Hamdi Mohamed
2022 - Present
2025
3
Hamdi Mohamed is a member of the Port of Seattle Commission in Washington, representing Position 3. She assumed office on January 1, 2022. Her current term ends on December 31, 2025.
Mohamed ran for election to the Port of Seattle Commission to represent Position 3 in Washington. She won in the general election on November 2, 2021.
Mohamed completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Hamdi Mohamed earned a bachelor's degree in law, societies, and justice from the University of Washington, an M.A. in policy studies from the University of Washington, and a Global Business Certificate from Harvard Business School. Mohamed's professional experience includes working as a policy advisor for King County, deputy district director and campaign manager for Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, and the King County organizing director for the 2020 Biden-Harris campaign. She has worked for One America, CARE International, AmeriCorps, and the Refugee Women Alliance.[1][2]
Mohamed has been affiliated with the King County Democrats, King County Young Democrats, Got Green, One America, Seattle CityClub, World Affairs Council, Maritime High School, and Rotary Club.[1]
Elections
2021
See also: Municipal elections in King County, Washington (2021)
General election
General election for Port of Seattle Commission Position 3
Hamdi Mohamed defeated incumbent Stephanie Bowman in the general election for Port of Seattle Commission Position 3 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Hamdi Mohamed (Nonpartisan) | 53.8 | 294,776 | |
| Stephanie Bowman (Nonpartisan) | 45.7 | 250,542 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 2,423 | ||
| Total votes: 547,741 | ||||
| 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Stephanie Bowman and Hamdi Mohamed advanced from the primary for Port of Seattle Commission Position 3.
Endorsements
To view Mohamed's endorsements in the 2021 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Hamdi Mohamed completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mohamed's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
I came to the U.S. when I was three years old after the outbreak of a civil war in Somalia. One of our first ports of entry into America was Sea-Tac Airport. Since then, I have lived in Kent, Burien, SeaTac, and Seattle, giving me a strong regional perspective. I grew up watching my mother juggle her job at Sea-Tac Airport, her job as a daycare provider, and her home responsibilities. When I was 15, I started working as an elementary school tutor and working at our local businesses to help my family make ends meet. Today, I live in SeaTac with my husband, Daud Ali, a nonprofit organization founder and a long-time SeaTac Airport employee. I'm a proud aunty and mentor to dozens of young people, and I'm working hard to protect their generation's future and beyond.
- My vision for the Port of Seattle Commission outlines six priorities: economic justice, a safe and welcoming Port, climate change and environmental justice, labor and jobs, building an inclusive workforce and expanding diversity in contracting, and prioritizing workers and constituent services.
- The Port of Seattle can lead our state in recovering from the pandemic. I will utilize the Port’s vast resources to reinvest in our communities, expand economic development programs, and rebuild our economy so that it works for everyone.
- I have dedicated my life to public service, helping working families, small businesses, and communities at the local and federal levels. I am unequivocally committed to continuing this work to stand with and for working people.
I am passionate about the inclusion and representation of all people in public policy. I have worked across a wide array of public policy areas. Two specific personal areas that I am passionate about are immigration, and workers’ rights and economic justice.
Immigration is the public policy area where I began my career and am personally passionate about as an immigrant myself. In 2019, I joined Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and other human rights advocates at the southern border to highlight the need for immigration reform. In my role at King County, I oversee the implementation across all King County divisions of a 2018 county ordinance to enhance trust and fairness for King County immigrant communities. In my capacity as Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s deputy district director, I helped many constituents navigate the immigration benefits available to them and I fought against the public charge rule.
I am also deeply passionate about workers’ rights and economic opportunity. My father, a former truck driver, lost fifty percent of his vision in a job-related accident and was denied healthcare access for treatment and recovery. In 2012, I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Walmart workers during their strike in 2012 and with workers in SeaTac during the Fight for $15. I have also worked extensively with unions, nonprofits, governments, and communities throughout my career to create economic opportunities that prioritize the health and safety of all workers.
Transparency, public accountability, and community engagement are the most important characteristics of an elected official. Being an elected official means creating space for the community at decision-making tables and using the elected platform as a space to advocate for constituents--even the advocacy that may fall outside of the scope of one’s own jurisdiction. It is showing up with and for the community by standing alongside workers at picket lines, hosting regular town halls and listening sessions to prioritize transparency and accessibility in governance, and truly leading with equity and inclusivity at the forefront of all decisions. Local governments are closest to the people and the decisions made at the local level have the most tangible impacts on constituents’ lives. Fighting for regular people, celebrating diverse identities, and creating a world that truly recognizes that “we are better off when we are all better off” is central to being an effective elected official.
I would like to leave a legacy that inspires young people to take action and motivates communities to demand a seat at the table. I decided to run for the Port of Seattle Commission due to the lack of regional representation on the Commission and the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on our communities. I currently live in south King County, an area that is routinely underserved, underfunded, and overlooked. The Port of Seattle’s operations significantly impact South King County due to SeaTac Airport and the associated health, environmental, and infrastructure challenges. Yet, none of the commissioners live in South King County.
I hope that my effort to uplift the voices of those most impacted in policy decisions will inspire young people to drive forward change both in and on behalf of their communities. I want to leave a legacy that drives the next generation to prioritize equity and find opportunities in their endeavors. I am running because I see the Port as an engine for regional economic recovery from COVID-19. I hope that young people will draw on my legacy to utilize different levels of government further to make substantive changes and a better future.
When I was 15, I started my first job as an elementary school tutor and worked at our local businesses. I worked so that I could help my family make ends meet. Tutoring students was my first professional exposure to a job where I could make a difference in someone’s life. When I explained a problem or concept to my students in a way that they could relate to and understand, their relief and pride in their work inspired me.
As I moved into the professional world, I looked back on my experience and realized the lack of accessible workforce training for our youth populations. Although I entered college and completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Washington, training opportunities and apprenticeship programs were largely absent from my reach growing up--they were frankly unheard of. When elected as Port Commissioner, I want to expand apprenticeship programs and training opportunities for young people to enter the workforce successfully. I am currently working closely with the Maritime High School and its principal Tremain Holloway to help recruit students to join the high school, with a particular focus on BIPOC communities. The Maritime High School will provide students interested in a maritime career with the skills needed to succeed. I am committed to supporting efforts towards specialized education in partnership with our school districts, businesses, unions, and other levels of government to ensure our youth can enter the workforce with confidence.
My favorite book is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. I am motivated by her inspirational story about survival, becoming, and being reborn. Her words highlight the power of not letting your past dictate your present and your future.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2021 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Port of Seattle Commission Position 3 |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Stephanie Bowman |
Port of Seattle Commission, Position 3 2022 - Present |
Succeeded by NA |
 |
State of Washington Olympia (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |