There are now three challengers for the Seattle City Council District 3 seat held by Kshama Sawant.

And none of them are Kshama Sawant.

Pat Murakami, defeated in her 2017 run against Lorena González for the council’s Position 9 citywide seat, and pot entrepreneur Logan Bowers have joined nonprofit director and entrepreneur Beto Yarce in the race to lead District 3 representing neighborhoods including Capitol Hill, the Central District, First Hill, and, yes, Beacon Hill.

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That D3 area south of I-90 is Murakami’s home turf. Described as a “neighborhood activist,” Murakami’s neighborhood focus and small business won her the Seattle Times endorsement in her 2017 race against González.

“Among the newcomers in the race, Murakami has a proven record of advocating for better governance and Seattle’s underserved communities,” the Seattle Times wrote. “A highlight was blocking the city from declaring a section of Southeast Seattle blighted, which would have enabled property seizures and redevelopment.”

She has also opposed the city’s Mandatory Housing Affordability zoning changes.

Murakami’s campaign has launched a website at patforseattle.org but hasn’t yet posted information about her platform. She is registered with the city’s Democracy Voucher program and may begin accepting contributions and qualifying signatures.

We know less about the politics and campaign plans of Bowers. He is co-owner of Fremont pot shop Hashtag and rents on the backside of Capitol Hill near the Stevens Elementary neighborhood.

UPDATE 2:01 PM: And now we know a bit more. Saying he wants to bring an engineer’s pragmatic approach to the council and Seattle’s problems of affordability, homelessness, and transit gridlock, Bowers tells CHS he hopes to shape his campaign around data and analysis. “I see Seattle going through an unprecedented period of growth and change and want to see Seattle come out the other side of that a world class city,” Bowers said.

“I think you have to rewind and look at the numbers and look at what the data says. Use every tool in the toolbox. The council is very idealistically focused — especially in the 3rd District.”

For a more specific example, Bowers said his priority will be to address Seattle’s need for more housing. “The biggest thing we have is making everything harder to solve is a severe housing shortage,” Bowers said. While the Mandatory Housing Affordability effort is a good start, Bowers said Seattle needs to follow the lead of Minneapolis and do away with single-family zoning. The numbers, Bowers said, show that midsize multifamily housing — wood-frame duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, etc. — are the cheapest to build per housing unit. That’s where he would put Seattle’s wood, so to speak. We’ll have more from Bowers about his campaign soon.

The duo join Yarce in the District 3 race. CHS talked with the nonprofit director in November about his path to Capitol Hill as an immigrant from Mexico and his work leading Ventures, “a nonprofit that “empowers individuals with limited resources and unlimited potential improve their lives through small business ownership.”

Given the backgrounds of the first three candidates declared for the race, it seems pretty clear that District 3 voters will hear a lot about small business and the city’s economic opportunity in the months leading up to the August primary and the November general election.

“To the hardworking people of District 3 who own small businesses or work for big businesses, to those with multiple jobs and struggling to make ends meet,” Yarce said in front of the scrum of TV cameras and reporters crowded into a small preschool where he made his announcement last month, “I hear you.”

Yarce said he also plans to utilize the city’s Democracy Vouchers program.

Early criticism of the candidate has centered on his home address. After moving to Mill Creek from Capitol Hill four years ago, Yarce said he is in the process of looking for a new home back on the Hill for him and his partner. Yarce said he considers Capitol Hill his home neighborhood after living for years on 10th Ave E.

Though her potential future opponents say they expect her to join the race, Leschi resident Sawant has not announced plans for a 2019 campaign and her representatives have not responded to our inquiries about her plans. Born in Mumbai, Sawant’s political career in Seattle was formed out of the Occupy movement when the economist was still teaching at Seattle Central and Seattle University. Sawant’s leadership, the council member has said herself, has been focused on larger, sometimes global issues.

As other district leaders have made habits of community meetings and “coffee talk,” Sawant has mostly avoided that kind of interaction in favor of rallies and protests. This has left Sawant open to criticism about her office’s interest and availability in neighborhood issues and day to day problems around homelessness, drug use, and street safety. Some Capitol Hill community leaders have praised her “alternative” style and leadership on issues like the minimum wage. Sawant scored a relatively easy victory in her 2015 campaign against challenger Pamela Banks.

There are still months for new candidates to emerge. All candidates must file with the county by mid-May.

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