Yarce ends run for District 3

Seattle City Council District 3 candidate Beto Yarce announced Tuesday he has suspended his campaign in order to continue assisting small businesses as director of entrepreneurial nonprofit Ventures.

“This has not been an easy decision for me, especially with the overwhelmingly positive feedback, endorsements, grass roots support, and momentum I have received,” Yarce said in a Feb. 19 news release. “But I believe that I can take what I have learned through this process and channel it into other programs, organizations and opportunities that satisfy the goals I established in my campaign.”

Yarce announced his bid for the District 3 council seat in late November.

He has served as executive director at Ventures since 2014, and is currently on Mayor Jenny Durkan’s Small Business Advisory Council and the City of Seattle’s 2020 Census Task Force.

Yarce had raised nearly $10,000 for his campaign before pulling out of the race, spending about half of it on political consulting and fundraising support, and website design.

“This is not a message of goodbye, rather another new beginning for me as I will be taking the experiences I have gained by speaking to so many passionate and inspiring people and channeling it into solutions that will directly help and inspire people by giving them the tools and resources they need to build a better life for themselves and their families,” Yarce said in the release.