Burien Deputy Mayor Krystal Marx announced Wednesday (Sept. 22, 2021) that she is pulling out of the 2022 race to represent Washington’s Ninth Congressional District in the US Congress.
As we previously reported, Marx announced in May that she would take on longtime incumbent Rep. Adam Smith in the 2022 election.
Marx is also still running for reelection to her Burien City Council seat, Position No. 7, where she faces challenger Stephanie Mora. If reelected to Burien Council, her four-year term will expire in 2026. If she happened to beat Smith in 2022, she would have had to resign from that position prior to January, 2023, less than one year into her second term (if she’s reelected in the Nov. 2 General Election).
She has served on the Burien Council since 2018, and has been Deputy Mayor since 2019. She also is the Executive Director of Seattle Pride.
“When I entered this race in May, I did so with the tenacity and lived experience of someone who survived childhood homelessness and adulthood poverty,” Marx said in a statement. “That being said, I realized my experience and dedication was better served in Burien on the Burien City Council, and wish to continue serving my community there.”
“As a mom to one trans son and to another with Type 1 diabetes, as a queer housing activist, and as someone who has experienced houselessness and chronic unemployment while being my partner’s sole caregiver, I feel a sense of urgency that is missing in the halls of Congress,” Marx added.
Marx “wishes to thank the many supporters, elected officials and community organizations who came alongside the campaign with support of the goals and policies it represented,” she said in the statement.
In the August primary, Marx came in first in the six-way race for Position No. 7 on the Burien City Council. Marx says she is “running a campaign that centers on housing, homelessness, community-informed public safety and regional solutions to regional problems, and looks forward to working closely with other leaders to fight for Burien and South King County.”
Click the picture to read my announcement about stepping out of the congressional race. (Picture: Press release for @KrystalForWA announcing the end of our congressional campaign and desire to focus on Burien.) @ElectGallardo, go get ’em. <3 pic.twitter.com/ORPmcQFevS
— Krystal *Haha Your Last Name is Marx* Marx (@Bishop_Krystal) September 22, 2021
