Sofia Aragon

Sofia Aragon is a rising progressive star running for King County Council in Washington State. Despite her young age of 35, Aragon has already built an impressive resume as a community organizer, small business owner, and nonprofit leader. Now she aims to bring her bold vision for progress to the King County Council.

Aragon is running for the open seat in District 8, which covers southeast Seattle, Mercer Island, Newcastle, and Renton. She faces Teresa Mosqueda in the November 2023 general election after advancing from the August primary. Aragon brings a much-needed perspective as a woman of color and millennial to the council.

Her grassroots campaign focuses on issues like housing affordability, small business support, criminal justice reform, and climate action. Aragon’s experience bridging divides between marginalized groups makes her well-suited to represent King County’s diverse population. This profile explores her background, positions, path to potential victory, and impact if elected.

Early Life and Education

Sofia Aragon was born in 1988 in Renton, WA to parents who immigrated from Mexico. Her family struggled to make ends meet and sometimes relied on public assistance programs. These early experiences shaped Aragon’s progressive values and instilled a desire to help those in need.

Aragon attended Renton High School, where she excelled academically and participated in dance team. As a high schooler, she volunteered locally with food banks and immigration nonprofits.

Aragon was the first in her family to graduate college, earning a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Washington in 2010. At UW, she served as student body president and led activism around access to education.

Early Career

After college, Aragon worked locally as a community organizer. She helped register people of color to vote and advocated for immigrant rights. This grassroots work exposed Aragon to the needs of marginalized groups in King County.

Eager to empower women of color, Aragon co-founded the non-profit Sisterz Slay in 2015. As executive director, she provided professional development and networking for hundreds of young women of color in Seattle. Aragon won praise for connecting women across racial divides.

But Aragon wanted to make a bigger impact. She enrolled in Seattle University’s Master of Public Administration program, earning her degree in 2018. Her capstone project focused on language access in government services.

Entering Politics

2018 State Senate Run

Aragon first ran for office in 2018, vying for an open State Senate seat at just 29 years old. She modeled her grassroots campaign after fellow progressives like AOC. But Aragon finished 4th in the top-two primary, failing to advance to the general.

While she lost that bid, the experience lit a fire under Aragon to keep pursuing public office. She met countless unheard community members on the campaign trail. Aragon realized the importance of electing bold diverse voices like herself.

2023 County Council Campaign

In early 2023, Aragon launched her campaign for the open King County Council seat in District 8. She assembled a diverse team of young staffers and volunteers united by progressive values.

Aragon traversed the district, connecting with voters at farmer’s markets, parks, small businesses, and community events. She prioritized meeting people face-to-face over flashy mailers or tv ads.

This energetic grassroots campaign paid off, propelling Aragon to a 2nd place finish in the August primary. Now she heads into the November general election facing just one opponent, labor-backed Teresa Mosqueda.

Aragon embraces her identity as a young Latina progressive. Her life experiences give her unique insight into the economic and racial justice issues facing King County. Critics call Aragon too far left, but she believes the council needs bold voices unafraid to shake up the status quo.

Political Positions

Sofia Aragon runs on a solid progressive platform informed by her diverse life experiences. Some key issues include:

Housing and Homelessness

Aragon supports building more affordable public housing, increasing density near transit, and enacting stronger tenant protections. She also wants to boost funding for behavioral health treatment and permanent supportive housing to reduce chronic homelessness.

Small Business

Drawing on her experience as an entrepreneur, Aragon calls for expanding technical assistance programs for small business owners from marginalized backgrounds. This includes help with permitting, licensing, accessing credit, and more.

Education

Aragon wants Washington to fully fund public education rather than rely on local levies. She would invest more in K-12 tutoring, enrichment, and after-school programs. Aragon also advocates for tuition-free community and technical colleges.

Transportation

Aragon pushes for expanding mass transit across King County, especially in underserved southeast areas. She also aims to make streets safer by adding protected bike lanes, improving sidewalks, and calming traffic.

Criminal Justice Reform

Citing her brothers’ experiences with the justice system, Aragon calls for ending cash bail, prosecuting police misconduct, and investing in diversion programs. She believes the system should focus on rehabilitation, not punishment.

Environment

Aragon pledges to transition King County to 100% renewable energy by 2030 while creating green jobs. She supports banning plastic bags, building green infrastructure, and expanding electric vehicle charging countywide.

Healthcare

Aragon supports universal healthcare through a single-payer model. In the meantime, she wants King County to create more public health clinics and enroll more residents in Apple Health.

Personal Life

Sofia Aragon resides in Renton, her childhood hometown, with her husband Pablo and young daughter Isabel. She spends free time outdoors hiking and tending to her vegetable garden.

Aragon remains active in the local Latina community through groups like Hermanas Unidas. She takes inspiration from other trailblazing women of color in politics like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Despite entering the bruising world of politics, Aragon retains a contagiously upbeat attitude. She operates with warmth, listening earnestly to voters’ concerns. Aragon hopes to bring more empathy and cooperation to governing.

Path to Victory in 2023

Sofia Aragon faces a tough general election battle against fellow Democrat Teresa Mosqueda. But Aragon brings several advantages that could propel an upset victory:

• Grassroots Momentum: Aragon mobilized volunteers and small donors for an energetic field campaign during the primary. She hopes to maintain that wide base of grassroots support.
• District Ties: Aragon was born and raised in the district. Her local roots and connections could give her an edge with voters.
• Progressive Energy: The party’s left flank is ascendant nationally. Aragon could benefit from broader excitement about progressive candidates and policies.
• Diverse Support: As a young Latina, Aragon attracts a more diverse coalition across age, race, and ideology. This will help increase turnout.
• Change Mandate: Mosqueda is seen as part of the status quo establishment. Aragon promises to shake up politics as usual in King County. That outsider message may resonate.

To win, Aragon must generate robust turnout among young people, communities of color, and newly engaged progressives. She also needs to convince moderates her policies respond to voters’ economic and quality-of-life concerns.

Impact if Elected

The King County Council shapes policy for 2.2 million residents. If elected, Sofia Aragon would bring a bold progressive vision and advocate for underserved communities.

Specifically, Aragon could impact:

• Housing affordability by passing tenant protections and expanding affordable units
• Homelessness by directing more funding to behavioral health programs and permanent housing
• Small business support through improved technical assistance and access to credit
• Criminal justice reform via ending cash bail, prosecuting police misconduct, and investing in diversion
• Public health by creating more clinics, enrolling residents in insurance, and addressing inequities
• Sustainability through policies like 100% renewable energy, plastic bag bans, and green infrastructure
• Transportation by expanding transit access and making streets more bike/pedestrian friendly

While just one voice on a 9-member council, Aragon would provide key momentum for progressive priorities. She would also bring an important perspective as a young woman of color.

Controversies

Aragon has faced minimal controversy so far in her young political career. As the general election nears, opponents may try to highlight:

• Her lack of government experience, framing her as too risky or unprepared for office
• Past far-left ties from her activist days, portraying her as a dangerous socialist
• Her ambitious big-spending policy proposals like tuition-free college as financially unrealistic
• Her confrontational posture toward police and prosecutor groups, arguing she’ll undermine public safety

However, Aragon’s supporters dismiss these lines of attack as bad faith distortions of her record. They argue her lived experiences make her qualified for office, not the status quo gatekeepers.

Conclusion

Sofia Aragon represents the future of progressive politics in America. Despite just turning 35, she boasts an impressive background as an activist, entrepreneur, and nonprofit leader. Now Aragon brings her tireless community-focused drive to the King County Council race.

While the general election poses a tough fight, Aragon’s grassroots campaign has momentum. Her bold vision for inclusive progress connects with the district’s diverse voters. Aragon has a unique ability to build coalitions and uplift marginalized voices.

If elected, Aragon would provide a powerfully new progressive perspective on the council. She would champion urgent issues like housing, homelessness, small business, criminal justice reform, sustainability, and transportation access. While some dismiss Aragon as too radical, her lived experiences give her critical insights.

King County needs fresh voices like Sofia Aragon to meet this moment. She offers the energetic, people-powered leadership required to help the region recover and move forward. Regardless of the election outcome, Aragon has a bright future ahead in public service.

FAQs

Who is Sofia Aragon?

Sofia Aragon is a 35-year-old progressive candidate running for King County Council in Washington State. She was born and raised in the district by Mexican immigrant parents. Aragon has worked locally as a community organizer, small business owner, and nonprofit leader.

What are Aragon’s key political positions?

Aragon’s platform focuses on issues like housing affordability, homelessness, education, criminal justice reform, transportation access, healthcare expansion, and environmental sustainability. She runs on a bold progressive agenda informed by her diverse life experiences.

What is Aragon’s path to potential victory?

Aragon hopes to win through strong grassroots campaigning, high turnout among young people/communities of color, backlash against the status quo, and embracing her identity as an outsider progressive. She faces a tough race against Democrat Teresa Mosqueda.

How would Aragon impact the County Council if elected?

On the Council, Aragon would provide a powerfully progressive millennial Latina voice and advocate for inclusive policies around housing, homelessness, sustainability, transportation, public health, and criminal justice reform.

What controversies has Aragon faced in her campaign?

Aragon has avoided major controversy so far. Opponents may try to portray her as too inexperienced or ideologically extreme. But supporters see these attacks as bad faith distortions of her record as an activist and community leader.