Converge Media’s Omari Salisbury, Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison, Plymouth Housing CEO Karen Lee and Rep. Jamila Taylor share highs and lows of the year.

Twists and turns defined 2022 in Seattle and beyond. On the national level, inflation surged as pandemic cases waned and the overturning of a landmark abortion law helped fuel a surprising result in the midterm elections. Locally, a new city attorney and mayor came to power as public safety concerns continued their rise and homelessness remained a perennial concern.

There was some good news we could all agree on, too: The Mariners finally made it back to the playoffs, though their journey was also filled with thrilling twists and turns.

Yet what do all of these events lead up to? Are we seeing more political progress and more lasting solutions for the city, or is there just more of the same in store for the new year?

For this episode of the Civic Cocktail podcast, we have invited a panel of elected and community leaders to help us understand where 2022 brought us and where we might be headed. Host Monica Guzman sits down with Converge Media’s Omari Salisbury, Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison, Plymouth Housing CEO Karen Lee and Rep. Jamila Taylor for some serious talk, mixed with questions that are a little fun.

This conversation was recorded on Dec. 7, 2022.

Civic Cocktail is a production of Seattle City Club and Crosscut.

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Credits

Host: Mónica Guzmán

Podcast production: Mark Baumgarten

Event production: Jake Newman, Andrea O'Meara

As the midterms draw to a close, two strategists and an elected leader discuss how our two major parties gain — and wield — political control.

As the region and the nation continued counting votes from the midterms, a brief period of reflection has descended on local and national politics. Candidates and incumbents who won must decide what forward path to chart. Those who came up short, meanwhile, are left to reassess their political prospects.

As part of this examination, Civic Cocktail invited political insiders to consider the lessons of the midterms and a general question that animates American politics: When so much about our political process feels so messy, divisive and volatile, what does it take to win a race, bring about a new policy or just lead?

In the episode’s first segment, host Monica Guzman sits down with King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay to talk about the practical considerations of power and policy at his level of government.

"I think people are really disillusioned with the federal government and how hard it is to create change at the federal level," said Grimay. "It's much easier, relatively speaking, to create change at the local level."

Then, in the second segment, Republican consultant Alex Hays and Democratic consultant Crystal Fincher discuss how the challenges of running for office and winning on policy look different, yet the same, through red and blue lenses.

This conversation was recorded on Nov. 9, 2022.

Civic Cocktail is a production of Seattle City Club and Crosscut.

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Credits

Host: Mónica Guzmán

Podcast production: Mark Baumgarten

Event production: Jake Newman, Andrea O'Meara

Three political journalists discuss how the economy, abortion and public safety might shape the state’s senate, congressional and secretary of state races.

Ballots will begin arriving in mailboxes throughout the state of Washington this week. And voters have some big choices to make.

Informing those big choices will be some big questions: How are major national issues like abortion and the economy driving campaigns across the state? What local issues will show up on the ballot? And what does it all mean for the broader political dynamics in our country?

Washington's 2022 midterms might be a referendum on Democrats in power or, thanks to tense confrontations about the health of our elections and democracy, yet another election about Trump.

For the first segment of this episode of the Civic Cocktail podcast, we have invited a panel of local political journalists to analyze these issues inside and out.

Then, in segment two, we take a deep dive into the quest for disability rights in the workplace.

This conversation was recorded on Oct. 12, 2022.

Civic Cocktail is a production of Seattle City Club and Crosscut.

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Credits

Host: Mónica Guzmán

Podcast production: Mark Baumgarten

Event production: Jake Newman, Andrea O'Meara