King County Democrats choose nominees to succeed Pramila Jayapal in 37th District

SEATTLE — In anticipation of 37th District State Senator Pramila Jayapal’s resignation from the Legislature to serve in Congress as the 7th District’s U.S. Representative, the King County Democrats tonight selected Rory O’Sullivan, Rebecca Saldaña, and Shasti Conrad as its nominees to fill the forthcoming vacancy resulting from Jaypal’s election to federal office.

O’Sullivan is the former Chair of the 37th District Democrats and Managing Attorney of the Housing Justice Project. Saldaña is executive director of Puget Sound Sage. Conrad previously served on the staff of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and has also worked for the Malala Fund.

The three names were chosen by a special nominating caucus of the King County Democrats, consisting of the newly elected  Democratic PCOs from the 37th Legislative District, which takes in many south Seattle neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, Central District, Rainer Valley, Columbia City, and Rainier Beach, as well as part of Renton.

Over eighty PCOs showed up in person to vote.

Following the adjournment of the caucus, the King County Democratic Central Committee’s executive board met briefly to ratify the results for transmission to the Metropolitan King County Council, in accordance with the procedures for filling legislative vacancies specified in Article II, Section 15 of the Washington State Constitution. The executive board voted unanimously to forward the names of O’Sullivan, Saldaña, and Conrad to fill the Senate vacancy.

Jayapal’s resignation is effective as of Sunday, December 11th.

King County Democratic Chair Bailey Stober thanked all the PCOs and candidates who participated in the special nominating caucus.

“I’m extremely proud of the three names our party is submitting to the King County Council. They have a difficult decision to make, with several highly qualified nominees seeking to be appointed. I’m confident that the Council will select a fantastic new Senator from the 37th District that will represent the values of such a diverse and dynamic district,” said Stober.