Education
A native of Seattle, Gossett is a 1963 graduate of Franklin High School. He then attended and graduated from the University of Washington (UW).
A native of Seattle, Gossett is a 1963 graduate of Franklin High School. He then attended and graduated from the University of Washington (UW).
He was first elected to the King County Council in 1993, and served as chair of the entire Council in 2007 and 2013. In 1966-1967, he was a Volunteers in Service to America volunteer in Harlem. He initially joined Volunteers in Service to America for the draft deferment.
His time in Harlem politicized and radicalized him.
As a student activist, he was instrumental in bringing about the U.W."s Educational Opportunity Program minority recruitment program He also played a role in the discrimination of black track athletes from Oregon State University, resulting in their early departure from a track meet.
He graduated from the U.W. in 1970, receiving the university"s first-ever degree in African American studies. Before he had even formally received his Bachelor of Arts, he became the first supervisor of the Black Student Division in the university" General’ s Office of Minority Affairs.
The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project describes him as having been, in the late 1960s, "one of Seattle’s best known young black radicals."
While still working for the U.W., he was involved in the occupation of a former Seattle public school that ultimately became El Centro de la Raza.
His continued involvement in civil disobedience led to a request from Office Minority Affairs head Samuel East. Kelly that Gossett to "cool lieutenant" Eventually, he left his position at the university. After working on the successful 1977 mayoral campaign of Charles Royer, he served briefly in the Royer administration, but felt that was taking him too far from his activist roots. From April 1979 until December 1993, he was the executive director of Seattle"s Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP).
He eventually found his way back into electoral politics by way of involvement in Jesse Jackson"s presidential campaigns.
Gossett is married and has three children. In 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011, Gossett ran unopposed.
Larry Gossett"s office in the King County Courthouse is in the same location that his jail cell was back in 1968 when he was arrested for unlawful assembly during a March 29 sit-in at Franklin High School.
By Gossett"s own account, he attended the founding meeting of Seattle"s Panther chapter, and also attended Panther leader Bobby Hutton"s 1968 funeral. He worked on several political actions with Panther Party members and has said positive things about their legacy, but Gossett says that while he "was closely associated with the party" he never actually joined.
He is a member of the nonpartisan King County Council, representing District 2 (portions of Seattle, Washington, including Capitol Hill, Central District, Mountain Baker, Columbia City, Rainier Valley, and Skyway). A former member of SNCC, he has a long history of community organizing in Seattle. Several sources state that Gossett was a member of the Black Panthers.
