M. Lorena González

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M. Lorena Gonzalez

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Seattle City Council Position 9 At-Large

Successor: Sara Nelson

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Elections and appointments

Last election

November 2, 2021

Education

Bachelor's

Washington State University

Law

Seattle University

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

M. Lorena Gonzalez was a member of the Seattle City Council in Washington, representing Position 9 At-Large. She assumed office in 2016. She left office on December 31, 2021.

Gonzalez ran for election for Mayor of Seattle in Washington. She lost in the general election on November 2, 2021.

Biography

González graduated from Washington State University and received a J.D. from Seattle University. She was a partner at Schroeter Goldmark & Bender. González was a founding member of the National Advisory Committee for the Latino Victory Project and served as co-chair of Casa Latina's Capital Campaign. In 2020, members of the Seattle City Council elected her to serve as council president.

Elections

2021

See also: Mayoral election in Seattle, Washington (2021)

General election

General election for Mayor of Seattle

Bruce Harrell defeated M. Lorena Gonzalez in the general election for Mayor of Seattle on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bruce Harrell (Nonpartisan)	58.6	155,294
		M. Lorena Gonzalez (Nonpartisan)	41.2	109,132
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	777

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 265,203
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Seattle

The following candidates ran in the primary for Mayor of Seattle on August 3, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bruce Harrell (Nonpartisan)	34.0	69,612
✔		M. Lorena Gonzalez (Nonpartisan)	32.1	65,750
		Colleen Echohawk (Nonpartisan)	10.3	21,042
		Jessyn Farrell (Nonpartisan)	7.3	14,931
	Submit photo	Arthur Langlie (Nonpartisan)	5.6	11,372
		Casey Sixkiller (Nonpartisan)	3.4	6,918
		Andrew Grant Houston (Nonpartisan)	2.7	5,485
	Submit photo	James Donaldson (Nonpartisan)	1.6	3,219
	Submit photo	Lance Randall (Nonpartisan)	1.4	2,804
		Clinton Bliss (Nonpartisan)	0.8	1,618
	Submit photo	Omari Tahir-Garrett (Nonpartisan)	0.2	391
	Submit photo	Bobby Tucker (Nonpartisan)	0.2	377
		Henry Dennison (Nonpartisan)	0.2	347
		Stan Lippmann (Nonpartisan)	0.2	323
		Don Rivers (Nonpartisan)	0.1	189
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	386

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 204,764
= 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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2020

See also: Washington Attorney General election, 2020

General election

General election for Attorney General of Washington

Incumbent Bob Ferguson defeated Matt Larkin in the general election for Attorney General of Washington on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Ferguson (D)	56.4	2,226,418
		Matt Larkin (R)	43.5	1,714,927
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	3,968

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,945,313
= 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 Attorney General of Washington

Incumbent Bob Ferguson and Matt Larkin defeated Brett Rogers and Mike Vaska in the primary for Attorney General of Washington on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Ferguson (D)	55.8	1,356,225
✔		Matt Larkin (R)	23.7	575,470
		Brett Rogers (R)	12.2	296,843
		Mike Vaska (R)	8.2	199,826
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	2,372

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,430,736
= 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

• Noah Purcell (D)
• M. Lorena Gonzalez (D)

2017

See also: Municipal elections in Seattle, Washington (2017)

Seattle held general elections for mayor, city attorney, and two at-large seats on the city council on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on August 1, 2017. The top two vote recipients after the final count of the primary vote advanced to the general election. The filing deadline for this election was May 19, 2017. Incumbent M. Lorena González defeated Pat Murakami in the general election for the Position 9 seat on the Seattle City Council.

Seattle City Council, Position 9 General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
M. Lorena González Incumbent	70.90%	138,824
Pat Murakami	29.10%	56,991
Total Votes		195,815
Source: King County, "November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed November 28, 2017

The following candidates ran in the primary election for the Position 9 seat on the Seattle City Council.

Seattle City Council, Position 9 Primary Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
M. Lorena González Incumbent	64.17%	108,602
Pat Murakami	19.71%	33,349
David Preston	8.57%	14,503
Pauly Giuglianotti	2.23%	3,782
Eric Smiley	1.81%	3,069
Ian Affleck-Asch	1.53%	2,585
Ty Pethe	1.52%	2,574
Write-in votes	0.45%	768
Total Votes		169,232
Source: King County, "2017 election results," accessed August 15, 2017

General election

The following table displays group endorsements issued in Seattle's 2017 general election. Click [show] on the box below to view endorsements.

Candidate endorsements
Endorser	Mayor	Position 8	Position 9	City attorney
Alliance for Gun Responsibility Victory Fund	Jenny Durkan	N/A	M. Lorena González (i)	Pete Holmes (i)
Democracy for America	Cary Moon	N/A	N/A	N/A
Equal Rights Washington	Jenny Durkan	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	Pete Holmes (i)
King County Democrats	Cary Moon	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	Pete Holmes (i)
M.L. King County Labor Council	Jenny Durkan	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	N/A
Seattle Education Association	Cary Moon	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	N/A
Seattle Weekly	Cary Moon	Jon Grant	M. Lorena González (i)	Pete Holmes (i)
SEIU 6	Cary Moon	N/A	N/A	N/A
SEIU 925	Cary Moon	N/A	N/A	N/A
SEIU 1199NW	Jenny Durkan	N/A	N/A	N/A
Teamsters Joint Council No. 28	Jenny Durkan	N/A	N/A	N/A
The Seattle Times	Jenny Durkan	N/A	Pat Murakami	Scott Lindsay
The Stranger	Cary Moon	Jon Grant	M. Lorena González (i)	Pete Holmes (i)
UFCW 21	Cary Moon	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unite Here Local 8	Cary Moon	N/A	N/A	N/A
Washington State Council of County and City Employees	Jenny Durkan	N/A	N/A	N/A

Primary election

The following table displays group endorsements issued in Seattle's 2017 primary election. Click [show] on the box below to view endorsements.

Candidate endorsements
Endorser	Mayor	Position 8	Position 9	City attorney
Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy (CASE)	Jenny Durkan	Sara Nelson	M. Lorena González (i)	N/A
M.L. King County Labor Council	Jessyn Farrell Bob Hasegawa	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	N/A
Metropolitan Democratic Club of Seattle	Bob Hasegawa	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	Pete Holmes (i)
Seattle Democratic Socialists of America	Nikkita Oliver	Jon Grant	N/A	N/A
Seattle Education Association	Bob Hasegawa Nikkita Oliver	Teresa Mosqueda Sheley Secrest	M. Lorena González (i)	N/A
Seattle Hospitality for Progress	Jenny Durkan	Sara Nelson	N/A	Scott Lindsay
Seattle Subway	Cary Moon	Teresa Mosqueda	N/A	N/A
The Seattle Times	Jenny Durkan	Sara Nelson	Pat Murakami	N/A
SEIU 775	Jenny Durkan	Teresa Mosqueda	N/A	N/A
Sierra Club PAC Washington State	Mike McGinn	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	N/A
Socialist Alternative Party	Nikkita Oliver	Jon Grant	N/A	N/A
The Stranger	Cary Moon	Jon Grant	M. Lorena González (i)	N/A
The Urbanist	Cary Moon	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	N/A
UFCW 21	Jessyn Farrell	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	Pete Holmes (i)
Washington Conservation Voters	N/A	Teresa Mosqueda Sara Nelson	M. Lorena González (i)	N/A
32nd District Democrats	Bob Hasegawa Mike McGinn Cary Moon	Teresa Mosqueda Sheley Secrest Hisam Goueli	Pat Murakami	Pete Holmes (i)
36th District Democrats	N/A	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	Pete Holmes (i)
37th District Democrats	Bob Hasegawa	Sheley Secrest Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	Pete Holmes (i)
43rd District Democrats	Jessyn Farrell	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	Pete Holmes (i)
46th District Democrats	Jessyn Farrell Bob Hasegawa	Teresa Mosqueda	M. Lorena González (i)	Pete Holmes (i)

2015

See also: Seattle, Washington municipal elections, 2015

The city of Seattle, Washington, held elections for city council on November 3, 2015. A primary took place on August 4, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was May 15, 2015. All nine council seats were up for election. In the Position 9 race, Bill Bradburd and M. Lorena González advanced past Alon Bassok, Omari Tahir-Garrett, Thomas Tobin and Alex Tsimerman in the primary election on August 4, 2015. González defeated Bradburd in the general election.

Seattle City Council Position 9, General election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
M. Lorena González	78.1%	128,588
Bill Bradburd	21.4%	35,293
Write-in votes	0.51%	844
Total Votes		164,725
Source: King County, Washington, "City of Seattle Council Position No. 9", accessed November 3, 2015.

Seattle City Council Position 9 Primary Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
M. Lorena González	65%	77,839
Bill Bradburd	14.9%	17,895
Alon Bassok	9.1%	10,946
Thomas Tobin	7.8%	9,361
Omari Tahir-Garrett	1.5%	1,854
Alex Tsimerman	1.2%	1,470
Write-in	0.3%	344
Total Votes		117,895
Source: King County Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed August 12, 2015

Endorsements

In 2015, González's endorsements included the following:

• King County Executive Dow Constantine
• King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski
• King County Councilmember Joe McDermott
• King County Councilmember Larry Gossett
• Seattle Mayor Ed Murray
• Seattle City Council President Tim Burgess
• Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell
• Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
• Seattle City Councilmember John Okamoto
• Former Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark
• Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes
• State Senator Pramila Jayapal (D-37th LD)
• State Senator Jamie Pedersen (D-43rd LD)
• Speaker of the House Rep. Frank Chopp (D-43rd LD)
• State Rep. Brady Walkinshaw (D-43rd LD)
• State Rep. Zack Hudgins (D-11th LD)
• Retired State Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney (D-46th LD)
• Lake Forest Park City Councilmember Hilda Thompson
• King County Democrats
• King County Young Democrats
• 37th District Democrats
• 36th District Democrats
• 34th District Democrats
• 32nd District Democrats
• 11th District Democrats
• Cascade Bicycle Club
• Sierra Club
• National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington
• NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
• Latino Political Action Committee of Washington
• Latino Victory Project
• OneAmerica Votes
• Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy
• Associated General Contractors
• Democracy for America
• Equal Rights Washington
• Seattle Metropolitan Elections Committee
• IBEW Local 77
• PTE Local 17
• M.L. King County Labor Council- AFL-CIO
• Seattle Fire Fighters Guild Local 27
• Seattle Police Officer’s Guild
• UFCW 21
• AFT Seattle Local 1789
• SEIU Local 6
• SEIU Local 925
• SEIU Healthcare Local1199NW
• SEIU Local 775
• ATU Local 587
• Laborers 242
• Central Puget Sound Carpenters Union Local 30
• Teamsters Local 117
• The Urbanist
• The Seattle Times
• The Stranger

Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

M. Lorena Gonzalez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

González's campaign website stated the following themes.

“	Solving Homelessness All Hands on Deck to Solve Homelessness We Must Act Urgently to Solve This Crisis Every day in Seattle we see painful evidence that homelessness is an unacceptable crisis affecting all who live, work, and visit here, most especially our neighbors living outside. This demands effective, consistent action to address the daily situation and make a healthier future where every Seattle resident has a home. We must increase housing and services that are proven to work and ensure city policies are effective and grounded in our shared humanity. As your next Mayor, I ask: what kind of a city do we want to build for our children? As a parent, I want to build a city for my daughter and all children that’s just and equitable, where all people have homes. We want to be a Seattle where all residents live in safety and with dignity and have access to good public services: clean restrooms and public spaces, working water fountains, and green parks in every neighborhood. I commit to tackle homelessness with every resource available and on multiple fronts. We must respond to the immediate needs of people outdoors, create more homes, and get at the underlying reasons people lose their homes in the first place. Trying to cope with symptoms of homelessness without addressing the root causes will not succeed. My administration will leverage all Seattle’s resources and lean into our partnerships at every level of government and in every neighborhood. In the first 100 days, I will take urgent actions to move progress on multiple fronts: Ramp up Emergency Responses to Keep People Safe and Healthy: Our emergency response must be guided by public health starting on day one. I will work rapidly to increase shelter capacity and assess encampments across all neighborhoods and quickly work with city staff and community service providers to identify people we can immediately help move inside into hotel rooms and other non-congregate settings. Rapidly Build More Affordable Housing: Housing is the lasting solution to homelessness. My first priority is to secure funding to rapidly build more housing, with wraparound services for individuals who need that support. As Seattle Mayor, I know we must lead in our region and work closely with local, regional, state and federal partners to develop the housing we need: about 37,000 more affordable homes for families and individuals living on extremely lowincomes (according to the latest 2020 McKinsey & Co. report). Bring better Mental Health and Addiction Services to Seattle Residents: Our current system is failing the people experiencing homelessness in Seattle and King County who suffer from serious mental health and substance use issues. I will push for more wraparound services for people with mental health and substance use disorders, skilled 24/7 crisis response teams (like Health One and Triage One), and service-enriched supportive housing for those who need it. Tackle the Skyrocketing Costs of Living in Seattle: I will provide the leadership and collaboration we need to tackle what it costs to live in our beautiful and desirable city. We must address housing costs for people who are getting priced out: limit rent hikes, require several months’ notice for significant rent increases, and get rental assistance to Seattle tenants and landlords who need it most. To support Seattle families with babies and toddlers, I will expand affordable child care throughout the city. Because we will all do better when we reduce income inequality, I will pilot a universal basic income program and invest in skills and career training. Welcome People to Every Neighborhood: I am committed to creating an inclusive and interconnected city, investing wisely and deeply in the housing and strong public transit we need. We should make sure more homes of all shapes and sizes are available for our neighbors: legalize housing like duplexes, triplexes, and other lower cost homes across Seattle. To build the affordable homes we need, we have to change outdated laws that prevent multi-family housing in 70% of Seattle’s residential areas. As the next Mayor, I will center this vision of a vibrant city as we plan for and put Seattle on a path to being an affordable and sustainable city. Equitable Development: Our Black, brown, and Indigenous neighbors experience the trauma of homelessness at disproportionately high rates due to systemic inequities. We should drive down this disproportionality with policies and priorities that recognize and focus on what people and communities need to heal, stabilize, and thrive. We need to ensure that as we continue to develop our city, we are creating more affordable housing with, for, and in BIPOC communities. I have long supported the Equitable Development Initiative and as Mayor will work to increase and stabilize this funding. Make Seattle Livable for Regular People by Taxing the Wealthy and Corporations: How will we create affordable housing and services we need, and achieve good results on homelessness and income inequality? Big corporations and the very wealthy must finally pay their fair share. During the COVID-19 pandemic, average Seattle residents struggled to help their children learn, pay rent and mortgages, and stay safe, while Amazon’s profits soared 220%. The largest corporations and wealthiest individuals can afford to invest in a better future for the city they call home -- they must, or many more Seattleites will lose their homes. I will be a Mayor who is willing to stand up to the wealthy and big corporations -- I have the track record to prove it. I will work with community leaders and the Council to start rebalancing the tax code so regular Seattleites don’t foot the bills alone anymore. We can and will strengthen Seattle so we can all be at home here. Economic Recovery Progress for All Creating a Seattle Economy Where Everyone Thrives Our city can be a place where every community has economic security and everyone thrives, together. With effective, progressive leadership in the Mayor’s office, Seattle can do better. We will work to ensure our communities have the resources they need and that we have excellent infrastructure for our small businesses and working people to thrive. By centering the wellbeing of families, communities, and small businesses, and not the demands of the corporate elite, we can build a more just and democratic economy where everyone prospers. 1. A Bold Vision for Just Transition: Solving the climate crisis demands– and creates an opportunity for – Seattle to lead the transition to a green economy based in local ownership, good jobs, and environmental justice. As the federal government deploys grants for infrastructure, recovery, and a Green New Deal, Seattle will be ready with capacity in community-based organizations, locally owned businesses, and a skilled workforce. ● With our industrial lands, innovative culture, and manufacturing prowess, Seattle is poised to invent the clean manufacturing future. We must modernize our industrial infrastructure and prepare to build the technology for the green economy. ● We will create thousands of stable, high-quality jobs by retrofitting homes, restoring the Duwamish River and the Salish Sea ecosystems, and building green infrastructure. ● We will partner with Seattle For A Green New Deal leaders and direct resources to their community-based priorities for clean air, clean water, and environmental justice. 2. Thriving future for vibrant neighborhood commercial and cultural districts Seattle's magic lies in our vital neighborhoods and commercial districts where people of all ages, abilities, income levels, races, and cultural backgrounds can thrive together. ● Ensure land use, transit, and commercial policies support complete neighborhoods with arts, restaurants, entertainment, healthy food, pharmacies, affordable childcare, parks, and community spaces. ● End apartment bans and add affordable housing so workers can live near their work. ● Provide frequent, affordable public transit to all job centers, a full network of protected bike lanes, and safe walking/rolling facilities to make it easy to get around without a car. ● Implement municipal broadband so every community has excellent affordable internet. 3. Confront racialized wealth inequality and restore community wealth and health Whether we’re Black, white or brown, we want our families to be whole and our communities to be vibrant. Politicians who blame those who struggle to pay rent, or demean those who fight for justice, fortifying a divide between haves and have-nots. Let’s stop over-policing poor, immigrant, Black, and Native neighbors and instead invest in resilience and economic security. ● Work with community-led efforts to shift funding from SPD to investments that will heal communities, from local safety to food security to culturally responsive mental health. ● Reverse displacement of low-income communities by tripling permanently affordable housing, expanding land trusts, beefing up renter protections, moving surplus public land into community-based stewardship, and funding Equitable Development projects. ● Work with a partner to help them set up a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) to offer patient, low-cost capital to community-serving enterprises. 4. Empower workers and create good jobs Good jobs in well-run businesses sustain healthy families and strong communities. When employers don’t pay living wages or take advantage of their workers, the public sector is called on to pick up the pieces. We all benefit from good union jobs, workers getting a fair return for their work, and holding the private sector to a high standard. Let’s put our progressive values into action by building a culture of sharing wealth and power via innovative ownership models - so everyone benefits from success, no matter the size of their job. ● Establish incentives and provide technical assistance for worker co-ops, workerowned collectives, profit sharing, and employee ownership. ● Expand the use of Community Workforce Agreements and Community Benefit Agreements, creating high quality jobs, increasing local community hiring, and ensuring that large development projects are responsible to community needs and impacts. ● Establish a citywide ‘access to hours’ policy so that current hourly employees who want to work up to 40 hours can get them before adding new part-time employees. ● Ensure workers in the caring economy know their rights and have protections & benefits. ● Raise standards in the gig economy by ending sub-minimum wages and improving access to benefits. 5. Reinvigorate Office of Economic Development to serve as an energetic community partner. We will create a blueprint for a robust small business economy based in local ownership and reinvent and empower OED as a center for resources, tools and technical assistance. ● Create a clear action agenda for local ownership of small businesses, community ownership of assets, and targeted solutions for neighborhood economic resilience. ● Serve local businesses with tools they need to find capital and technical assistance, with attention to removing barriers for new entrepreneurs from lowincome communities. ● Ensure immigrant businesses have in-language, culturally competent guidance. ● Help protect local ownership and family businesses transitioning to the next generation, whether in fragile neighborhoods like CID or unique industries like fishing and maritime. ● Partner with the Greater Seattle Business Association and other groups representing LGBTQ+ business owners to promote LGBTQ+ small businesses in Capitol Hill and other parts of the city that are struggling to stay afloat from lost revenue due to COVID-19. 6. An equitable tax system to provide resources to fund the infrastructure we need Today, we know that wealthy individuals and massive corporations like Amazon take in record profits while not contributing fairly to the schools, infrastructure, and services we all use. Our state tax code has been the most upside-down in the nation, taxing poor and middle-class households at much higher rates than the wealthiest As Mayor, I will: ● Work with the State toward a balanced tax code, where corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share through a wealth tax, estate taxes, and a progressive income tax. ● Require foundations and Donor Advised Funds to grant an annual minimum amount. ● Work with Council to explore progressive local revenue options as well as B&O tax reform to reduce the burden on smaller and low-margin businesses. 7. Create affordable and accessible childcare Childcare costs place a major strain on the budgets of working families. They have also made it hard for people, especially women, to re-enter the workforce. According to the National Women’s Law Center, women’s participation in the workforce has dropped to its lowest level since 1988 due to the pandemic. Childcare in our city needs to be affordable and accessible for all. ● Treat childcare as essential infrastructure, not a commodity to be bought and sold. This means looking at every source of funding: city, regional, state, and federal. We finally have a President that understands the importance of these critical investments, and we need to seize this moment. ● Provide technical assistance to childcare providers to help them navigate the bureaucratic hurdles, so they can focus on what they will do best. My administration will work to cut the red tape. ● Drastically expand access to affordable and safe childcare for infants and toddlers across the city, and address “childcare deserts” by ensuring that childcare is not only affordable but accessible to people in every neighborhood. We knew we had steep challenges in our city already, and the pandemic and 2020 racial uprising refocused our energy: we are no longer waiting for hoarded wealth to trickle down, we won’t let corporate lobbyists block what we know is right, we won’t turn our backs on neighbors in harm’s way. When we go all in for all of us, we can make Seattle a place we’re proud to call home with the world-class public schools, affordable housing, abundant good jobs, healthy local businesses, and community services our families need. As Dr. King made clear 58 years ago, racial justice and economic justice are inseparable. Strong communities and determined public leadership are the key to remake our local economy into a dynamic force for equity, where we all thrive together. Police Accountability & Public Safety Transforming Seattle’s Public Safety & Police Accountability Creating Equitable Community Safety As a civil rights lawyer for more than a decade, I worked tirelessly to get justice for victims of police violence and racially biased policing across Washington and Seattle. In one of my most high-profile cases, Monetti v Seattle, I sued the Seattle Police Department on behalf of a young Latino man after a detective threatened to “beat the Mexican piss” out of him, while other officers stood around observing and failing to intervene. My work on this and other civil rights cases is what fuels my vision and commitment to transform Seattle’s approach to public safety and accountability. We need real police accountability that meets this civil rights moment, and we need leaders with a track record to implement it. In 2017, I worked with the community to champion the passage of landmark legislation to expand civilian oversight of the police department, establish the Office of Inspector General for Public Safety, and make the Community Police Commission permanent. I also worked to end the SPD’s acquisition of military surplus equipment. I worked to pass the first reduction of the SPD’s budget in Seattle’s history to reallocate resources to community-based, safety programs and participatory budgeting. While I am proud of the work we have done together to advance true police reform, accountability and community-based investments in alternatives to law enforcement, there is much more we must and can do together. Seattle’s next Mayor will be responsible for building on the progress that we have made. Armed law enforcement should not be responding to a mental health crisis or a non-violent situation. This is not only an unnecessary use of resources but too often results in needless death and trauma in our Black, brown, and indigenous communities. My administration will work to shift funds away from SPD toward programs like the Health One Mobile units, the Crisis Response Team, alternative community safety programs like Community Service Officers, and other public-health models that rapidly address the health and crisis needs of those experiencing homelessness. As the next Mayor, I will bring together community, council and labor to ensure that the next contract with the police officer’s guild includes critical components of the 2017 Police Accountability Ordinance, which I worked to pass, that have been left on the table by past mayors. Our next Mayor also must take a hands-on approach to crisis management and exercise their legal authority over the Seattle Police Department. Recent reporting revealed that the order to abandon the East Precinct last summer was given while the Mayor was apparently absent from the discussion. Civilian control of the police is critical to a functioning democracy, and the Mayor cannot abdicate her responsibility to exercise control over the Seattle Police Department. It is unacceptable to have un-elected officials making these crucial life and death decisions, and it will not happen under my administration. We also need to work to reduce gun violence that disproportionately impacts our Black, brown, and indigenous communities. As a Mexican-American growing up in the Lower Yakima Valley, I lost friends to gun violence and have also survived, without injury, drive-by shootings. That is why as a councilmember I have prioritized working with gun safety advocates to pass three major gun violence prevention laws during my tenure. The first requires safe storage of firearms, reducing the theft of firearms, suicides, and accidental deaths. The second was increasing penalties for individuals who failed to report a lost or stolen firearm. The third expanded the regional domestic violence firearms enforcement unit to get guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals. Lastly, I also supported the appropriation of revenue from the ammunition tax to fund public health research at Harborview to continue supporting data-driven research to prevent gun violence. In 2021, I also voted in support of allocating $10.4 million toward community safety programs to address the epidemic of gun violence harming our communities. I will work with urgency to immediately implement gun-violence prevention programs. Additionally, we have to work with our federal and state partners to allow Seattle to build on the gun safety laws we have already passed. Currently we are preempted by federal and state laws from passing true and meaningful gun safety legislation, such as a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Seattle’s mayor plays a critical role in setting the narrative and sending a clear message to the NRA and their political allies that their policies are wrong for the people of our city. Much of the gun violence inside major cities comes from guns that are legally purchased in other jurisdictions with looser laws. We need stronger state and federal gun violence prevention laws to keep guns out of our city, and we need to work with our state and federal partners to prevent illegal guns from coming into Seattle. That’s why I’m so honored to have the endorsement of federal and state leaders like Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña. These relationships will be critical to supporting their advocacy and making sure they have local support to champion reform and accountability in Olympia and DC. Climate, Transit, and Housing The simple truth is that ending our reliance on fossil fuels will improve life for everyone. Transitioning to a 100% clean future will cut pollution that contributes to asthma and lung disease—whether it’s from gasoline and diesel on our highways or dangerous natural gas emissions from our boilers and furnaces—and it will help stop the ever-worsening march of climate change. As Seattle faces record heat waves, as families hide indoors from fast approaching smoke and constructions and other outdoor workers are exposed to it, it’s becoming clearer than ever: Seattle must act, and fast. I have a strong record on climate change, and I’m committed to making sure that as mayor, we turn Seattle into the nation’s greenest city. I was proud to support the Seattle Green New Deal, and the JumpStart Seattle tax to fund it, and I was proud to support updates to the commercial energy code that will help make our largest buildings fossil-free and more efficient. As mayor, Seattle will go even further. Transit & Housing The largest source of carbon pollution in Seattle is transportation. A transition to a climate stable future will require planning a city that is car-optional, and ensure that all remaining cars, trucks and buses on the road are clean, zero-emission, electric vehicles. Making it safe to walk and bike and increasing the reliability and usability of transit helps everyone—it cuts congestion, it improves air quality and cuts climate pollution. We will: ● Recommit to transit in Seattle, expanding transit service hours and frequency. Transit should serve all Seattleites. That means those that work 9-5, but also crucially people that work other shifts, that don’t commute to downtown, and more. Car ownership costs the average household $9000/year, so expanding access to transit and helping more households opt out of car trips will save money and cut pollution. ● Help people get around by bike and walking. We must finish the Bike Master Plan and provide for sidewalks in every corner of Seattle. It’s no mistake that South Seattle has the highest concentration of people of color in the city, has some of the least complete sidewalk and bike infrastructure, and is home to the most dangerous streets and highest pedestrian injury and death rates—it’s the result of a legacy of underinvestment we must rectify. Dedicated bike and walking lanes, road design to discourage dangerous driving an speeding, and other measures will reduce conflicts between road users, increasing safety and encouraging more to walk and ride—it also will help everyone get where they’re going faster. ● End exclusionary zoning that makes our neighborhoods sprawl, increasing reliance on driving and causing congestion. Increase mixed use zoning that allows more corner stores, coffee shops and other neighborhood amenities within walking distance, making extra car trips unnecessary. We need policy to support this--that means zoning that encourages complete communities, and a permitting process that preserves community voice but prevents obstructionism. ● Accelerate the electrification of Seattle’s own fleet of vehicles and of King County Metro. Provide access to public charging for those drivers that live in apartments or don’t have dedicated parking, so we’re not locking anyone into fossil fuels. Support access to electric vehicles for low income households as well, through electric low income car share programs and more. Buildings Climate pollution from natural gas use is growing at a faster rate than any sector of emissions in Washington—faster even than transportation emissions. Methane gas use indoors is also dangerous to our health, especially for apartment dwellers who often have less ventilation and safety measures. A recent UCLA study found that after just one hour of cooking with gas, 90% of homes have indoor air quality that violates federal ambient air quality standards—it would be illegal outside. And a Harvard study found that in 2017, more Washingtonians died from building pollution, including methane gas, than from all vehicle collisions in the state. ● We must ensure that new buildings in Seattle are 100% clean on day one. Seattle City Light is among the cleanest utilities in the nation and world, and the City should maximize this valuable asset in the fight for public health and against climate change. We just shouldn’t allow new buildings that depend on fossil fuels anymore. ● Build on existing state and city policy to require large commercial buildings to eliminate their emissions and go fossil free. Commercial buildings already must cut energy use beginning in 2026 by state law—they should cut pollution and fossil fuel use at the same time. ● Seattle City Light and the City Council must incentivize and aid homeowners and renters who want to electrify their homes. Too many Seattleites are exposed to the dangers of methane gas—increasing childhood asthma, lung disease, and more. As people switch and upgrade their appliances, the City and our electric utility should be a partner in the conversion to an all-electric future. ● We must create union jobs as part of this transition, and do so for both electric and gas workers. While electrifying our buildings, we must also support the use of hydrogen and fossil gas replacements in other sectors. We should use Seattle’s hydro assets to produce 100% clean hydrogen for industrial uses, for example, and partner with the Port of Seattle and other regional entities to use this clean energy in the transportation and shipping sectors. We should also upgrade our district heating utility in Seattle to be zero-carbon and more efficient, and make substantial investments in water conservation and clean water access, including making sure that no child is exposed to lead in their school’s drinking water. Arts & Culture Seattle’s public spaces and cultural spaces define who feels welcome, who belongs, whose stories are worth listening to. In our cultural life, we need artists from all backgrounds sharing their stories and world with us. If we want to be a multicultural city that celebrates Black and Indigenous histories and cultures, and the stories and contributions of all the uniquely diverse immigrant communities, we need artists making art. We need public spaces that tell our different experiences of shared history and stories from communities. I’m proud to have supported $3 million in funding in assistance for arts organizations as part of the Seattle Rescue Plan. Arts and culture are essential infrastructure, and we need to invest in ensuring artists can stay in our communities and continue to create cultural spaces and art. As Congress considers an infrastructure package, I will be working with our federal partners, like Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, to identify new opportunities to secure additional funding for arts and culture in our city. We also need to recognize that we cannot have a thriving arts sector without tackling income inequality in our city, which impacts workers in the arts sector. We need to invest in affordable housing, affordable transit, and affordable childcare to ensure these workers can continue to call Seattle home. I have proposed a comprehensive plan for economic recovery that is focused on helping workers and small businesses throughout all of our city’s neighborhoods. My plan also proposes reinvigorating the Office of Economic Development so that it serves local businesses with tools they need to find capital and technical assistance, with attention to removing barriers for new entrepreneurs from low-income communities, BIPOC communities and the LGBTQ+ community. Artists are often small business-owners themselves who need to keep their books, pay their employees, and file their taxes. Providing technical and small business assistance for artists and culture workers is one way to ensure they are part of shared prosperity possible in Seattle. Artists also need spaces to call home where they can create, collaborate, and plan. Art spaces have been some of the first casualties of our affordability challenges and we have lost too many. We need to preserve our existing spaces and identify currently underutilized spaces that could be used for our arts community. Theater Off Jackson is an example of a space that needs to be preserved; it's in a historic neighborhood for people of color and currently serves as a space where BIPOC theater, queer theater, body positive theater, and burlesque can run. Recognizing the rich contributions that arts and culture makes to our community should also be recognized by designating neighborhoods that are arts and culture hubs as arts districts, which will help with placemaking and economic revitalization. As we continue to build affordable housing, we can, and should, incentivize development of co-located housing and arts and culture spaces for permanent places where ideas and art can grow, incubate, and flourish.	”
—Lorena González’s campaign website (2021)

2020

M. Lorena Gonzalez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2017

González's campaign website listed the following themes for 2017:

“	Immigrants & Refugees Seattle’s immigrant and refugee communities will continue to face added challenges and opportunities in the coming four years. The election of Donald Trump as our 45th President has only strengthened my resolve to continue to advocate for Seattle’s immigrant and refugee communities. One of every five Seattle residents is foreign born. Immigrants and refugees add value to our culture and economy. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Washington’s population grew by an estimated 40,000 unauthorized residents between 2009-2014, making our state just one of six states with a growing unauthorized population as national numbers have declined. The fear of being unfairly targeted is supported by President Trump’s “Contract with the American Voter,” which includes several anti-immigrant actions in the first 100 days, including deporting millions of unauthorized people, restricting entry to the U.S. from “terror prone regions,” and canceling President Obama’s executive order that provides thousands of DREAMers relief from our archaic immigration laws. Japanese internment camps have also been used to justify a proposed Muslim registry. Phony stickers have appeared throughout Seattle falsely advertising, “rewards paid for information leading to the arrest of illegal immigrants,” carrying the Department of Homeland Security emblem as well as the ICE website, ICE.gov. President Trump’s campaign promises necessitate the creation of a legal defense fund to protect families at risk of being torn apart by unjust and shortsighted immigration policies. If re-elected, I will work to create a legal defense fund because Seattle must be a role model for justice, compassion, and opportunity for all members of our society. Safe Communities As chair of the Council Committee on Gender Equity, Safe Communities & New Americans, public safety remains a top priority. During the 2017 city budget, I advocated for several key public safety investments. The City’s 2017 budget now allocates new resources needed to help make our city a safer place. Major public safety investments include $491,000 for mobile advocates for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, $75,000 to establish a Chinatown/International District public safety coordinator, $20,000 for culturally and linguistically competent public safety surveys for the Chinatown/International District neighborhood, a proviso for community engagement regarding Body-Worn Video (body cameras) funding, and the creation of a special task force on South Park neighborhood public safety and livability. I am committed to continuing my work to provide greater accountability and oversight when it comes to our police force. Last year, the City submitted proposed police reform legislation to the U.S. Federal Court. Earlier this year, the federal judge approved the City’s ability to legislate a police accountability ordinance that would (1) make the Community Police Commission permanent, (2) create a new Office of Inspector General and (3) increase civilian staffing at the Office of Professional Accountability. Community has been demanding this type of legislation for years and this will be the year that the City Council, under my leadership, will take a broad view at our police accountability system with an eye towards implementing systemic change that will lead to sustainable bias-free and constitutional policing. I am also committed to continuing to work with neighborhoods to ensure we have enough police officers and that we have the best-trained officers to ensure we are meeting the needs of our communities. This year the City will be evaluating the resurrection of it’s Community Service Officer program, which was retired almost 20 years ago. The CSO program, if reinstituted, would assign non-essential law enforcement functions to civilians so that we can free up our sworn officers to focus on addressing serious crimes. Lastly, I was also pleased that the Council was able to pass two new measures to address gun violence throughout the city. The first measure would create a gun violence tax on the sellers of firearms and ammunition to fund gun violence prevention programs and the second would require the mandatory reporting of lost or stolen firearms. We all know that senseless gun violence has no place in our city and I will continue the fight to keep firearms out of the hands of those who may be a danger to themselves and others. Working Families & Paid Family Leave Over the past two years I have worked tirelessly to ensure that Seattle’s booming economy benefits all its residents and workers. Our city and region are leading the nation with progressive minimum wage laws that will provide many of our working class the opportunity to work their way into the middle class. In 2014 Seattle became one of the first major cities to implement a $15 per hour minimum wage. As a councilmember, I co-sponsored Seattle’s new secure scheduling law, which guarantees certain hourly workers two-weeks notice of any schedule changes, a minimum of 10 hours between shifts, and a pathway for existing part-time workers to work additional hours. In September, the city council unanimously passed the secure scheduling law making Seattle the second major city in the U.S. to pass this law. The city council also endorsed Initiative 124, which will greatly improve working conditions and require sexual assault protections for Seattle’s hotel workers, many of whom are immigrant women. But we must do more to provide economic security to our working families. This year, together with labor, business and worker advocates, I will be pushing for a paid parental and family leave policy for all Seattle workers. Our city is a national leader on progressive policy and we must lead the charge when it comes to combating workplace gender equity. Seattle workers must have the support they deserve when they adopt, birth or foster a child or when a family member becomes seriously ill. Further, I want to continue to grow our economy by working with both the business community and workers to ensure we have family wage jobs in all parts of the city. Our economy is booming but many are still being left behind. We need to support local small businesses, especially women and minority-owned businesses, to promote greater equity and to diversify our economy for the long term. Housing Affordability We must continue to ensure that everyone in Seattle has fair access to affordable housing. Thanks to legislation passed by the city council in August, landlords will no longer be able to discriminate against working class people based on income source or give special incentives to employees of large corporations. The legislation also requires that landlords accept all housing vouchers and rent to the first qualified individual who applies. I am also grateful to Seattle voters who overwhelmingly supported the doubling of Seattle’s housing levy to $290 million. The passage of the housing levy means we are on track to produce and preserve 2,150 affordable housing units and assist 4,500 homeless families and individuals. Although we’ve done much to address Seattle’s housing crisis there is still much to be done. As more people are drawn to our vibrant neighborhoods and booming economy, many working families will continue to struggle with finding affordable housing. That is why the city council, along with the Mayor, commissioned the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) advisory committee in the fall of 2015. I continue to support many of the HALA’s recommendations, including changes to zoning laws to support smart growth in neighborhoods served my mass transit. Transportation Thanks to the voters of Seattle the Move Seattle Levy was overwhelmingly passed in 2015. The revenue generated from this measure will help our economy and invest long term in the health and safety of our city’s transportation system. The new funding is balanced with a commitment to multimodal, bike and pedestrian infrastructure and will help ensure out transportation system is interconnected and that goods and services move throughout our city seamlessly. I was also proud to support ST3 this past year, which will help provide traffic relief regionally and ensure long-term economic viability. We have more to do to ensure we continue to meet the needs of neighborhoods throughout the city. Investments in sidewalks and other alternative modes of transportation continue to remain a priority for me and I look forward to working with leaders throughout our region to meet our pressing transportation needs. Protecting LGBTQ Youth, Civil Rights & Homelessness One of the accomplishments that I am most proud of was sponsoring and passing legislation that would ban the horrendous practice of so-called conversion therapy for minors in the City. The legislation, which I worked to author with the input of the LGBTQ community, adds a new chapter to the City’s human rights code that prohibits licensed mental health providers from engaging in conversion therapy on children. The law creates a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for those who engage in this harmful practice. Seattle joins Cincinnati, Miami Beach and Washington DC as the fourth city to ban gay conversion therapy. Prior to joining the Council I worked as a civil rights attorney fighting for the rights of those who have been disenfranchised. I want to continue this work on the council by working to address social inequities when it comes to homelessness and other critical issues facing our city. I love Seattle. It is an amazing place to live and work but we can continue to do better. Just over one year ago the city announced a state of emergency when it comes to our homelessness crisis. We must continue to improve how we deal with our unsheltered neighbors, including the growth of unsanctioned encampments. It is unacceptable that we have more than 3,000 people – many of whom are women and children – living outside. I continue to be committed to a “Housing First” model, addressing known inefficiencies in our emergency shelter system and increasing accountability for city-funded services.	”
—M. Lorena González (2017)

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Preceded by -	Seattle City Council Position 9 At-Large 2016-2021	Succeeded by Sara Nelson