Educator and community leader Kelabe Tewolde has announced his candidacy for the Washington State House of Representatives, seeking to represent the 37th Legislative District, Position 1.
Tewolde, a Democrat and lifelong Seattle resident, enters the race with nearly a decade of experience in education and youth development, along with a background in community advocacy.
He currently works with Rainier Scholars, a program he once participated in as a student, and has been involved in mentoring and supporting young people across Seattle.
Tewolde said his campaign is rooted in personal experience growing up in a working-class household led by his mother, who came to the United States as a refugee.
“I was raised in a working-class union family by my single mother, who came to this country as a refugee. We were priced out of neighborhood after neighborhood because, no matter how hard she worked, rising costs always outpaced her wages,” said Tewolde. “Parents shouldn’t be worried about eviction or where their next meal is coming from because our legislators are unwilling to create safety nets for those in need. I am running to represent the 37th LD because our families deserve better.”
The 37th Legislative District includes parts of South Seattle and Skyway, communities that Tewolde said have historically faced underinvestment.
“The safest and healthiest communities are those that are well invested in and well resourced. For far too long, South Seattle and Skyway have not been prioritized by our local leaders,” Tewolde said. “I support policies that will center community solutions to protect working-class families, our children, and our most vulnerable populations.”
Tewolde said his policy priorities include fully funding public schools, expanding access to affordable health care, addressing rising housing costs and investing in violence prevention programs.
“As a first-generation college student, I understand that access to quality education can change the course of a life,” he said. “I have friends who were recruited into gangs in middle school, and without programs like Rainier Scholars, they would have gone down that path. Keeping young people engaged in learning isn’t just an education issue, it’s a public safety solution.”
His campaign also reflects broader challenges facing many families in the district, including housing instability, economic inequality and barriers to opportunity that disproportionately impact communities of color.
Tewolde has raised more than $14,000 and has received endorsements from Matt Hutchins, co-chair of the Seattle Planning Commission, and Hannah Sabio-Howell, a candidate for the state Senate in the 43rd Legislative District.
He graduated from University Prep and later earned a degree in political science from Colgate University.
In addition to his work in education, Tewolde has served on the Seattle Planning Commission as co-chair of the Land Use and Transportation committee and participated in mutual aid efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As a lifelong Seattleite and educator, I watched my students and their families face the same issues my mother and I faced over 20 years ago: being priced out of their own neighborhoods, losing a loved one, and watching medical debt bankrupt the family left behind, and seeing young people lost to gun violence because no one invested in them first,” Tewolde said. “These aren’t policy talking points, they’re the daily realities of the 37th. It is long overdue for our communities to have the proper safety nets in place so that families can stop surviving and start thriving.”