Greenie Mulling City Council Bid

Though he won't say whether it's official yet, Joe Szwaja's has filed his papers to run for Seattle City Council and is listed as a candidate on the city’s campaigns Web site. He’s currently not committed to a particular seat, but the scuttlebutt around City Hall is that he plans to challenge council member Jean Godden.

Szwaja says he’ll announce his intentions next week. “We’re going to make the decision on whether to run based on what we think is the best thing to transform the city council and help the city move forward,” he says.

Though he’s a newcomer to city politics, Szwaja’s not a total rookie. He challenged Rep. Jim McDermott in 2000 for the District 7 House seat and won about 20 percent of the vote.

Asked if he ran to the left of McDermott, Szwaja says he tries to avoid those labels. (Though he isn’t shy about calling himself a Green Party member.)

“We ran a race that advocated the values close to the hearts of the people of Seattle, including fair trade and peace around the world,” Szwaja says. “I think we played a role in making Congressman McDermott a better representative.”

Stay tuned for next week’s announcement.