awkward photo ops for a minor upgrade to an important bus line; and relocating Link stations because Amazon asked nicely.

While Harrell represents more of the same in terms of corporate interests and uninspired leadership (if you can call it ‘leadership’), Katie brings something sorely lacking from our political discussion as it relates to transit: a daily rider’s perspective. 

Katie understands that to tackle our city’s congestion and climate challenges, we must invest in frequent, reliable, and connected public transit. Her vision includes accelerating the expansion of Link, ensuring the Seattle Streetcar network grows and thrives, and dramatically improving the speed and reliability of our bus service. While Mayor Harrell’s administration has often yielded to the interests of the wealthy and delayed critical projects, Katie’s commitment to reducing car dependency is a core principle backed by a comprehensive plan to create safe, walkable, and bikeable communities connected by high-quality transit. We are confident that as mayor, she will be a relentless advocate for the funding and political will necessary to build out a system that serves every neighborhood.

Beyond the tracks and bus lanes, Katie’s leadership is distinguished by her profound understanding that mobility is inextricably linked to affordability and social justice. Her platform rightly connects robust public transit to the creation of an affordable, livable Seattle where families can thrive without the burden of car ownership. She is a champion for transit-oriented development that puts people at the heart of our neighborhoods. 

We need a mayor who sees transit not as an isolated system or some handout for the working class, but as the backbone of a more equitable, sustainable, and vibrant city. Katie Wilson is that mayor, and we encourage you to vote with us, for her.

D8 Alexis Mercedes Rinck

There honestly isn’t much of a contest here, with no serious challengers to City Council’s most-recently-elected member having emerged in 2025.  Alexis earned our endorsement in last year’s special election to serve out the final year of the citywide Seat 8 when her opponent was the well-funded, big-business-backed incumbent Tanya Woo.

As the story behind this was a bit convoluted, here’s a brief reminder.  In 2023, Tanya Woo ran for the District 2 seat, which spans the Chinatown/International District and the southeastern portion of the city.  Woo lost that race to incumbent Tammy Morales.  In the same election, Teresa Mosqueda, who had been the city councilmember in citywide Seat 8, was elected to King County Council.  When the city council seat was vacated, city council subsequently appointed Tanya Woo (yes, the same Tanya Woo) to fill Seat 8 until a special election could be held.  But the official term for Seat 8 ran from 2021-2025, so when Rinck walloped Woo in 2024’s special election, her position was only for one year.  

So here we are again, just one year later.  Despite facing headwinds from her city council colleagues at every turn, Alexis has led with a vision with housing, transportation, and livability.  Check out our endorsement of her from last year for more.

D9 Dionne Foster

Dionne is the only candidate we’ve endorsed who admits to using a car as her primary transportation. But that doesn’t mean she’s happy about it.  She wants everyone to have a wealth of high-quality transportation options.

This race presents a clear choice between a forward-thinking, equity-focused leader and an incumbent, Sara Nelson, whose record reflects a conservative ethos, aggressive disdain for her constituents, and lack of basic honesty that have failed to meet the urgency of our city’s needs on any level.

So in other words, we’re going with Dionne, and you should too. 

Dionne brings a wealth of experience from her work as a Senior Policy Advisor at the City of Seattle, where she supported transportation electrification and clean energy infrastructure. Her career has been dedicated to improving outcomes for all of Seattle’s residents, and she understands that a functional, equitable transit system is fundamental to that mission.

Dionne’s platform is a comprehensive vision for a system that is reliable, affordable, and safe, standing in contrast to the incumbent’s often hesitant stance on bold transit investments. While Councilmember Nelson has led with budget austerity and business interests opposed to replacing parking with bus and bike lanes, Dionne advocates for the crucial investments needed to ensure everyone has a safe connection from their home to transit. We are confident she will be a strong, reliable advocate for the needs of our city’s transit riders today and into the future.

The other two contenders in this race are worth mentioning because, although they are quite different from each other, we hope to see them both again.  Connor Nash is a nerd for progressive revenue, affordable housing, and public transit.  He leads with “fare-free transit for all”, which is a bold move that didn’t quite land with us.  Meanwhile, we’re not entirely sure whether Mia Jacobson is contending this race in earnest or as some sort of roleplay.  Either way, watching her speak is fantastic entertainment and we hope she returns to bring more of her style of barely-sensical levity to future elections.

D2 No Endorsement

Unfortunately, this year’s race for Seattle’s City Council District 2 has no clear champion for trains.  Each candidate says some good things but none of them truly aligns with our vision and priorities.  But we are open to being convinced before the general election!