Leah Griffin
Leah Griffin (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Washington House of Representatives to represent District 34-Position 1. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Griffin completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Leah Griffin earned a bachelor's degree from Seattle Pacific University in 2007 and a graduate degree from the University of Washington in 2011. Her career experience includes working as a librarian.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Washington House of Representatives District 34-Position 1
Emily Alvarado defeated Leah Griffin in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 34-Position 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Emily Alvarado (D) | 70.4 | 44,486 |
 | Leah Griffin (D)  | 28.1 | 17,755 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.5 | 928 | ||
| Total votes: 63,169 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 34-Position 1
Emily Alvarado and Leah Griffin defeated Jolie Lansdowne in the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 34-Position 1 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Emily Alvarado (D) | 54.0 | 23,002 |
| ✔ | | Leah Griffin (D) | 31.2 | 13,290 |
 | Jolie Lansdowne (R) | 14.6 | 6,215 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 60 | ||
| Total votes: 42,567 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Griffin's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Leah Griffin completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Griffin's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I’m a school librarian who is passionate about my district, knows the value of research, and understands the power of a story. My story is that in 2014, I was raped by a man in my neighborhood and encountered a series of broken systems. Over the past eight years, I’ve passed multiple laws to reform the systems which failed me. I lead the Democratic Party on the Approve R90 campaign to create inclusive sexual health education. I worked on the coalition behind the Keep Our Care Act to provide oversight to religiously affiliated hospital mergers which seek to deny abortion and trans healthcare. I passed bills that require rape kits be tested, tracked, and stored. I’ve worked to change the ending of my story and I’m running because I want my neighbors to have that experience, too. Throughout my work in the 34th, I know that our communities are worried about gun violence, the dismantling of Roe v. Wade, an economy that leaves many behind, climate change, a lack of behavioral healthcare, and homelessness. I have successfully stood up to institutions to make change, and neighbors in the 34th can be assured I will stand with them as well.
- One of my top priorities is public safety. Our current approach to public safety fails to hold perpetrators of crime accountable and help victims of crime. Truly violent offenders are not held accountable and those who need help often lack the resources or skills they need to be better citizens. In the legislature, I will work to create a more modern, effective criminal justice and public safety system which centers accountability and rehabilitation and combats systemic racism within its institutions. We must provide individual access to behavioral health, job training, and social support services. Washington has the duty to create an economic and educational environment where committing crimes becomes less likely.
- Another of my key messages surrounds reproductive justice. The fight for abortion access is more important than ever. In Washington, nearly 50% of hospital beds sit in facilities which place limits on abortion. Through serving as Policy Committee Chair for the National Women’s Political Caucus of WA and on the coalition supporting the Keep Our Care Act, I understand the urgent need to pass legislation increasing access to abortion healthcare and I have experience expanding access at the state and federal level. Due to the fall of Roe v. Wade, in Washington we must prepare for a 385% increase in individuals seeking abortions. I will work to make sure we are ready for this increase, which begins with limiting religious hospital mergers.
- My final key message surrounds housing and homelessness. The price of housing in the 34th has far outpaced the saving power of many families. I was able to purchase my house under a now stagnant HUD program which prioritized local, first-time homebuyers. I look forward to crafting policies similar to the original HUD program I benefited from in order to help middle and low wage workers afford home ownership in their neighborhoods. We also must work to increase public and social housing. Previous administrations have focused on incentivizing private developers. I believe that public development provides better opportunities for Union labor, increases density around transit, and establishes creative paths to home ownership for workers.
What I have learned through my advocacy and creating system-level change is that the only way we can make things better is by rolling up our sleeves and putting in the hard work. My passion for public policy began as I realized that through telling my story, I could create real change. Showing up and speaking out is how we fix broken systems. We need stricter gun laws, reproductive justice protections, a much more progressive tax code, mass investments in public transportation, creative and new pathways to increase public housing, fully funded public education, accessible behavioral healthcare services, and a single-payer healthcare system. We know what we want, but it's only through hard work and tenacity that we will be able to make these goals a reality. My job as a school librarian requires me to be an expert at research, and I intend to use those skills to construct evidence-based solutions to issues. I am excited to continue to work on behalf of our neighbors, tell the stories within our communities, and pass legislation which creates real change for Washingtonians. It’s time to do more, and I am ready to do so.
“You’re More Powerful Than You Think” by Eric Liu
From my activism, I know that it is crucial that our legislators keep in constant contact and engage directly with their constituents and communities. Only if lawmakers are willing to listen to their communities can real change be created, and I look forward to continuing work with a variety of communities, groups, and individuals if elected. I also believe that a core responsibility of our lawmakers is to consider the challenges we face through an intersectional lens. Every policy which addresses housing, education access, abortion healthcare, climate change, transportation, public safety, and livable wages must consder impacts on other policies, marginalized communnities, and overlapping identities. Through my work advocating for survivors, I have crafted legislation within our healthcare system, our education system, and our public safety and legal system. Each and every policy area has widespread impacts on other issues and priorities, and I will work to ensure that our policies are crafted in a way which accounts for these intersections and impacts.
I would like to leave a legacy of championing evidence and community based policy solutions. As a librarian in the legislature, I will ensure that each and every policy decision stems from research-based solutions which account for the concerns and stories of our neighbors. I have a proven track record of getting successful legislation passed within my activism and work outside of school, and so I am so excited by the possibility of bringing the same drive and tenacity through work as a State Representative. We need to be ready for increased access to abortion in our state, we need a much more progressive tax code, we must invest in reliable, efficient public transportation, and we need to establish creative pathways to increase public housing. Our families, students, and workers need access to behavioral healthcare services and deserve a single-payer healthcare system. We know what we want, but it's only through hard work, dedication, and research-based solutions that we will be able to make these goals a reality. It is time to show up and do more, and I cannot wait to get to work.
The first historical event that impacted me as a child was the Oklahoma City bombing. I was nine years old, and devastated for the children that were lost in that attack.
My first job was as a library page. I shelved books at the local public library for four years as a high schooler. I quickly became passionate about libraries and was able to connect with others who had a passion for learning and reading. It was from that job that I began to understand the importance and value of research. I have taken skills from that high school job with me throughout my career, and am so glad to have learned library research and organizational skills as a high schooler.
The book which I return to over and over is “Leave of Grass” by Walt Whitman. It reminds me of the connectedness of all things, and the importance of truth to self.
Our neighbors in the 34th and across the state know the variety of challenges our leaders have the responsibility to address. From climate change to abortion access to public education, the challenges we face today must be addressed now so that our next decade of work can make a real difference for our state. I haved knocked on thousands of doors across our district, and what is clear is that neighbors are increasingly worried about public safety. We must work to implement a criminal justice and public safety system which centers accountability, rehabilitation, and supports victims. We must increase access to behavioral health and job training services for imprisonment to be effective. Secondly, our neighbors are worried about access to transportation. We must prioritize mass investments in public transportation. We must prioritize the use of union labor to build boats, expand light rail to the 34th, and increase bus routes across the district and throughout the state. The impact of the West Seattle bridge being closed on our neighbors displays the need for efficient public transit within our district and state. Everyone should have access to an unlimited transit pass. I am proud to have the endorsement of the Transit Riders Union and the Amalgamated Transit Union, and look forward to working with these groups to meet these goals. Finally, our neighbors are worried about healthcare. I support the Washington Health Trust in establishing universal healthcare, especially as research has shown that a universal public healthcare trust will save our residents over $9 billion in healthcare costs. No Washington resident should go bankrupt or lose their home because of a health emergency. Nobody should wait months, like I had to, to access behavioral healthcare services. As our neighbors continue to worry about these challenges, I am ready to utilize my legislative experience to implement real changes as they are needed for our state and I cannot wait to get to work.
Following my assault, I took every action I could think of. I went to the hospital, filed a police report, and cooperated within a broken legal and healthcare system for nearly a year. I was enraged that this was the process survivors of sexual assault had to go through, and I realized that deeper reform and meaningful legislation had to be passed in order for change to occur. I contacted every elected official I could in hopes of telling my story and bringing about change within these systems. Senator Patty Murray was the first lawmaker to listen to my story, and she and other champions in the legislature were willing to work together to create real change. Through working with Senator Murray on the Survivor’s Access to Supportive Care Act, we were able to dramatically increase the number of sexual assault nurse examiners in hospitals across the nation. In March of 2022, my federal law passed, and $150 million in federal funds were allocated to train sexual assault nurse examiners. I worked with State Representative Tina Orwall, State Senator Manka Dhingra, and State Senator Yasmin Trudeau on the Sexual Assault Forsensic Examination taskforce to pass legislation requiring the testing, tracking, and storing of rape kits. We redefined rape in the 3rd degree, and by the end of this year the entire 100,000 rape kit backlog will be tested. I worked with State Senator Claire Wilson on the approve R-90 campaign to improve sexual health education in our schools. These leaders were willing to listen to my story and take action. From these experiences, I understand the importance of building relationships with other legislators and with constituents who want to see change take place. While stories are what pave the way for change, it takes leaders willing to listen and work together for change to be realized. I will continue to prioritize building coalitions through forming relationships with other legislators and neighbors so that we can make real differences for the 34th.
My work as a school librarian and activist leads me to be interested in serving on the Healthcare, Education, Appropriation, and Public Safety committees. Especially as we prepare for a tremendous influx of people seeking abortions, as public saftey continues to be a concern of so many of our neighbors, and as I continue to see the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on so many of our students, I look forward to forming research-based, meaningful legislation which work towards our goals in these areas.
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See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate Washington House of Representatives District 34-Position 1 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 3, 2022
