Summary:
Jaelynn Scott, the executive director of the Lavender Rights Project, has launched a campaign for state representative in Washington's 37th Legislative District. Scott's campaign platform focuses on expanding healthcare access, addressing housing affordability, and strengthening public safety through community-based approaches. She has already secured endorsements from several regional leaders and has a history of redirecting funding for permanent supportive housing and related services. Scott's campaign will focus on mobilizing renters, working-class voters, and historically marginalized communities across the district.
Jaelynn Scott, executive director of the Lavender Rights Project, has launched a campaign for state representative in Washington’s 37th Legislative District, outlining a platform focused on housing stability, civil liberties and public safety reform.
Scott announced the campaign earlier this week, saying the bid is rooted in lived experience and policy work aimed at improving housing access and strengthening social safety nets.
“We are living in an unprecedented moment where our civil liberties, our diverse communities, and our ability to afford to live in our own neighborhoods are under attack,” said Scott. “We already have socialism for the rich; it’s time for politics for the people. I am running because you cannot solve a crisis you do not understand, and my lived experience has given me the pragmatic expertise to fix the safety nets that have failed too many of us. It’s time to move beyond soundbites and start passing legislation that works.”
The 37th Legislative District includes neighborhoods from Seattle’s Central District to South Seattle and Skyway.
Scott, a community organizer and ordained minister, said personal experiences with job loss, addiction and housing instability helped shape a focus on policies addressing housing, health care and economic security.
As a policy advocate, Scott helped lead an effort to redirect $16 million in city and county funding originally intended for jail expansion into permanent supportive housing and related services. Scott also worked with the Chief Seattle Club to develop LGBTQ permanent supportive housing.
Scott’s campaign platform centers on three priorities: expanding health care access, addressing housing affordability and strengthening public safety through community-based approaches.
Under a proposal called “Care for Our Neighbors,” Scott supports establishing the Washington Health Trust to create universal, state-funded health care and expanding access to child care.
A second pillar, “Stable Sanctuary,” focuses on housing affordability and economic justice. Scott supports progressive revenue options, including a wealth tax, to fund social housing and guaranteed income programs.
The campaign’s third focus, “Real Public Safety,” calls for expanding behavioral health crisis response systems, investing in violence prevention and strengthening data privacy protections.
Scott has already secured endorsements from several regional leaders, including King County Executive Girmay Zahilay, state Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, Seattle City Council President Joy Hollingsworth, Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans, Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Seattle City Councilmember Dionne Foster, Port of Seattle Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa, Seattle School Board Director Kathleen Smith and former Seattle School Board Director Michelle Sarju.
“Jaelynn Scott is exactly the kind of pragmatic, compassionate leader the 37th District needs in Olympia right now,” said Zahilay. “Jaelynn doesn’t just talk about housing and public safety, she delivers real results. She has successfully built desperately needed housing, and at a time when our civil liberties are under threat and working families are being squeezed out of the neighborhoods they built, we need leaders who understand both the urgency of this moment and how to turn vision into policy. Jaelynn has the courage, the lived experience, and the skill to protect our communities and move Washington forward.”
Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck also endorsed the campaign.
“Jaelynn Scott has spent her career fighting for people who are too often pushed to the margins,” said Rinck. “She understands that real public safety means investing in housing, behavioral health, and economic opportunity, not doubling down on systems that have failed our neighbors. Jaelynn leads with integrity, accountability, and a deep commitment to equity. The 37th District deserves a representative who will stand up to federal overreach, defend working families, and deliver solutions that make our communities safer and more affordable. Jaelynn is that leader.”
Scott said the campaign will focus on mobilizing renters, working-class voters and historically marginalized communities across the district.
“I know what it means to rebuild a life from the ground up,” said Scott. “And I will bring that same fierce resilience and deep love for our neighbors to the state legislature. I am ready to stand on business for the 37th.”