TNT Editorial Board general election endorsement: Tacoma City Council District 3 | Opinion
The News Tribune Editorial Board punted during the primary election — at least when it comes to the race to represent District 3 on the Tacoma City Council.
With six candidates on the ballot — all of them vying to represent a district that includes Hilltop, Central Tacoma and parts of South Tacoma — there was no clear consensus when it came time to issue our endorsement.
Ultimately, we settled on our top two candidates: Local artist and grassroots organizer Jamika Scott and Chris Van Vechten, a private practice defense attorney. Voters had the same idea, advancing both to this year’s general election. Scott received roughly 42% of the 4,000-plus primary votes cast in the race to Van Vechten’s 31%.
With general election ballots soon to appear in local mailboxes, the TNT Editorial Board now faces the same conundrum as District 3 voters: choosing between two very different and uniquely qualified candidates.
After conducting follow-up interviews in recent weeks and consulting with a diverse cross-section of trusted community members, we’re endorsing Van Vechten.
It was a difficult decision — and the choice was not unanimous among the TNT Ed Board’s six members — but as a body, it’s one we stand behind as the general election approaches.
As we wrote in July, Van Vechten, 39, attended the University of Puget Sound and now, along with his wife and daughter, calls Hilltop home. In addition to his local legal practice, which specializes in criminal defense, his involvement in local politics traces back to his time working as a staffer for longtime Tacoma state Rep. Dennis Flannigan. After earning a law degree, Van Vechten worked for the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office and later the Lakewood City Attorney’s Office. He unsuccessfully ran for Tacoma School Board in 2009.
Van Vechten’s ideas and non-dogmatic progressive approach set him apart, at least in our view — particularly when it comes to addressing plaguing, critical issues like homelessness and low-level crime.
At a time when many liberals struggle to articulate an approach that acknowledges both the need to address underlying systemic causes and swiftly respond to the negative impacts on the ground, Van Vechten’s take is refreshing, marrying his experience working within a flawed criminal justice system and the legitimate concerns he hears from voters on the campaign trail.
In our primary endorsement, we also expressed concerns about Van Vechten.
Facts are facts: Van Vechten has lived in Hilltop for more than a decade, but he also comes from a background of modest wealth and privilege that many neighborhood residents will never experience. While his resume and robust, responsive campaign speak to his readiness to serve, some board members worried he wasn’t best positioned to represent a diverse part of Tacoma where struggle and marginalization have been a constant.
Van Vechten eased many of those concerns during The News Tribune Editorial Board’s follow-up interview. He directly addressed the ways in which he grappled with his difficult decision to enter the race and acknowledged the leg up his background provided.
Most of all, Van Vechten persuasively articulated the responsibility he feels to represent every member of District 3, particularly those who have historically been under-served, overlooked and outright ignored. The recent endorsement Van Vechten received from the Tacoma-Pierce County Black Collective carried significant weight for several editorial board members.
We have confidence Van Vechten is up to the task.
Scott, 36, was just as impressive the second time she met with The News Tribune Editorial Board. Even as we endorse her opponent, we remain excited about what the former Peace Community Center tutor and co-founder of the Tacoma Action Collective could bring to City Hall if elected.
At the root of Scott’s candidacy, there’s an unavoidable tension, pitting the need for a successful council member to work with colleagues to achieve voting majorities to make an impact against the undeniable reality that many District 3 voters are fed up with the status quo. This is particularly true among younger swaths of the electorate inheriting a world full of longstanding problems previous generations have failed to address.
During our lengthy deliberation as a board, it wasn’t lost on us that there’s more than one way to effect change. It’s equally true that the rigid requirements bodies like the TNT Editorial Board have historically weighed when making endorsement decisions — like the need for civility, decorum and traditional experience — often serve as barriers to diverse representation and delegitimize valid anger and frustration, intentional or not, particularly among historically oppressed and disenfranchised populations that have every right to be angry and vocal.
Scott told us, point blank, that her background as a Black woman fighting on the ground for the people of Hilltop invites descriptions reliant on loaded terms like “socialist” and “activist,” the latter of which we included in our primary endorsement.
Scott encouraged District 3 voters to judge her work and ability to collaborate with others for themselves. We trust they will.
If Scott once again emerges with the most votes, we have no doubt she will bring a fire and resolve to the office that prioritizes people who deserve a fighter in their corner.
But it’s Van Vechten who earns our endorsement.
Now it’s up to voters in District 3 to decide.
News Tribune election endorsements reflect the views of our Editorial Board and are written by opinion editor Matt Driscoll. Other board members are: Stephanie Pedersen, News Tribune president and editor; Jim Walton, community representative; Amanda Figueroa, community representative; Kent Hojem, community representative; and Pamela Transue, a community representative who serves during election season. In certain cases, Editorial Board members with conflicts of interest may abstain from participating in specific endorsement decisions. The Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom and does not influence the work of news reporting and editing staffs. We do not endorse any candidates who do not interview with us. We do not endorse in uncontested races. For questions, email matt.driscoll@thenewstribune.com.
Material from The News Tribune’s primary endorsement was used in this general election endorsement.
This story was originally published October 19, 2023 at 10:43 AM.