Activist from Black Lives Matter movement to run for this Whatcom office
A Bellingham activist and community organizer who was a key voice in the local Black Lives Matter and social justice movement last summer, said this week that he intends to run for Whatcom County Council.
Terrance “TeeJay” Morris told The Bellingham Herald that he is seeking the District 1 County Council seat currently held by Rud Browne.
“I chose to run in this election because I believe the time is right to have a council that is as diverse as our county is becoming,” Morris told The Herald in an email.
“The time is right for unique perspectives that reflect our growing and diverse community,” said Morris, who described his heritage to reporters in June as Afro-Caribbean.
Browne, whose second term ends at the end of this year, said in early February that he won’t run for re-election.
He represents District 1, which generally encompasses downtown Bellingham and its southern neighborhoods, plus the Chuckanut Drive, Yew Street Road and Lake Padden areas.
Current composition of the County Council is five white men and two white women, after former Councilman Satpal Sidhu — who was born in India and immigrated from Canada — became county executive in 2020.
Morris was one of the organizers of the June 6, 2020, rally in Maritime Heritage Park held in the wake of highly publicized killings of Black people by white police officers.
“We must take up the mantel against systemic racism in all of our institutions. It’s going to be a long struggle,” Morris said at the rally, which drew more than 5,000 people.
He also was among the community leaders who advised Bellingham and Whatcom County officials when they organized a series of community-wide online “listening sessions” on racial injustice last summer.
In addition, he is on the board of the Community Food Co-op and a former board member of the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force.
And he helped start Bellingham’s annual Juneteenth celebration, a holiday that marks the end of legal slavery in the U.S.
“I’m a leader, I listen, I am connected to our community, I bring an all-embracing community perspective,” Morris told The Herald. “I am a hard worker, I am passionate and take action to get things done.”
He discussed his candidacy on his personal Facebook page Feb. 26 and gave The Herald permission to quote from it.
“Black History is written every day. It is constantly shaped by people who are living their stories out loud,” Morris said on Facebook.
“Lately, I’m been feeling the strength of Pierre Caliste Landry, Lawrence Douglas Wilder, Shirley Chisholm, W. B. Scott, Harold Washington, Lottie Shackelford, Hiram Rhodes Revels, Mary Pinkett, Carol Moseley Braun, Samuel J. Smith, Yvonne Burke, and Lelia Davis. Who are they? They are politicians who had the strength, wisdom, and courage who ran for public office even when the times were difficult,” he said.
Morris said he wanted to avoid discussing campaign specifics until the primary race was set.
Candidate filing week is May 17-21.
Washington’s “top two” primary is Aug. 3 and Election Day is Nov. 2.
