City of Lynnwood

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.

Former Lynnwood City Council member Shirley Sutton is running for Position 1. Sutton served on the council from 2015 to 2019 and was previously the executive director of diversity affairs at Edmonds Community College. She has also served as the chair of the Neighborhood Demographics Diversity Commission in Lynnwood and has experience as a Democratic precinct committee officer.

Sutton is running on a very progressive platform that includes police accountability, civil rights, climate justice, and affordable housing. She wants to improve public transportation by introducing a town shuttle which would help to build community and lower crime rates. Sutton also wants to work on housing affordability and to make housing more accessible to all income-earners. She is committed to climate action with a ten-year vision that includes municipal carbon neutrality, making all city vehicles electric or hybrid, zero waste, and continued access to public green spaces. In this race, Sutton has earned the endorsement of the Snohomish County Democrats.

Small business owner Nick Coelho is also running for Position 1. His priorities include affordable housing, making Lynnwood walkable and managing growth, and investing in parks and public green spaces. He has served on the South Lynnwood Neighborhood Co-Design Committee and as the chair of the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board since 2020.

We recommend Shirley Sutton because of her proven progressive leadership and her ample community support in this race.

Community leader Naz Lashgari is running for Lynnwood City Council, Position 2. Most recently, Lashgari served as the chair of Lynnwood’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission. She also worked for the Community Health Center during the pandemic in order to support marginalized communities through the public health crisis. She wants to use her management expertise and her background in equity work to build a better Lynnwood for everyone.

Previously, Lashgari spearheaded the “All Are Welcome” campaign and is dedicated to celebrating Lynnwood’s multiculturalism while working towards equity. If elected, she will continue working on issues including homelessness, housing, health care, and safety. Lashgari believes it is crucial that all Lynnwood residents feel that their voice matters.

Lashgari is challenging incumbent councilmember Patrick Decker, who was appointed to the Lynnwood City Council this April in order to fill the seat vacated by Ian Cotton. Decker works in finance at Microsoft and has served as chair on the city’s Planning Commission. He is running on a more conservative platform and, disappointingly, Decker has made divisive and insulting comments about local residents experiencing homelessness.

We need leaders who will bring the people of Lynnwood together to address the complex challenges facing the city. Naz Lashgari is the clear choice for Lynnwood City Council, Position 2.

Joshua Binda is running for Position 3 on the Lynnwood City Council. Binda is an Edmonds College alum and has professional experience as an aerospace mechanic at Boeing and in cybersecurity at Microsoft. He has extensive community leadership experience and chairs the Lynnwood Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission. Additionally, Binda serves on the boards of the WA-GRO Foundation and the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County.

If elected, Binda’s priorities include affordable housing, community budgeting, pedestrian and transit accessibility, drug counseling, and environmental protections. He will pursue this progressive agenda by leveraging his relationship with community members and drawing on his local leadership experience. Binda's inclusive platform has earned him a long list of endorsements from local leaders.

Binda is running against former Lynnwood Councilmember Lisa Utter. Utter served on the council from 1998 until 2009 and also worked on the Community Transit Board during that time. Until 2019, she was the executive director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Snohomish County. While not conservative, Utter lacks Binda's ambitious vision for Lynnwood's future.

We recommend Joshua Binda because of the support he has earned from our progressive partners.