Hear the full interview by clicking "Listen" above.
Jaelynn Scott is poised to become Washington state’s first openly transgender lawmaker.
Scott is running a Democratic Socialist for a Washington state House seat in the 37th District, which covers South Seattle along I-5 from the Central District down to Renton.
In the August primary, she won 88% of the vote. Her opponent, Evon McCorkle, is a college student running as an Independent.
Scott, who is Black, said her identity would help her connect with the issues people in her district are facing. The Trump administration has rolled back healthcare access for transgender people. It has also targeted immigrant populations.
“It means someone who also has to look over her shoulders — and who knows the urgency of this moment, the risks that we're all facing,” Scott said. “And how very important it is, what we do at the city level, at the state level, and at the federal level to protect our constituents and to make sure that working people can live and thrive.”
Voters will decide on a statewide initiative that would ban transgender girls from playing in girls’ sports. Another initiative would give parents of public school students authority to review classroom materials, obtain medical records and allow students to skip assignments that involve questions about a child’s sexual experiences or their family’s religious beliefs.
Scott said these initiatives aim to make scapegoats of trans people in order to start a culture war and distract voters.
“We will not be distracted,” she said. “Washingtonians have shown over and over again that they believe that Washington state should protect its citizens and that it is a sanctuary for all. That includes immigrants and it includes trans communities.”
Scott has been out as a queer person since her teenage years. She attended a traditional Black church in Mississippi where she grew up, and later became an ordained Buddhist minister.
“Being in ministry is not different than the social justice work that I do now, or even the political work,” Scott said. “It feels like an extension of actually fighting income inequality and fighting for working people.”
Scott, who is no longer practicing as a minister, serves as the executive director at the nonprofit Lavender Rights Project, which works on issues affecting LGBTQ and Black communities, including housing, civil rights and criminal justice reform.
This is the first time Scott is running for office. She wants to focus on affordability and would support the state backfilling federal cuts to Medicaid. She is also in favor of a tax on households that earn more than $1 million a year, but does not want that to expand to lower incomes. Instead, Scott said the focus should be on bringing relief to people earning less.
“We need to move with care, but not incrementalism,” she said. “We need to move with urgency, and we need to raise more revenue, more progressive revenue sooner, and lower the costs on the bottom that includes sales tax and property tax for everyday people.”
Scott said she is not a Black trans activist for trans women. Instead, she describes herself as an organizer for all working people.
“If we can get the system right for the people who are experiencing the worst in healthcare disparities, the worst in healthcare crisis, the worst in community violence — if we get that right, it means it will be right for all Washingtonians because it would necessitate the dismantling of so many systems of oppression that are happening in our state that impact all of us,” she said.
Voters can mail or drop their ballot off at a county-operated drop box. For more information about voting and where to find a ballot drop box, visit the Washington Secretary of State’s website.
