Before being elected to city council, she had been the chief civil deputy prosecutor in the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for eight years under Norm Maleng.

[5] On March 1, 2009, councilmember Jan Drago announced that she would not seek reelection, creating an open seat for Position 4.

[5][7] Bagshaw would have to walk back a statement at a primary debate in which she raised a "No" card when candidates were asked if they had contributed to a Republican campaign.

[8] Bagshaw donated $150 to Republican Attorney General Rob Mckenna, and her husband donated $900 to King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg[8] She would later correct herself, and in an interview state, "...I worked hard to get Obama elected—but I supported a couple of Republicans over the years and I'm being shunned...

[14] In the August Primary election, Bagshaw would get first place in a landslide, with 76% of the vote, with her nearest competitor, Deborah Zech-Artis, only receiving 13%.

[16] During her tenure as chair of the Human Services Committee, Bagshaw oversaw the council's response to the East Duwamish Greenbelt homeless encampment, also known as The Jungle.

Bagshaw would nominate council member Tim Burgess (politician) and not fellow councilmember Lorena González.

While in office, Bagshaw would pay a $150 fine to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission over her involvement in a campaign for a parks district.