Sally Bagshaw

Sally Bagshaw
Sally Bagshaw in 2016
Member of the Seattle City Council from District 7
In office January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2019
Succeeded by	Andrew J. Lewis
Member of the Seattle City Council, Position 4
In office January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2015
Preceded by	Jan Drago
Succeeded by	Redistricted
Personal details
Born	(1951-02-15) February 15, 1951 (age 73) Portland, Oregon
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Brad Bagshaw
Children	2
Residence	Seattle, Washington
Education	Stanford University (BA) University of Idaho (JD)
Website	Council webpage

Sally G. Bagshaw is an American politician and former member of the Seattle City Council from 2016-2019. Before being elected to city council, she had been the chief civil deputy prosecutor in the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for eight years under Norm Maleng.^[1]

Bagshaw attended Stanford University for her undergraduate degree, then University of Idaho earning a law degree.^[2] She began her legal career as an assistant attorney general at both the University of Washington and Washington State University.^[3] For thirteen years, we worked at the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, for eight of those years she was the chief civil deputy prosecutor.^[2][4] In 2004, Bagshaw earned the King County Bar Association's Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award and the State Bar Association's annual award for lawyers in public service.^[5]

On March 1, 2009, councilmember Jan Drago announced that she would not seek reelection, creating an open seat for Position 4. ^[6] Drago urged Bagshaw to run for her seat because of her deep knowledge and unique skills.^[7] Bagshaw ran on replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel, changing zoning laws to increase low-income housing and allowing for Assessor Dwelling Units in single-family zones, and bringing light rail to West Seattle.^[5][7]

Bagshaw would have to walk back a statement at a primary debate in which she raised a "No" card when candidates were asked if they had contributed to a Republican campaign.^[8] Bagshaw donated $150 to Republican Attorney General Rob Mckenna, and her husband donated $900 to King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg^[8] She would later correct herself, and in an interview state, "...I worked hard to get Obama elected—but I supported a couple of Republicans over the years and I’m being shunned... I could reach across the aisle."^[9]

In the primary election, Bagshaw won a majority of votes, 51%, with her nearest challenger, David Bloom, only garnering 18% of the vote.^[10] In the November General election, Bagshaw won in a landslide with 69% of the vote compared to Bloom's 30%.^[10]

Bagshaw ran for reelection in 2013 with only one challenger, Sam Bellomio, who was known for speaking at council public comments calling the council "terrorists" and saying their meetings were "worse than Nazi Germany."^[11]

Bagshaw won in a landslide in the November General Election against Bellomio, 84% to 15%.^[12]

In 2015, all nine city council seats would be up for election, with seven seats turning from city-wide to district seats.^[13] Bagshaw was initially open to running in District 4, but ultimately decided to run in District 7 which covers Downtown, South Lake Union, Queen Anne, and Magnolia.^[2][13] There would be two other challengers for the district 4 seat.^[14]

In the August Primary election, Bagshaw would get first place in a landslide, with 76% of the vote, with her nearest competitor, Deborah Zech-Artis, only receiving 13%.^[15]In the general election, Bagshaw won in another landslide, with 81% of the vote compared to Zech-Artis' 18%.^[16]

During her tenure as chair of the Human Services Committee, Bagshaw oversaw the council's response to the East Duwamish Greenbelt homeless encampment, also known as The Jungle.^[17] Councilmembers, included Bagshaw, wanted to slow down Mayor Ed Murray's plan to clear the encampment until permanent housing was offered to all people in the encampment.^[17] Bagshaw would receive backlash from community members over a slow response from the council and defended herself and the council by saying, "Nobody stopped or slowed down the work under the Duwamish Greenbelt."^[18]

On a 6-3 vote, the council, including Bagshaw, voted to sweep the Jungle. ^[19] Later, Bagshaw floated the idea of reopening the Jungle, stating "I'm not saying it's the best place. I'm saying it may be better than letting them run around in neighborhoods where they're camping and causing problems."^[20]

Bagshaw worked closely on the demolition of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and later the creation of the State Route 99 tunnel.^[21]

After Ed Murray's resignation, the council had to vote on an interim mayor as his replacement. Bagshaw would nominate council member Tim Burgess (politician) and not fellow councilmember Lorena González.^[22] Her reasoning was "he’s the right guy" and when asked to elaborate, Bagshaw said "Well, Lorena’s getting married at the end of November. She’s also a candidate. Those two are very good reasons."^[22] Gonzalez responded by saying, "Let's stick to merit. #feminism," with Bagshaw apologizing to the full council.^[22] Burgess would be voted by the full council to replace Murray.

In November 2018, Bagshaw announced that she would not seek reelection.^[23]

Bagshaw is married to her husband Brad^[24] and has two sons.^[25] At 47, Bagshaw earned her pilots license and sails internationally on her sailboat.^[5] In 2020, Bagshaw joined Harvard's Advanced Leadership Initiative as a fellow.^[3]