Socialist Sarah Morken announces run for Tacoma City Council seat

Minimum wage activist and self-described socialist Sarah Morken has said she will run for Tacoma City Council’s open at-large seat.

Morken is an occupational therapist who said she strongly opposes Puget Sound Energy’s liquefied natural gas plant, which is planned for Tacoma’s Tideflats.

That issue propelled her to run for City Council at-large position 6, the seat vacated by Victoria Woodards when she announced she would run for mayor.

Morken said in a news release that she “hopes to be a strong voice for Tacoma’s working class and for the environment.” She is the chair for Green Party Tahoma and a volunteer with local anti-fossil fuels group RedLine Tacoma.

Morken was a lead organizer with 15 Now Tacoma, which sought to bring a $15 minimum wage to the City of Destiny.

She said in a news release she collected 665 signatures to be able to waive the filing fee for the council position.

Candidates who want to waive the filing fee, which is 1 percent of the office’s annual salary, can submit one signature of a registered Tacoma voter for every dollar required.

The filing fee would have been $460 for this position, Morken said. Candidates are encouraged to submit more than the required number of signatures in case some can’t be verified.

At least three other people have announced they will seek the at-large seat. Candidates must file for office by the end of this week.

This story was originally published May 15, 2017 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Socialist Sarah Morken announces run for Tacoma City Council seat."