Thank You, Puyallup.

 Puyallup Friends and Neighbors,

Tonight, I am conceding our race for Puyallup City Council.

While it appears that there are still votes left to be counted, we have concluded that there is no longer a viable path to victory. 

Defeat by such a small margin is difficult to process, and I share in your disappointment that we are coming up short this time. We know that we fought hard and left everything on the field.

I want to congratulate Jim Kastama on winning another term as our Councilman in District 1. For the sake of this community, I hope that we can work together on the significant issues we in Puyallup face, and endure, together.

I want to give first of many thanks to everyone on our team. This was a hard fought race, and every second of it mattered. To our staff, volunteers, the local party apparatus and community partners and endorsers- you took someone who could have never even imagined running for office just a few years ago and helped run one hell of a campaign. Thank you.

To my supporters; my friends and neighbors, I owe you an impossible debt of gratitude. Every door knocked, every call made, every sign waved or stuck in a yard, and every bubble filled made a difference for us. To my most special supporters, my wife, Shannon, and daughters, Emma and Polly, thank you for standing by my side. Politics is a tough business and I could not have come this far without you.

I want to leave you with a few words of encouragement. 

Our efforts were not in vain. Our campaign was about accountability, transparency, and courage. You helped us bring attention to major issues throughout our city that we will continue to rally around.

• A Comprehensive Plan that echoes the values of Puyallup and not Washington D.C.

• A traffic scheme that desperately needs to be brought into the 21st century.

• A need for youth to have a means of input in how our municipality operates.

• Accountability for expensive and undemocratic new capital projects, and changing course.

• A need for compassion, responsiveness and responsibility, and some guts in City Hall.

The problems we spent this campaign talking about are still here. We must work with City Hall to deliver on an agenda for the future- to get the city we all love and share back on track.

This campaign was a rewarding experience that I will never forget- but this election has come to an end. We must continue to work hard, continue the fight, and push for a Puyallup that puts working families first. Remember that this city is yours, and no one else’s.

Let’s keep pushing, as the Land of the Generous people. Thank you District 1. Thank you Puyallup.

        – Jeff Bennett