Connor Nash

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Connor Nash

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 5, 2025

Education

High school

Bel Air High School

Bachelor's

Towson University, 2018

Graduate

University of Missouri, 2022

Personal

Birthplace

Bel Air, Md.

Profession

Economist

Contact

Campaign website

Connor Nash ran for election to the Seattle City Council to represent Position 9 At-Large in Washington. He lost in the primary on August 5, 2025.

Nash completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Connor Nash was born in Bel Air, Maryland. He graduated from Bel Air High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Towson University in 2018 and a graduate degree from the University of Missouri in 2022. His career experience includes working as an economist and opinion writer.

Elections

2025

See also: City elections in Seattle, Washington (2025)

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Seattle City Council Position 9 At-Large

Incumbent Sara Nelson and Dionne Foster are running in the general election for Seattle City Council Position 9 At-Large on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Sara Nelson (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Dionne Foster (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Seattle City Council Position 9 At-Large

Dionne Foster and incumbent Sara Nelson defeated Mia Jacobson and Connor Nash in the primary for Seattle City Council Position 9 At-Large on August 5, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Dionne Foster (Nonpartisan)	58.6	110,509
✔		Sara Nelson (Nonpartisan)	35.4	66,830
	Submit photo	Mia Jacobson (Nonpartisan)	3.1	5,834
		Connor Nash (Nonpartisan)	2.9	5,524

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 188,697
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Marc Sachnoff (Nonpartisan)

Endorsements

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Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Connor Nash completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nash's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Connor Nash was born in Bel Air, Maryland. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Towson University. In 2018, Nash moved to Seattle and worked at a sushi restaurant in Downtown Seattle. He then worked at the Washington State Attorney General's Office in the Consumer Protection Division, where he assisted consumers in combating unfair and deceptive business practices. He then worked at the Washington State Department of Health, in the public records unit, while earning his Master's in Public Affairs from the University of Missouri. Connor then worked at the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics as an Economist before leaving in April 2025 due to the Trump Administration's policies.

In his free time, Connor writes opinion pieces about Seattle politics and Seattle’s Little Saigon neighborhood. He has been published in the Emerald City Journal, South Seattle Emerald, and the International Examiner. Connor is also a Wikipedia editor, with his major project being the creation of pages for current and past Seattle City Council members.

Connor lives in the Little Saigon neighborhood with his cat, Rocco.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Seattle is facing a crisis of trust due to the deeply unpopular legislation passed by this council. Social services are cut to increase the police budget. Laws are passed to criminalize our unhoused population with no plans on how to help. Even our ethics laws were under attack, and wasn’t to help you. When you go to the council chambers to vocally oppose these terrible laws, you are dismissed and ignored. I will bring trust, accountability, and transparency back to the city council by listening to constituents’ wants and needs and delivering through popular legislation.
• My major legislative goal is to create a Green New Deal jobs program. Our environment and economy are under attack by the Trump administration, and we need a progressive plan. The Green New Deal jobs program will utilize JumpStart funds to create well-paying, union jobs that clean our environment, not just in Downtown. Restoration projects help our community while supporting our economy.
• I will repeal the useless and deeply unpopular Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) and Stay Out of Areas of Prostitution (SOAP) zones. These zones are empty virtue signaling and have done nothing to curb drug dealing or sex trafficking in these areas. We need public safety that focuses on addressing the root causes of crime, not creating a futile war on drugs. We need to increase funding for addiction and mental health services so people can get the help they need. We need to increase funding for public defenders to address the backlog in the criminal justice and mental health systems. We need a robust drug court to hold people and providers accountable. More money to SPD will not solve our problems.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am most passionate about bringing the community into our public policy process. Effective policy cannot be created if the public is not involved in the process from start to finish. We have seen from this city council that the community is not involved in crafting legislation, and deeply unpopular legislation is created. As a legislator, my primary focus is to represent what my community wants, not what I personally want.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Politically, I look up to Jimmy Carter, Bernie Sanders, and Alexis Mercedes Rinck. All of these elected leaders had strong principles and center(ed) their political careers on working people and those who are most vulnerable.

Culturally, I look up to Jessica Wilde because she is one of the nicest drag queens I have ever met. I also look up to Hasan Piker because he genuinely wants to inform people (mainly men) on how to have positive masculinity while also being progressive. I feel more informed as a person by watching his streams.

I also look up to my mom because she is the strongest woman that I know, and I would not be here today without her.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Death and Life of Great American Cities - Jane Jacobs (Every urban planner needs to read this book. It teaches not only how to create an urbanist place, but also how to do it for the benefit of people.)

Walkable City - Jeff Speck (Every city needs to be walkable, and this book is the blueprint on how to do that.)

Happy City - Charles Montgomery (Cars make people unhappy. We need to have people live near where they work and enjoy things.)

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City - Matthew Desmond (This book is eye-opening on how poverty is a trap that people can sometimes never get out of. Housing policy in America is terrible, and this book shines a harsh spotlight on it.)

The Unfinished Presidency - Douglass Brinkley (Carter is my favorite president, and his post-presidency was the most transformative of any president.)

Paris is Burning (1990) (The best movie about the intersectionality about race and Queer/Trans identity)

Legend of Korra - (Season 1 showed how fascism rises and takes over, and how to stop it. Every political science class should study this season. Also showed the tension between cultural heritage vs. capitalism, and the dangers of totalitarianism.)

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The most essential quality for an elected leader is to admit when they are wrong, do not know something, or need additional information. Essentially, they need humility. I do not know everything, and there will be times when I am wrong. And that's okay, as long as I course-correct. When I am better informed, it means I can make more informed decisions and policies.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibility for a Seattle City Council member is to represent the people of Seattle and propose legislation that they want. This means that council members must actively listen to their constituents and then create legislation based on what they hear. Our current council has dismissed and ignored constituents, shut down public comment, and rarely holds office hours. How can a legislator know what the people want if they never listen to the people?

This council takes offense at the negative criticisms they hear from constituents, but that is because they are passing unpopular legislation that Seattle does not want. I will ensure that a majority of Seattleites approve of my legislation, and if people vocally oppose it, I won’t be offended. Criticism of my legislation will be an opportunity to improve it or have a conversation with people about it.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was as a life skills coach for children on the autism spectrum. I had this job for about six months before taking a job at McDonald's.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Step by Step (Junior Vasquez Tribal X Beasts) - Whitney Houston

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

My anxiety has been the biggest struggle in my life, which at times has led to me being deeply depressed. A former manager once told me, “Connor, you could figure out a way to worry about anything,” which I agreed with. Sometimes my anxiety has gotten so bad that I developed agorophobia, which is the extreme or irrational fear of entering open or crowded places, of leaving one's own home, or of being in places from which escape is difficult. That time in my life was the loneliest I have ever been, but I am happy to say that I have overcome it.

I have learned how not to let my anxiety overtake my life, and how to harness it into something positive.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

There can be benefits to having previous public office experience, as well as benefits to being new to politics. What matters is that elected leaders understand the responsibilities of their office and represent their constituents effectively. Although I have no prior public office experience, I have gained knowledge through my various degrees, books, and other media, and I would continue to learn from council staff, lawyers, and others.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

We need to have radical accountability and transparency among our elected leaders. It was shameful that the Seattle City Council sought to change the ethics laws to allow council members to vote on legislation that would have a direct financial impact on them. One council member wanted to find the “middle ground” and “compromise” on the ethics law change, but there is no middle ground on ethics. A legislator is either ethical or they are not.

We need to have strong ethics laws, financial disclosure requirements, and transparent public records.

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Other survey responses

Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Nash completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.

• VoteWA Profile

See also

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Candidate

Seattle City Council Position 9 At-Large

Website