As LGBTQ Commission co-chair, I continually tried to get the Mayor’s office to work with us on things as small as recruiting. Even that couldn’t be done, and we were ridiculed to others as being “unreasonable” for not simply acquiescing to her completely screwing over our process

Durkan first declined to approve prospective candidates who had been waiting months just so she could keep the seats open *in case* she had another appointment she wanted to make.

There was a lot of messiness after this, but we eventually got to the point where the (now former) liaison was supposed to work with us on recruiting. He didn’t show up for the interviews. We put forward two names for consideration anyway.

Both were people of color, including a prominent Native leader. We had been lacking 2S representation on the Commission and were really excited for this appointment.

Durkan didn’t get back to us for a while, as the other appointments we put up for Council and Commission seats went through. At that point, when we had basically no non-mayoral seats to play with reshuffling appointees, Durkan’s office said they were considering other people.

She wasn’t rejecting them, but she also wasn’t appointing them. I found out she was reaching out to people who had been allies during her campaign to see if anyone was interested in an appointment.

I had to make a HUGE stink about them rejecting our applicants and voice concern to City Council in a meeting to get her to actually appoint one of our applicants. The other was in limbo for a year before he was able to get a City Council seat.

(Part of that limbo was waiting for Durkan, part was procedural. By that point someone else dropped from the Commission and we had another seat open, but due to committee hearings being canceled during budget it took FOREVER)