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Serving Queen Anne & Magnolia Since 1919
OCTOBER 18, 2023
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VOL. 104, NO. 42
Councilmember Andrew Lewis looks to build on first term accomplishments
By Laura Marie Rivera Contributing Writer
Courtesy Ian Coon Candidate Ben Gitenstein and Seattle Education Association's President Jennifer Matter sit at the front of the crowded room for the Bites and Ballots candidate forum at Rainier Beach Church last week.
Next school board will face major challenges By Laura Marie Rivera
They are responsible for the district’s billion dollar budget and the educational trajectory “What is the School Board and of almost 50,000 students. The school board elections occur on do we even need to vote for it?” odd years: four district seats are These are questions that are on the ballot this year and the often heard throughout our remaining three will be up for neighborhood and the city. election in 2025. The Seattle Public Schools’ To further complicate things, School Board is comprised of not only are the seven districts seven Directors that represent different from the city council’s specific districted zones of the seven districts. In the general city. Under state law, school board directors are accountable election, all Seattle voters will vote for the directors of each to the electorate for the proper district, not only the ones in operation of the school district.
Contributing Writer
their geozones. To top it all off, this relatively unpublicized position is for a volunteer role. And as State Senator Joe Nguyen from 34th district says, “You get what you pay for…” There has often been talk about and failed measures for paying the School Board Directors for their time, but it has yet to happen. In the meantime, we have eight people vying for those four open positions. In District 1 (the north end
Seattle City Councilmember, and Queen Anne resident, Andrew Lewis is seeking a second term after an eventful four years defined by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. While serving as an assistant city attorney in 2019, Lewis defeated a field of nine other candidates to represent District 7. He is running to continue the hard and often unglamorous work of local government. "I wouldn't want to serve in any other level of elected service. I'm a New Deal kind of Democrat. That means building things, things our community needs." Lewis is quick to rattle off some of those achievements, citing major planned improvements to the Queen Anne Community Center, the acquisition of the Cinerama Theater by SIFF, and preserving the UpGarden P-Patch. He said, "In my first term, that was LEWIS Page 7
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Andrew Lewis