Jessyn Farrell

Jessyn Lynn Farrell (née Staulcup,^[1][2] born November 8, 1973) is an American activist and politician who served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017.^[3][4] In the legislature, she focused on transportation, education, and labor issues. Farrell began her 2017 Seattle mayoral election campaign on May 12, 2017, and did not advance in the August 1, 2017 primary.^[5]

Jessyn Farrell
Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 46th district
In office January 14, 2013 – June 1, 2017
Preceded by	Phyllis Gutiérrez Kenney
Succeeded by	Javier Valdez
Personal details
Born	Jessyn Lynn Staulcup (1973-11-08) November 8, 1973 (age 50) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	University of Washington (BA) Boston College (JD)

Early life and education

Jessyn Farrell grew up in Seattle's Lake City neighborhood, and the adjacent city of Lake Forest Park.^[6]

At Shorecrest High School, Farrell was voted "most likely to be a politician."^[6] After graduating with a degree in history from the University of Washington, where she was the leader of the saxophone section in the Husky Marching Band, Farrell served as an AmeriCorps volunteer with the Youth Tutoring Program at Yesler Terrace.^[7][8][9]

Farrell earned a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School.^[6] As a summer intern, she worked for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, assisting in the investigation and prosecution of war crimes.^[10]

Career

Activism

Farrell is a longtime transit and environmental advocate.^[11] She started out as Transportation Advocate at the Washington Public Interest Research Group in Seattle, where she directed their efforts to reduce the health and environmental impacts of automobile emissions.^[10]

From 2005 to 2008, Farrell served as the executive director of Transportation Choices Coalition (TCC), the leading nonprofit advocate for public transit in Washington.^[6] Under her leadership, the group led a coalition of transit and environmental organizations that successfully lobbied to redefine the state view of transportation capacity in a way that allowed more public funding to shift toward light rail and away from highways.^[12][13] Farrell and TCC also supported the passage of the 2008 ballot measure for Sound Transit 2, which funded light rail expansion north to Lynnwood, south to Federal Way, and east across Lake Washington.^[14]

After her time at TCC, Farrell joined the executive team at Pierce Transit, where she helped oversee the response to the Great Recession.^[14] Pierce Transit subsequently won the 2012 Puget Sound Regional Council VISION 2040 Award.^[15]

Washington House of Representatives

In 2012, Farrell ran for Position 2 in the 46th Legislative District of the Washington State House of Representatives. She defeated five opponents in the primary election and won the general election with 64% of the vote. She was reelected in 2014, with 82% of the vote, and in 2016, when she ran unopposed.^[16]

Farrell served on the Transportation (Vice Chair), Rules, and Commerce and Gaming committees in the State House.^[16] She was also the chair of the Working Families Caucus.^[17]

Labor

In the State House, Farrell was part of the Democratic effort to raise the statewide minimum wage. She introduced minimum wage bills in 2014, 2015, and 2016, securing passage through the House in 2015, only for the bill to die in the Republican-controlled Senate.^{[18][19][20][21]} The Democratic campaign to raise the minimum wage across Washington culminated in the passage of Initiative 1433 at the ballot box in November 2016, which will gradually raise the minimum wage to $13.50 by 2020.^[22]

In 2017, Farrell sponsored the Pregnant Workers' Fairness Act, which provides protections for pregnant women in Washington workplaces, such as more frequent restroom breaks, accessible drinking water, and flexible scheduling for doctors' visits.^[23] This was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee on May 16, 2017.^[24] Farrell was also a strong proponent of the 2015 Equal Pay Opportunity Act, which passed the House, but not the Republican-controlled Senate.^[25][26]

Transit

Farrell is known for her work on improving transit, and campaigning to successfully pass Sound Transit 3 (ST3), though she also voted along with State House Democrats to remove some funding from ST3.^[27][28]

In 2015, Farrell sponsored a bill that improves coordination between transit agencies in the Puget Sound region in order to provide better service, improve efficiency, save money, and institute accountability measures.^[29]

As Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee, Farrell was one of the legislative leaders involved in negotiating the 2015 Connect Washington transportation package.^[30] This spending bill funds hundreds of projects across Washington over a 16-year period, including overhauling State Route 520 and improving I-405, while also authorizing the Sound Transit 3 ballot measure for expansions to light rail, bus, and commuter rail in the Puget Sound region. The $16.1 billion package was funded by an 11.9-cent per gallon gasoline tax increase and by authorizing state bonds.^[31] The bill included money for pedestrian and bike infrastructure, such as the Northgate Pedestrian Bridge and the Burke-Gilman Trail.^[32]

The transportation package also supported affordable housing and education in the Puget Sound region. It required Sound Transit to contribute $20 million over five years to affordable housing and to give affordable housing developers the opportunity to bid on at least 80% of its surplus property.^[33] In addition, when Republicans earmarked $518 million in sales taxes from Sound Transit to go into the general fund, Farrell forced through an amendment that will require that money to be spent on educational programs for vulnerable students in the Sound Transit region.^[34]

In 2017, in response to a controversy over the valuation schedule used by Sound Transit to determine the amount of Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET), the House Democratic caucus voted to direct Sound Transit to use a newer valuation schedule that more accurately reflects cars' resale value and decreases taxes on many car owners in the Sound Transit area.^[35] Farrell supported this change, writing: "there's no way I'm asking my constituents to pay an MVET that's undergirded by an out of whack valuation schedule. When something is wrong, you fix it. Even if means taking some heat."^[36][37]

Transportation safety

Transportation safety was a particular area of focus for Farrell. In 2015, she led the passage of the Oil Transportation Safety Act, which gives advance notice of oil shipments to first responders and requires greater public disclosure of oil transportation.^[38] In 2017, she was the lead sponsor of the Driving Under the Influence of Electronics Act, a bipartisan bill that prohibits dangerous behaviors such as texting or holding an electronic device while driving.^[39]

Seattle mayoral election 2017

Farrell announced her entry into the race for Seattle mayor on May 12, 2017, one of several officeholders who joined the race shortly after Mayor Ed Murray announced he would not seek reelection.^[5][40] In a crowded field of 21 candidates ahead of the August 1 primary, Farrell was considered to be one of a half dozen relatively recognizable and viable candidates in the race, along with Jenny Durkan, Cary Moon, Nikkita Oliver, State Senator Bob Hasegawa, and former Mayor Mike McGinn.^[41][42][43]

Seattle mayoral election 2021

On March 18, 2021, Farrell announced that she was again running for mayor to replace incumbent mayor Jenny Durkan, who is not running for re-election.^[44] She has said that her main priorities as mayor would be to expand public transportation and making housing and childcare more affordable.^[45]

City of Seattle

On February 1, 2022, City of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced his appointment of Farrell as Director of the city's Office of Environment and Sustainability.^[46]

References

1. "The Negotiator: Jessyn Farrell Makes the Case That It's Time to Go Big on Density—and She's the Person Who Can Do It". The Stranger. June 28, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
2. "Howell-Henley". The Greenville News. June 15, 1997. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
3. "Jessyn Farrell Resigns as State Legislator, Will Focus on Mayor's Race". SeattleMet. June 1, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
4. "Jessyn Farrell's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
5. "State rep. Jessyn Farrell enters Seattle mayoral race", MyNorthwest.com, May 12, 2017
6. "Mayoral candidate Jessyn Farrell says record shows she'd keep Seattle's progressive train moving". The Seattle Times. July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
7. "Seattle Mayoral Race 2017 - Meer Jessyn Farrell". teamdivarealestate.com. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
8. "Capitol Hill Community Post | State Representative Jessyn Farrell to Run for Mayor". CHS Capitol Hill Seattle. May 12, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
9. "Q&A with State Rep. Jessyn Farrell '96 | State Relations". www.washington.edu. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
10. "Patch Candidate Q&A: Jessyn Farrell, 46th District Representative Position 2". Shoreline-Lake Forest Park, WA Patch. October 16, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
11. ericacbarnett (July 17, 2017). "The C Is for Crank Endorses: Jessyn Farrell". The C Is for crank. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
12. "Candidate Profile: Jessyn Farrell". Seattle Metropolitan. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
13. Barnett, Erica C. "Ground Shift". The Stranger. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
14. "Jessyn Farrell for Mayor". Seattle Transit Blog. July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
15. "Pierce Transit earns regional transportation award". Tacoma Daily Index. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
16. "Jessyn Farrell - Ballotpedia". Retrieved July 22, 2017.
17. "Teamsters 117 announces sole endorsement of Jessyn Farrell for Seattle Mayor". International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 117. June 16, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
18. "Washington State Legislature". app.leg.wa.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
19. "Washington State Legislature". app.leg.wa.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
20. "Boost in minimum wage to $12 wins backing in state House". The Seattle Times. March 3, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
21. "New initiative introduced to raise Washington's minimum wage". Capital Press. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
22. "Voters approve minimum wage increase to $13.50 in Washington state". The Seattle Times. November 8, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
23. "Washington State House Democrats » Statement from Rep. Jessyn Farrell on Pregnant Worker's Fairness Act". housedemocrats.wa.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
24. "Washington State House Democrats » New accommodations for pregnant workers become law". housedemocrats.wa.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
25. "Washington State House Democrats » Rep. Jessyn Farrell's floor speech on the Equal Pay Opportunity Act". housedemocrats.wa.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
26. "Washington State Legislature". app.leg.wa.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
27. White, Brent (April 13, 2017), "House Democrats All Vote Against Sound Transit", Seattle Transit Blog
28. Groover, Heidi (May 12, 2017), "State Representative Jessyn Farrell Is Running for Mayor", The Stranger
29. "Washington State House Democrats » Rep. Farrell bill to improve transit coordination passes legislature". housedemocrats.wa.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
30. "Washington State Legislature". app.leg.wa.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
31. "Legislature struggling with transportation deal". Crosscut. July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
32. "Washington State House Democrats » Statement from Rep. Jessyn Farrell on the transportation revenue package". housedemocrats.wa.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
33. "Compromise Transportation Package Details Online". Seattle Transit Blog. June 29, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
34. "Farrell Turns $518 Million Ransom Into Benefit for ST District". Seattle Transit Blog. July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
35. "House Democrats All Vote Against Sound Transit". Seattle Transit Blog. April 13, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
36. "Jessyn Farrell". www.facebook.com. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
37. ericacbarnett (May 31, 2017). "The C Is for Crank Interviews: Jessyn Farrell". The C Is for crank. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
38. "Gov. Inslee signs oil train safety bill". The Columbian. May 13, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
39. "Washington State House Democrats » New law to reduce distracted driving signed by governor". housedemocrats.wa.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
40. Beekman, Daniel (May 9, 2017). "Seattle Mayor Ed Murray won't seek second term: 'It tears me to pieces to step away'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
41. Bernard, Sara; Person, Daniel; Jaywork, Casey (July 5, 2017), "14 Long-Shot Candidates Explain Why They're Running for Mayor; It costs nearly $2,000 to run for the city's highest office. They think it's money well spent.", Seattle Weekly
42. Brand, Natalie (June 21, 2017), "McGinn, Durkan emerge as frontrunners for Seattle mayor, new poll shows", KING-TV
43. Groover, Heidi (May 19, 2017), "Here's Everyone Running for Mayor, City Council, and Everything Else You'll Have to Vote on This Year", The Stranger
44. Gutman, David (March 18, 2021). "Jessyn Farrell, former state representative, announces run for Seattle mayor". Seattle Times. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
45. "Former State Rep. Jessyn Farrell running for Seattle mayor". king5.com. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
46. Housen, Jamie (February 1, 2022). "Mayor Bruce Harrell Announces New Leadership Appointments". Office of the Mayor. Retrieved October 27, 2022.

Further reading

• Profile in Seattle Met
• Profile in The Stranger
• "Meet Seattle's candidates for mayor: Jessyn Farrell", The Seattle Times, July 19, 2017
• Profile in The Seattle Times
• Interview in The C Is for Crank

External links