City of Lake Stevens

Nicole Ng-A-Qui is running for Snohomish County Council in District 1. Ng-A-Qui has owned a small business for nearly 20 years and has experience working in forestry and restoration ecology as well as education. Additionally, she served on the policy advisory council for the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program for two years.

Ng-A-Qui’s campaign is focused on making Snohomish County a model for sustainable development, keeping forests and watersheds healthy while protecting jobs and keeping the budget balanced. She is endorsed by local leaders including county council member Megan Dunn and Rep. Emily Wicks as well as community groups including the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe and the Snohomish County Democrats.

Ng-A-Qui is challenging conservative incumbent Nate Nehring, who was elected in 2017. Nehring is campaigning to criminalize addiction and oppose greater investments in community services that would provide alternatives to law enforcement while reducing mass incarceration. Nehring is supported by staunch Republicans including Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dave Reichert.

Ng-A-Qui is the best choice in the race for Snohomish County Council in District 1 and deserves your vote.

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.

Joyce Copley is running for Position 2 on the Lake Stevens City Council to bring positive change to the city. Copley is a retired Boeing engineer who now works for the city of Shoreline’s Planning & Community Development department. She has community leadership experience through her involvement with the Kaiser Permanente Patient Advisory Board, diversity and inclusion work with the city of Shoreline, and Lake Stevens equity training.

Copley has a progressive campaign platform that includes building stronger communication between residents and the council, working closely with first responders and law enforcement to improve safety for all residents, and making city development choices that prioritize affordability and sustainability. She believes that her primary responsibility as a council member will be to listen to her constituents and make policy decisions that contribute to the greater good for all. In this race, Copley has earned an impressive roster of progressive support from elected leaders and the county’s labor council.

Copley is challenging incumbent Gary Petershagen, who is running for re-election to the council where he has served since 2017. His professional experience is in real estate and he currently heads a local inspection company. Petershagen has worked on the city’s Planning Commission and the Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce. He is running on a conservative platform that prioritizes business interests above community needs.

Joyce Copley is the best choice in this race and has earned your vote for Position 2 on the Lake Stevens City Council.

Jessica Wadhams, a community advocate and mother, is running for Position 6 on the Lake Stevens City Council. Wadhams has a professional background in retail and management, and she recently helped to found Lake Stevens Allies for BIPOC. By leading with progressive values and an equity lens, she wants to make Lake Stevens a better place for all residents to live and work.

Wadhams wants to invest in infrastructure and public safety through sidewalk upgrades, bike lane expansion, and other road improvements. She also wants to provide support for small businesses that have struggled during the recent economic downturn and represent an important part of the Lake Stevens community. Wadham’s leadership and bid for office are endorsed by an extensive slate of Democratic organizations and progressive elected officials.

Incumbent Steve Ewing is running to keep his seat on the council, which he first joined in 2019. Ewing works for the state's Department of Corrections and previously served on the city’s Planning Commission and the Homeowners Association. He is running on a right-of-center campaign to increase police funding despite crime rates being on the decline and the critical need for funding in other public services.

Jessica Wadhams is the best choice for Lake Stevens City Council, Position 6. She deserves your vote to bring positive change to the council.

Joseph Jensen is running for Lake Stevens City Council, Position 7. Jensen is a consultant for technology companies and serves as the chairman of the Technology Committees for both the 44th Legislative District Democrats and the Snohomish County Democrats. Jensen lives in Lake Stevens with his wife, who manages the city’s Farmers Market.

Jensen is running to build a better Lake Stevens community for all. Among his campaign priorities are investing in infrastructure, caretaking of public green spaces, and making broadband more widely accessible. Jensen wants to work to make ​​local government more accountable, transparent, and accessible to community members. Earlier this year, he used his platform to share scientific information about the vaccines and encourage Lake Stevens residents to get vaccinated. In this race, Jensen has the support of some of our partner organizations and progressive leaders.

Jensen is challenging incumbent council member Marcus Tageant, a Marine veteran with a property management business. Now the council president, he was first elected to this position in 2009 and unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2015. He is running on a more conservative platform that doesn't reflect the changing needs of the rapidly growing community.

Jensen is the best choice for Lake Stevens City Council, Position 7.

Nina Kim Hanson is running for Lake Stevens School District 4 in Director District 4. She has taught at the University of Washington and Northwest University for ten years and runs her own business as a freelance writer and public speaker. Hanson is also a member of the Center for Women and Democracy Board and the Lake Stevens Allies for BIPOC Board.

Hanson's campaign platform includes improving civics and foreign language studies, providing teachers and schools with the tools they need to ensure all students get a great education, and boosting career and college prep resources. She has earned a number of progressive endorsements in this race from both our partner organizations and local elected leaders.

Also in this race is Republican Brett Rogers, a lawyer, former police officer, and current director of parking enforcement with the Seattle Police Department. Last election, Rogers challenged Bob Ferguson for attorney general. In this race, he wants to decrease staff salaries, emphasize test scores - which are proven to be a poor measure of learning outcomes, and prohibit progressive curriculum changes like multicultural programming and comprehensive sexual health education.

Hanson is the obvious choice to a school board director in Lake Stevens School District 4 and she deserves your vote.

Vildan Kirby is running for Lake Stevens School Board in District 5. Kirby is a substitute teacher in the city school district and she previously served as the board president of a local co-op preschool. She has a professional background in marketing and advertising and is a parent to twins enrolled in an LSSD school.

If elected, Kirby wants to invest in emergency preparedness so that the school district can adapt more effectively in situations like the COVID pandemic. Also included in her platform is increasing mental health support and prioritizing an individual student focus. As a citizen, Kirby has spoken publicly in support of the city’s diversity commission. She has earned strong progressive support in this race from local leaders and organizations.

Veteran Carolyn Bennett is also in this race. Bennett does customer service work at a manufacturing corporation. In addition, she serves as the secretary to the county’s Human Rights Commission and previously lost a 2019 race for Lake Stevens City Council. Bennett was an outspoken supporter of right-wing 2020 candidate for governor Loren Culp and on her personal social media she has posted a flag associated with white supremacist groups. Her 2019 statement included disappointing language about Lake Stevens residents experiencing housing insecurity.

Kirby is the clear choice in this race and deserves your vote to represent District 5 on the Lake Stevens School Board.