City of Bothell

Jared Mead is running for re-election to a four-year term 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.

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.

Also in this race is Republican candidate Brenda Carrington. Carrington has a business background in construction and landscaping and opposed Mead for the same position last year. Carrington opposes new funding for essential services and disagrees with efforts to redirect some law enforcement 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 Samuel Low for Snohomish County Council in District 5. She is a strong progressive whose campaign priorities include COVID-19 recovery that incorporates community support, housing security, justice reform, and maintaining green space. Donaghy serves on the board of directors for the Communities of Color Coalition. She also regularly volunteers to provide emergency services and disaster relief to the Snohomish community.

Low has been an outspoken Republican voice on the council. In June, Low voted 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.

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.

Also in this race are incumbent Ben Mahnkey and Galen Altavas. Mahnkey is an Amazon employee running on a platform that includes praising police officers without offering any mention of increased accountability or reform. He mentions minimizing tax increases but does not offer actual solutions for how to fund essential services in Bothell. Altavas has worked at King County Metro and at Panasonic Avionics as an IT manager. He currently works at the Snohomish County Public Utilities Department. Altavas does not have a detailed campaign platform and does not appear to be particularly progressive.

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

Jacqueline McGourty is running for re-election to Northshore School District, District 1. She has worked in the biotechnology industry for three decades and was elected to the school board in 2017. McGourty's 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.

McGourty is being challenged by a slate of conservative candidates: Elizabeth Crowley, Brian Travis, and Michael Albrecht. Crowley is a Boeing employee who does not have any elected experience or a detailed campaign platform. Travis does not have a campaign website or any detailed information available. Albrecht is a recent graduate of Northshore schools after attending for 14 years. His campaign platform is not detailed.

McGourty is the best choice in the race for Northshore School District, 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 of both Ruby Bridges Elementary and North Creek High School, creating one-to-one access for all students to laptops for learning, and purchasing three electric buses to reduce the school district’s carbon footprint. In this race, she is prioritizing digital equity including universally accessible broadband, expanding arts programming, and building 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. He has corporate and nonprofit board experience, and is parent to two current District 4 students as well as a 2020 NSD graduate. Though Roberdeau has some good ideas, like funding mental and emotional health services and looking at the budget with an equity lens, he unfortunately participated in a reactionary rally to unseat board members for not going back to in-person learning sooner, despite science-based health concerns.

Katya Bautista, a consultant in the energy sector, is the other challenger for the the District 4 position. She is a more conservative candidates who wants to promote U.S. nationalism in the curriculum and characterized pushes for representative diversity as divisive.

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. Cast has served the Northshore 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 Director's Association. In this race, Cast has earned widespread support from Democratic leaders and organizations in her district.

Cast has helped Northshore to become one of the highest performing school districts in the state through work like adding language immersion programs, investments 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 on 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 careful budgeting after a 20% increase in the student population, and she wants to fund programming for modernized skill building.

Jasmine Lee Fry is a local business owner and mother to two students in NSD schools. She has been a part of many PTA groups, including facilitating the national PTA arts program, Reflections. In addition, Fry volunteers on the HiCap Parents Council and as a Girl Scout co-leader. She is running to improve equity in the school district. While NSD has over 40% students of color, the board has no racial diversity. As an Asian-American who immigrated to the U.S., Fry believes she would be the first person of color to serve on the school board. She also wants to update school infrastructure, responsibly manage the budget shortfall, and work on environmental sustainability. Fry has earned some local Democratic support in this race.

Also in this is race is Angela Chapman who works in fundraising for a mental health-focused nonprofit and is a parent to three NSD students. Unfortunately, Chapman was one of the parents who attended a May rally to open schools before safety guidelines supported it and recall the school board. If elected, she wants to focus on COVID-19 recovery. mental health student support, and improving programming for students with disabilities.

The final 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 currently working with Clinical Care at Providence. She was the first in her family to receive a college degree and went on to earn a masters at the University of Washington. Additionally, Grainger serves as an ambassador with the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation.

Grainger has an autoimmune disease and, with her professional experience with health care nonprofits, she believes she is 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 has earned the endorsements of the local Democrats and the National Women’s Caucus.

Gainger is facing incumbent Charles Pilcher and Noreen Shaikh. Pilcher was elected to Commissioner Position 4 in 2010 and is a retired emergency doctor. He is running to cut funding to services and extend his tenure as the only physician on the board. Pilcher is not a progressive choice.

Noreen Shaikh has both nursing and business degrees. She believes her experience launching virtual care and running operations on the oncology infusion center while following CDC guidelines through the COVID pandemic have given her direct insight into hospital management and patient care, especially in a crisis. If elected, she wants to invest in human infrastructure to address staffing shortages, manage growth strategically, and upgrade the district’s health care technology. Unfortunately, as of late July, Shaikh does not have a strong campaign presence.

Katie Grainger is the best choice in this race.