Our New Mayor

Cary Moon and Jenny Durkan

Looking ahead to November 7, we already know three things about the winner in the race for mayor:

1) The winner will be a woman – Seattle’s first female mayor in nearly 90 years;

2) The new mayor will also be really progressive – or, REALLY progressive, and

3) She’ll most likely embrace the city’s “family-wage job base.”

You’ll have a chance to decide whether Jenny Durkan or Cary Moon might be the better mayor at an industrial community forum Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Georgetown Campus of South Seattle College.

The event will be held in the auditorium at Building C. Enter the campus at 6737 Corson Avenue South. Doors will open at 11:30. The program will run from Noon to 1:30 PM. A light lunch will be provided. Admission is free but if you plan to attend, please RSVP to the Manufacturing Industrial Council by emailing Becklynn Martin at becklynn@box2063.temp.domains, or call her at 206-762-2470.

An urban planner, Cary Moon comes from a family that ran an industrial business in the Midwest and she was an active advocate for an effort 10 years ago that helped tighten up industrial zoning in Seattle. A former US Attorney, Durkan once worked in Alaska as a cargo handler for Wein Air, and she might be the first mayoral candidate in Seattle history who can locate St. Mary’s, Alaska, on a map.

Both candidates lean to the left, with Moon leaning farther than Durkan does, and both say good things about the value of the Seattle industrial base – with good reason.

A recent survey by the city showed 106,000 industrial jobs are based in the city. If those jobs were somehow transformed into city residents, they would comprise the 6th largest city in the State of Washington, trailing Bellevue but ahead of Everett. And our City of Industry provides the types of jobs and prosperity most US cities crave.

But, as you might well know, Seattle’s industrial base also faces challenges. The list includes growing regulatory issues, homelessness, worsening traffic congestion, skyrocketing land values and rents, and a shortage of skilled workers.

The Oct. 19 event will provide the candidates and audience members with opportunities to exchange ideas about how these challenges might be addressed by our new Mayor.

Questions? Call the MIC at 206-762-2470.