City of Bothell

Sen. Joe Nguyen was elected to the Washington state Senate in 2018 and has worked as a senior program manager at Microsoft since 2013. His parents were refugees from Vietnam who came to White Center, where Nguyen was born and raised.

During Nguyen's time in the Legislature, he has been an advocate for Washington's families and equality, including playing a leadership role in fully funding the Working Families Tax Credit. In addition, he co-sponsored legislation to require anti-racism and equity training in public schools.

Nguyen is running for county executive to implement sweeping actions on the affordable housing crisis, to reform the criminal justice system with deep changes and accountability, and to make the state's economy work for everyone, not just the wealthiest people. In particular, Nguyen has proposed to make all transit services free to improve access and increase ridership. He also wants to leverage the new Regional Homelessness Authority to significantly scale up the building of affordable housing.

Nguyen has the support of elected leaders including state Reps. Kirsten Harris-Talley and David Hackney as well as state Sen. Bob Hasegawa and Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti. Nguyen is a progressive choice if you're looking for new leadership in the executive's office who will prioritize racial justice and systemic change.

Incumbent Rod Dembowski is an attorney who has represented District 1 since 2013. He has served in county affairs in several capacities, including as a pro bono counsel for the King County Superior Court, policy analyst in the county executive's office, and special prosecuting attorney.

If re-elected, Dembowski will continue working on sustainable human services funding, protecting the wild areas of the Puget Sound region, and looking for sustainable transit funding that improves transportation options. He also wants to expand housing with an eye on reducing commute times and increasing affordability for workers and families. While on the council, Dembowski has sponsored several progressive reforms, including giving grocery workers hazard pay in the pandemic and moving to make the sheriff an appointed position through the council and an advisory committee.

Challenging Dembowski is Kenmore resident and first-time candidate Sally Caverzan. According to her LinkedIn, she has worked as a long-term care social worker and is passionate about the environment. Her official voters' guide statement says that she would support instituting term limits for politicians, expanding mental health and addiction care with the creation of a King County regional treatment facility, and increasing supportive and permanent housing.

Dembowski has earned broad support from elected officials, reproductive health and environmental organizations, labor unions, and many more. We recommend Dembowski for King County Council in District 1 because of his proven track record of progressive leadership.

Jared Mead is running to retain his seat on the Snohomish County Council in District 4. He previously served in the state Legislature and was appointed to the council in 2020 after Terry Ryan resigned, winning his election in 2020 for the final year of the term. Last year, Mead chaired the Regional Law & Justice and Human Services committee on the council.

Mead is a strong progressive who has worked to prohibit discrimination, fight the climate crisis, and secure an energy-independent state for future generations. His campaign priorities include reducing traffic and pollution through transit-oriented development and protecting the county's urban growth areas. In this race, he is supported by many local progressive leaders and our partner organizations.

Mead faces a challenge from Republican Brenda Carrington. She has a business background in construction and landscaping and lost to Mead in last year's election. Carrington opposes new funding for essential services and disagrees with efforts to redirect some funding to community safety and prevention.

Mead is the clear choice for Snohomish County Council in District 4.

Brandy Donaghy is a community organizer and Navy veteran who is challenging incumbent Councilmember Sam Low for Snohomish County Council in District 5. Donaghy serves on the board of directors for the Communities of Color Coalition and regularly volunteers to provide emergency services and disaster relief to the Snohomish community.

Donaghy has spent her professional life advocating for a high quality of life for all Snohomish residents. She is a strong progressive whose campaign priorities include COVID-19 recovery that incorporates community support, housing security, justice reform, and maintaining green space. She is endorsed by many of our partner organizations and a number of progressive elected leaders in this race.

Low is an outspoken Republican on the council who voted in June against $4 per hour hazard pay for grocery store workers on the front lines of the pandemic. Earlier this spring, he badgered and voted against the appointment of a young woman of color to the Regional Law and Justice Council because he disagreed with some of her social media posts.

Donaghy would bring a much-needed progressive perspective to the council and is the obvious choice for Snohomish County Council in District 5.

Incumbent and businesses consultant Ryan Calkins has successfully pushed the port in a more progressive direction during his first term. The current Port of Seattle commissioners have enacted several crucial reforms over the last few years, including ensuring at least a $15 minimum wage for airline catering workers and starting an accelerator mentorship program aimed at increasing access to contracting jobs for women- and minority-owned businesses.

If re-elected, Calkins states that he will continue to lead on mitigating the environmental impacts of the airport and port operations, promoting living wage jobs, improving immigration policy, and more. He has earned broad support from progressive and Democratic Party organizations.

His opponent is Norman Sigler, the owner of a consulting firm that focuses on finding diverse executive leadership. He serves as a precinct committee officer and is on the executive board of the King County Democrats Central Committee. Sigler wants to focus the port on environmental and economic justice, stating that he would invest port profits into improving neighboring communities. He states that he would promote a green economy, work to end systemic racism and keep the port honest, but does not have as detailed of a policy agenda. For example, in a forum for Port of Seattle candidates, Sigler stated that he would seek "putting mandates" on cruises and airlines, while Calkins specifically stated that he would support electric aviation, cleaner fuels, and high-speed ground transportation over short flights.

Calkins has an excellent record on the port and broad support from the progressive community. Calkins is the best choice for Port of Seattle, Position #1.

Hamdi Mohamed is running for Seattle Port Commissioner, Position 3 with a visionary agenda for the port that centers the needs of the workers, the environment, and the broader community. Mohamed's family fled Somalia and settled in the SeaTac region when she was 5 years old, with her mother working in the airport. Mohamed now works in the King County Office of Equity and Social Justice as a policy advisor and has helped manage the millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds that went to community-based organizations in King County.

As a resident of SeaTac, Mohamed lives in one of the communities most affected by airport pollution. Given that none of the current commissioners live in South King County, she seeks to bridge the gap between port policy and lived experience. She wants to expand the port's efforts to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy and restore habitats for salmon and orcas. Through greater direct partnership with workers, Mohamed wants to protect unions, provide pandemic relief, and prioritize workplace health.

In our interview with Mohamed, we were incredibly impressed by her drive to improve the lives of those who work and live near the port. One recent example of her accomplishment was her work with Beyoncé and Tina Knowles to provide free coronavirus testing and supplies to local organizations and working with the King County Immigrant and Refugee Commission to center language access in COVID-19 relief.

Mohamed is running against incumbent Stephanie Bowman, who has served on the commission since 2013. Bowman is proud of the port commission's progress on many fronts, including expanding youth job training opportunities in partnership with Seattle Public Schools, making stormwater improvements, and developing a noise insulation program for homes close to the airport. She states that one of her most important accomplishments was tripling the number of interns, many of which were youth of color from marginalized communities. If re-elected, Bowman would focus on improving economic opportunity at the port for all, including union members, women-owned businesses, lower-income workers, and more.

However, we were extremely disappointed when Bowman voted in 2015 to allow Shell Oil to base its arctic drilling operations in Seattle. In addition, she voted to use taxpayer money to file a legal challenge against SeaTac's $15 per hour minimum wage. In our interview with Bowman this year, she stated that she had been on the commission for less than six months before the wage increase vote, and believed that the council did not have the regulatory authority to make the change. On the Shell vote, she said that the commission was not transparent enough about it and that she would rather have ships come to Seattle ports where the environmental standards are the highest.

We believe Mohamed would be a stronger leader for progress at the port and would bring much-needed representation to the commission for South King County communities. We strongly support Hamdi Mohamed for her dedication to the community, her progressive agenda, and her backing by progressive organizations.

Incumbent Peter Steinbrueck is running for his second term in Position 4 on the Seattle Port Commission. He is an architect and former Seattle City Council member who has also served on the boards of many organizations in his history of public service, including the Washington Environmental Council, AIA Center for Civic Leadership, and Walkable Livable Communities Institute.

If re-elected, Steinbrueck has vowed to push the status quo on the economic, social, and political issues that matter to everyone in the region. In our interview, he stated that he supports a just and fair transition to clean fuels, one that includes electrification at the port as well as reducing ultrafine particulates and other kinds of pollution. He points to the port's job and apprenticeship programs, many of which offer opportunities to youth of color, women, and others as indicators of the types of policies he wants to continue moving forward. Environmentalism is his great passion, he states, and he believes that as the port recovers from the pandemic and evolves that he would continue to support climate justice at all levels, from workers' health, habitat restoration, and more.

Han Tran is running for Position 1 on the Bothell City Council. Tran works in tech product development and has a background in community advocacy. Currently, she works as a co-chair on Bothell’s Anti-Racist Communities team and is a parent member of the Northshore School District's Ethnic Studies pilot program. As a Harvard Business School graduate and a Vietnamese American from an immigrant family, Tran wants to bring her unique perspective to create community-driven solutions that make Bothell a more equitable place.

Tran believes housing and food are human rights and would work on policies to address housing and food insecurity in Bothell. She wants to expand the RADAR program, a de-escalation initiative with Bothell police that seeks to avoid the use of force when responding to people with behavioral health issues or developmental disabilities. She would also look into investing in other community-based public safety initiatives. Tran is committed to supporting Bothell’s small business community and wants to provide grants and career pathways for business owners who are people of color, women, veterans, and LGBTQ+.

Tran is challenging incumbent council member and current deputy mayor Jeanne Zornes, a moderate Republican who has been in office since 2017. Zornes is also a substitute teacher for Northshore public schools and a freelance photographer. She is campaigning to build up Bothell's business sector and increase law enforcement funding rather than invest in community alternatives. Despite claiming to run a completely nonpartisan race, Zornes has endorsed other conservatives this year.

Tran will bring strong, progressive leadership to the council. She deserves your vote for Bothell City Council, Position 1.

Planning commissioner Jenne Alderks is running for Bothell City Council, Position 3. Alderks is a small business owner offering birth and postpartum doula services, and she recently earned a public policy and administration certification from Harvard Kennedy School. She is also a parent to three children on the autism spectrum whom she homeschools.

Alderks is running on a detailed platform that includes generating equitable small business growth, investing in affordable housing to lessen the growing wealth gap in Bothell, and building an environmentally sustainable future for the area through the COVID recovery. As a co-chair with Anti-Racist Communities: Bothell, Alderks has already begun advancing equity in her community. If elected, she wants to expand the RADAR (Response Awareness, De-escalation, and Referral) program, which helps Bothell police respond to health emergencies without the use of force.

Also in this race is incumbent Rosemary McAuliffe, a longtime Democratic elected official who was elected to the city council in 2017 after serving as a state senator for over a decade. Before that, she spent 14 years on the Northshore School Board. As of mid-October, McAuliffe has not yet shared a detailed platform in this race but mentioned that she wants to support small businesses through recovery from the pandemic.

With strong progressive values and partner support, Alderks is the best choice in this race for Position 3 on Bothell’s city council.

Matt Kuehn is running for Bothell City Council, Position 5. He serves as Rep. Davina Duerr's legislative aide and previously worked for Sen. Guy Palumbo. His platform includes expanding the park and trail systems, creating more walkable neighborhoods, and increasing affordable housing. Kuehn also wants to reduce traffic congestion and expand bike infrastructure.

Kuehn is running against Ben Mahnkey. He is an Amazon employee running on a platform that praises law enforcement without offering any mention of increased community accountability or reform. He also fails to offer solutions for how to fund essential services in Bothell that everyone relies on.

Kuehn is the best choice in the race for Bothell City Council, Position 5.

Community organizer Rami Al-Kabra is running for Bothell City Council, Position 7. Al-Kabra serves as a member of the Bothell Landmark Preservation Board and a co-chair with Anti-Racist Communities: Bothell. As a Palestinian Muslim, he has been a strong community advocate and has founded both the Washington chapter of the largest Islamic civil rights organization in the nation (CAIR) and the Islamic Center of Bothell. In 2020, he helped to organize the March for Black Lives in Bothell when 200 residents showed up to call for systemic change.

In this race, Al-Kabra is running to bring sustainable and equitable progress to Bothell. His platform includes green city planning, budget reform, amplifying human services, and small business support. Specifically, he wants to advance housing affordability projects with eco-friendly building practices in order to make Bothell more sustainable and more affordable at the same time. He also wants to bring more constituent voices into discussions about the budget to ensure that the funds are being used in the best interest of the community.

Al-Kabra is running against Beca Nistrian, who owns a Bothell coffee shop and writes children’s books. Her social media presence leans more conservative and she is supporting other conservative candidates this year. 

Rami Al-Kabra deserves your vote for Bothell City Council, Position 7 to make Bothell a place where all residents can thrive.

Jacqueline McGourty is running for re-election to Northshore School Board in District 1. She has worked in the biotechnology industry for three decades and was elected to the school board in 2017 where she now serves as the vice president. In her leadership role, she has hosted community forums on equity issues facing the Northshore school district.

In her time on the school board, McGourty advanced mental health support, upgraded learning facilities, and worked to provide internet access and digital devices to all students. Her strong campaign platform includes ensuring students are able to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, closing opportunity and outcome gaps, and making more progress on inclusivity and access to education for all students. In this race, she is endorsed by local Democrats and a number of elected leaders.

McGourty is being challenged by Elizabeth Crowley, a Boeing employee and concerned parent running without a background in community leadership. Her top campaign priorities are increased cybersecurity for teachers and students as well as stronger communication between the school district and the community.

McGourty is the best choice in the race for Northshore School Board Director representing District 1.

Incumbent director Sandy Hayes is running for re-election to represent District 4 on the Northshore School Board. Hayes first joined the school board in 2009 and has also served as a leadership consultant for the Washington State School Directors’ Association since then. Outside of public service, she runs a restorative justice practice.

Since joining the board, Hayes has led school district improvements such as building both Ruby Bridges Elementary and North Creek High School, creating one-to-one student access to laptops for learning, and purchasing three electric buses to reduce the school district’s carbon footprint. In this race, she is prioritizing expanding arts programming, achieving digital equity including universally accessible broadband, and building an adaptable curriculum to support career paths that may not yet exist. Hayes defines her campaign against the reactionary politics of some conservative school board candidates, and she has been widely endorsed by progressive elected officials and organizations.

Aerospace professional and consultant Chris Roberdeau is also in this race. Earlier this year, Roberdeau participated in a reactionary rally to unseat board members for not going back to in-person learning sooner, despite science-based health concerns. Unfortunately, he also subscribes to the Trump-led, right-wing efforts to not teach honest, up-to-date history to students. Roberdeau is not a progressive choice.

Hayes is the best choice to represent District 4 with her background in law, community leadership, and direct school board experience. She deserves your vote to continue bringing positive change to the school district.

Incumbent school board director Amy Cast is running to retain her seat representing District 5 on the Northshore School Board. Cast has served the school district since first being elected in 2013. Outside of elected office, she runs her own website design company and serves as a leadership consultant for the Washington State School Directors’ Association.

On the board, Cast has helped Northshore to become one of the highest performing school districts in the state through work like adding language immersion programs, investing in alternative career paths through the Career and Technical Education class, and implementing social-emotional health curriculum for kindergartners and up. If elected, she has detailed suggestions to increase equity, including incorporating Universal Design for Learning, expanding cultural competence curriculum, and investing in student services like social-emotional learning, mental health supports, and wrap-around financial need programs. Cast is also prioritizing thoughtful budgeting after a 20% increase in the student population, and she wants to fund programming for modernized skill-building.

The other candidate in this race is Amy Felt, an attorney, NSD parent, and PTA member. Felt wants to amplify student voices while improving relationships between all school stakeholders including parents, administrators, teachers, unions, and board directors. She supports spending to close learning gaps between students and funding mental health resources.

Cast is the best choice in this race because of her widespread support from local leaders and organizations as well as her clear plan for bringing positive change to the school district.

Katie Grainger is running for King County Public Hospital District 2, Commissioner Position 4. Grainger works as a communications consultant with Clinical Care at Providence. She was the first in her family to receive a college degree and went on to earn a master's at the University of Washington. Additionally, Grainger serves as an ambassador with the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation.

Grainger believes her experience living with an autoimmune disease paired with her work at a health care nonprofit makes her well-poised to bridge hospital administration and patient needs while bringing a community focus. If elected, she wants to work on health care reform at the local level in the service of the health and wellbeing of all district residents.

Grainger is facing retired emergency doctor Charles Pilcher. He was elected to Commissioner Position 4 in 2010 and is running to cut funding for services. While Pilcher is the only physician on the board, he does not appear to be a progressive choice.

Katie Grainger is the best candidate for King County Public Hospital District 2, Commissioner Position 4.