15 Facts About Jessyn Farrell

Jessyn Lynn Farrell is an American activist and politician who served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017.

Jessyn Farrell grew up in Seattle's Lake City neighborhood, and the adjacent city of Lake Forest Park.

Jessyn Farrell earned a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School.

Jessyn Farrell started out as Transportation Advocate at the Washington Public Interest Research Group in Seattle, where she directed their efforts to reduce the health and environmental impacts of automobile emissions.

From 2005 to 2008, Jessyn Farrell served as the executive director of Transportation Choices Coalition, the leading nonprofit advocate for public transit in Washington.

In 2012, Jessyn Farrell ran for Position 2 in the 46th Legislative District of the Washington State House of Representatives.

Jessyn Farrell served on the Transportation, Rules, and Commerce and Gaming committees in the State House.

Jessyn Farrell was the chair of the Working Families Caucus.

Jessyn Farrell introduced minimum wage bills in 2014,2015, and 2016, securing passage through the House in 2015, only for the bill to die in the Republican-controlled Senate.

In 2017, Jessyn Farrell sponsored the Pregnant Workers' Fairness Act, which provides protections for pregnant women in Washington workplaces, such as more frequent restroom breaks, accessible drinking water, and flexible scheduling for doctors' visits.

Jessyn Farrell was a strong proponent of the 2015 Equal Pay Opportunity Act, which passed the House, but not the Republican-controlled Senate.

Jessyn Farrell is known for her work on improving transit, and campaigning to successfully pass Sound Transit 3, though she voted along with State House Democrats to remove some funding from ST3.

In 2015, Jessyn Farrell sponsored a bill that improves coordination between transit agencies in the Puget Sound region in order to provide better service, improve efficiency, save money, and institute accountability measures.

Jessyn Farrell announced her entry into the race for Seattle mayor on May 12,2017, one of several officeholders who joined the race shortly after Mayor Ed Murray announced he would not seek reelection.

On March 18,2021, Jessyn Farrell announced that she was again running for mayor to replace incumbent mayor Jenny Durkan, who did not run for re-election.