IN THE PRESS
Don't Believe "Defund" NONSENSE
I have a clear, comprehensive, 5-point plan, which includes measurable outcomes and a funding strategy, that won’t increase the burden on working families and seniors:
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#1 Recruit, train, and retain the best possible police officers, while holding them to the highest levels of accountability. Recruit additional Community Service Officers, ideally from the community they will serve, who can walk their beats and get to know everyone the community.
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#2 Fully-fund and expand the Mayor’s new CARE team so that it is set up to succeed, city-wide and across District 1, so that we can send the most qualified professional to the ...
Please read my entire Comprehensive Public Safety Platform
OCTOBER 30, 2023
Seattle firefighters union slams erroneous mailer in City Council race
The union for Seattle firefighters is speaking out against erroneous advertising in a hot City Council race that’s stirred multiple accusations of misinformation before the Nov. 7 election. Fire Fighters Local 27 hasn’t endorsed either candidate in the race between Rob Saka and Maren Costa...But a pro-Saka advertisement mailed to 25,000 households on Oct. 27 by an independent-expenditure committee listed the firefighters union among Saka’s supporters.
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OCTOBER 27, 2023
Nearly $1 million pours into Seattle elections from corporate "Neighbors"
Big business seems the most hungry to elect big tech lawyer Rob Saka in District 1 and City insider Maritza Rivera in District 4.
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Despite its name, normal, working-class neighbors did not pool their money to pay for Elliott Bay Neighbors, an IE supporting Saka. Rather, corporate landlords, notorious Trump donors, and the same interests that bought the last three Mayors raised $285,000 for Saka.
AUGUST 15, 2023
All 6 former opponents endorse Costa over Saka in Seattle council race
All six Seattle City Council candidates who failed to advance past this month’s primary election in District 1 have endorsed Maren Costa over Rob Saka in their head-to-head matchup, giving Costa a boost as she and Saka pivot toward the Nov. 7 general election.
It’s one of the first notable post-primary developments in Seattle’s council races, which will reshuffle politics at City Hall.
AUGUST 14, 2023
In a surprise turn, all rival candidates rally around progressive Maren Costa for General Election
Every District 1 Seattle City Council candidate likes progressive front-runner Maren Costa more than they like big business darling Rob Saka.
In a rare move, serial conservative council candidate and district court judge Phil Tavel united the other failed candidates–Preston Anderson, Stephen Brown, Lucy Barefoot, and Mia Jacobeson–to sign an open letter to their supporters that called out Saka for his “consultancy speak,” opaqueness, and apparent lack of principles.
AUGUST 03, 2023
Fired Amazon employee-activist leads Seattle City Council race
Seattle City Council candidate Maren Costa was knocking on doors in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood, ahead of Tuesday’s primary….“A huge part of my platform is climate justice and making sure that we know that the climate crisis will hit the most vulnerable and the poorest communities first, and worst.”
Climate justice is the centerpiece of Costa's campaign — an agenda with roots in an unusual place. She spent more than a decade as a UX designer at Amazon — until she got illegally fired. Costa says Amazon let her go because she became an increasingly outspoken member of an employee-activist group putting pressure on the company over its carbon footprint.
JULY 13, 2023
The Stranger endorses Maren Costa
… Compelling backstory aside, Costa is good on the issues. She supports the most progressive growth plan, she wants people to come in contact with cops as infrequently as possible, she would propose a local capital gains tax, and she plans to take money from the sweeps budget and put it toward affordable housing. Failing to put Costa in this seat means we’ll likely get none of that.
SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 (Updated nov 1, 2021)
Amazon settles with activist workers who say they were illegally fired
Amazon has settled with two of its most prominent internal critics, staving off a public hearing over accusations that the company illegally fired the pair, lawyers for the parties told an administrative judge on Wednesday.
APRIL 20, 2020
As Amazon cracks down on dissent, tech and warehouse workers unite over coronavirus, environment
Hours before Amazon fired Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa this month, they were among about a thousand of the company’s technology employees to accept an invitation to hear from warehouse employees about working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic.
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In addition to firing the women — both visible leaders of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ)...Amazon deleted the calendar invitation to the online event and took disciplinary action against another employee who circulated it.