I am proud to be participating in Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program! Donate your Democracy Vouchers HERE.
“As a lifelong Seattleite and a North End neighbor, I have deep roots in our community. As a former King County Superior Court judge, former Seattle public defender, and former Chair of the Seattle Human Rights Commission, I have a proven track record of effective advocacy and public service on behalf of all in our community.
It is my long connection to our city and history of civic engagement that drive me to represent our District on the Seattle City Council and ensure that all in our community may live with dignity, safety, and opportunity.
I would be honored to earn your support!”
— Cathy
District 5
District 5 is more than the sum of its neighborhoods. It is the UW Medical Center Northwest. It is North Seattle College. It is elementary, middle and high schools. It is parks, lakes, bike trails, community centers, and libraries. It is Northgate mall, ice hockey, movie theaters. It is light rail stations and rapid ride buses and three highways. It is every kind of world cuisine and breweries and cafes and dispensaries. It is a multitude of small businesses. It is human service agencies and mutual aid societies. It is home to young and old, newly arrived and long settled. To racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity. It sports million dollar homes and low income apartments, single family homes, ADUs/DADUs/townhouses/apartments. In short, it is a vibrant, multi-dimensional district with a promising future.
We also have our share of unique needs which include the Aurora Ave N corridor redesign; sex trafficking on Aurora Ave N; the ongoing redevelopment of the Northgate Mall and surrounding area; mandated density around the coming 130th Street light rail station; East/West transit; the future plan for Lake City; sidewalks; and Thornton Creek watershed.
I bring the strong, experienced, and local leadership needed to get our fair share of investment and results in District 5, and make meaningful progress on the challenges our city faces. I will be transparent and accessible, lead with equitable and community-driven solutions, and most importantly be accountable to you.
About Me
As a single mother, my mother raised me in Lake City and Capitol Hill while working her way through the University of Washington and later teaching community college students for three decades.
I followed in her footsteps in public service. Fresh out of law school, I fought for Seattle residents as a public defender with the Seattle Defender Association, and later, fought for children and families as a family law attorney. As Chair of the Seattle Human Rights Commission, I advocated for constitutional policing and accountability for the Seattle Police Department. As Interim City Clerk, I oversaw the legislative operations of the Seattle City Council.
My greatest privilege was serving as an elected King County Superior Court Judge, where I served, without fear or favor, all in our community. In addition to ruling in criminal, family law, and mental illness trials, I upheld Attorney General Ferguson’s lawsuit against Pharma Purdue, a case that eventually resulted in a landmark settlement to fund opioid treatment. Committed to racial justice, I also worked on criminal legal system reform.
My husband and I raised three sons, now adults and all graduates of Seattle Public Schools. These were not easy times. Like many Seattleites, we were unable to afford to purchase a home in the city and so rented for close to twenty years. We struggled at times to pay the bills, especially after our insurance company denied coverage for my husband’s cancer treatment and he was let go from his job. Not long after that, with three teenagers at home, I became my mother’s caregiver due to a catastrophic stroke.
Today, my husband owns and runs a successful small business, we are homeowners, we are all healthy, and our sons are making their way in the world. It is my mission to create a city where it is possible for all Seattleites to have the privileges and good fortune that I and my family have enjoyed.