Abel Pacheco Jr. is an American politician from Seattle, Washington. He was appointed to the District 4 seat on the Seattle City Council in April 2017.
Abel Pacheco Jr. | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Pacheco, October 2019 | |
| Member of the Seattle City Council from District 4 | |
| In office April 22, 2019 – November 27, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Rob Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Alex Pedersen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Los Angeles, California |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Ravenna, Seattle[1] |
| Alma mater | |
Early life and education
editPacheco was raised by Mexican immigrant parents in Los Angeles, California.[2] He earned his bachelors degree in political science at California State University, Northridge before moving to Seattle.[3] He has a Masters of Public Affairs degree from the University of Washington.[4]
Pacheco worked at the Seattle Foundation and the Seattle Police Foundation.[3] He later worked at the University of Washington as the assistant director of the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity and the STEM program director.[2][5]
In 2015, Pacheco was wrongfully arrested for allegedly assaulting a cab driver after receiving a promotion at the University of Washington. The conviction was later expunged.[2][6]
Seattle City Council
editPrior attemtps
editFor the first time, seven city council seats were decided by geographic representation in the 2015 election. Pacheco ran in District 4 against incumbent Jean Godden.[1][7] Pacheco came in fifth place in the August primary, receiving only 8.43% of the vote.[8]
In 2017, Pacheco ran for the appointment to fill the seat of Tim Burgess, who had become acting mayor.[9] The council appointed Kirsten Harris-Talley to fill the seat.[7]
2019 council appointment
editIn 2019, Pacheco ran for city council in District 4 after incumbent Rob Johnson (Seattle politician) stated he would not run for reelection.[10] During the election, Pacheco accused rival and future District 4 councilmember Alex Pedersen (politician) of sending emails saying, "Abel is a criminal."[2] Pederson denied the accusation.[2]
In March 2019, Johnson announced that he would resign from the city council in April to work as a transportation adviser for Seattle's new NHL team.[11] Pacheco was appointed to fill the position in a "caretaker" role, and stated that he would drop out of the District 4 race.[10]
Pacheco was chair of the Planning, Land Use & Zoning Committee during his time in office focusing on urbanist issues.[12] As chair, he introduced legislation that would reduce the amount of time for environmental review for projects related to housing and climate change.[13] The legislation received some push-back from over concerns of environmental protection and reduction in civic engagement, but passed 8-0.[14][15]
Personal life
editAfter leaving the city council, Pacheco then worked for Sound Transit.[16] In June 2023, he joined the Washington State Army National Guard as a part-time intelligence analyst.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b Beekman, Daniel (May 1, 2019). "Meet Abel Pacheco, Seattle's newest (and temporary) City Council member". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Graham, Nathalie (March 29, 2019). "Abel Pacheco, Once Wrongfully Arrested, Is Running for City Council to Reform Seattle's Criminal Justice System". The Stranger. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ a b "Abel Pacheco Subject Files, 2019". Archive West. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Yu Pai, Shin. "Changemakers: Then and now". University of Washington. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ Hyde, David (April 23, 2019). "Newest Seattle City Council member will have to dive into zoning". KUOW. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ Beekman, Daniel (April 23, 2019). "Meet the newest Seattle City Council member: Abel Pacheco Jr. appointed to succeed Rob Johnson". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ a b Kroman, David (April 22, 2019). "City Council picks Abel Pacheco Jr. to rep NE Seattle — and help lead city zoning conversations". Crosscut. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ "Election Results" (PDF). King County Elections. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ Norimine, Hayat (October 3, 2017). "Here Are the Applicants for the Interim City Council Seat". Seattle Met. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Daniels, Chris (April 22, 2019). "Abel Pacheco Jr. appointed to Seattle City Council". King 5.
- ^ My Northwest Staff (March 21, 2019). "Seattle Councilmember Rob Johnson to resign in April". My Northwest. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ Cohen, Josh (January 19, 2024). "What's it like to be appointed to the Seattle City Council?". Cascade PBS. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ Rantz, Jason (September 11, 2019). "Seattle council member hopes to cut through red tape with new measure". KTTH. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ Staff (September 10, 2019). "Stop Seattle City Council's faux environmentalism". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ Peha, Joseph (October 7, 2019). "Councilmembers Pacheco, O'Brien Applaud Passage of SEPA Reform, Honoring Original Intent of Protecting Environment". Seattle City Council. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ "Program: Abel Pacheco, "Service Expansion and Transit-Oriented Development: Sound Transit's Plans for the Future," June 8, 2023". University Sunrise Rotary Club. June 5, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2024.