Join the rally and mega-canvass this Sunday for Seattle’s urbanist slate of candidates.
On Sunday, October 19, The Urbanist and Tech4Housing are hosting a mega-canvass in Columbia City for a slate of candidates who represent what Seattle needs right now: progressives who understand that housing abundance, reliable transit, and access to amenities within a 15-minute walk are not luxuries. They’re necessities.
Seattle City Council candidates Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Dionne Foster, and Eddie Lin, City Attorney candidate Erika Evans, and mayoral candidate Katie Wilson will host a rally together before fanning out to knock doors across Southeast Seattle. This isn’t just about the individual campaigns, this is about building the critical mass needed to actually govern.
These candidates love cities. They understand that you can’t solve homelessness without abundant housing, that you can’t fight climate change without walkable neighborhoods and functional transit, and that you can’t build an affordable city while letting not-in-my-backyard activism (NIMBYism) dictate development policy.
This could very well be the most urbanist group Seattle has ever had the choice to elect as its leaders. But the transformational change Seattle needs can only happen if they win together. Any one of these candidates winning would be a victory, but real change requires a working coalition that can move quickly and boldly.
Issues like housing policy, transit funding, zoning reform, progressive revenue don’t live in isolation. They require coordinated leadership across city government. It’s going to be difficult for any of these candidates to get anything done in office without each other. Affordability is still a major issue for Seattleites, and the Mayor’s growth plan isn’t set to go far enough. It will take a strong coalition of leaders to fix it.
"Our next mayor" chants broke out as results posted. Harrell has the advantage of incumbency and corporate support, but Wilson's progressive challenge has caught fire.
— The Urbanist (@theurbanist.org) August 5, 2025 at 8:16 PM
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We’re in a housing shortage crisis. We can’t afford to wait until 2030 to get serious about fixing it. Every year of delay means thousands of people priced out, longer commutes, more climate pollution, and less representation in federal government.
The 235-Vote Lesson
How thin are these margins? Consider this: Ron Davis, longtime policy advocate and fierce urbanist, lost to Maritza Rivera by just 235 votes in the last city council election in District 4 (Northeast Seattle). Just 235 votes decided one of nine seats, swinging the council’s policy direction. Since taking office, Rivera has become the single biggest barrier to housing production on the city council.
Two hundred and thirty-five votes may have cost our city thousands of homes and the progressive revenue that could have pulled us out of our budget crisis. Our housing crisis isn’t just a local issue, but also a national one. At this rate, it may even cost Washington an electoral vote in the next census. One seat. One razor-thin vote margin, and it changed the entire dynamic of what Seattle could accomplish on housing policy.
Katie Wilson could win by 10 points, she could also lose by 2. These races are that close, that fluid, and that dependent on turnout. No one wants to wake up the morning after Election Day wishing they had done more.
This is where organizing matters. This is where you matter.
Have experience canvassing? We need you. Never knocked doors before? You’ll be trained, paired with experienced canvassers if you so choose, and given everything you need to have productive conversations with voters. Not ready for doorknocking? Just showing up for the rally demonstrates a united front and that these candidates have a movement behind them.
How many votes will your presence at a canvass generate? Ten? Twenty? Fifty? How many conversations will you have that persuade someone to fill out their ballot, or convince a friend to vote, or shift someone from uncertain to committed?
Two hundred and thirty-five votes could have changed the trajectory of housing policy in Seattle. Your few hours on a Sunday afternoon could generate those votes and more.
If Not Now, When?
Seattle is at a crossroads. We can continue down a path of artificially constrained housing supply, foot-dragging on transit construction, and a shrinking tax base. Or we can elect leaders who will fight for abundant housing, reliable transportation, and the progressive policies needed to build a sustainable city. We can choose to make this the most livable city in the United States, one that does not compromise between affordability and quality of life.
But that choice isn’t made in the abstract. It’s made by people who show up. It’s made by volunteers who knock doors on a Sunday afternoon. It’s made by organizers who refuse to let 235 votes be the difference between progress and stagnation.
The rally and canvass starts at noon Sunday, October 19 in Columbia City (RSVP for details). The candidates will be there. The trained volunteers will be there. The necessities: clipboards, literature, and a post-canvas hangout at a local business to follow.
The only question is: will you?
If not now, when? If not us, who?
Sign up and join us this Sunday.
Leonard Harrison Jerome (Guest Contributor)
Leonard Harrison Jerome is a manufacturing engineer in the local aerospace industry, with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Washington. Jerome has been a local political campaign “super volunteer” and has long held an interest in civil and urbanist policy.
