Washington Bikes Endorsements

Incumbent Dow Constantine has been a strong and effective leader for King County. Throughout his two terms in office, Constantine has improved King County Metro transit service and promoted the health of our natural environment. Constantine is leading efforts to protect King County from the Trump administration by proposing to triple the Veterans and Human Services Levy and offering regional support for the Paris climate agreement.

He is running against retired engineer and light rail opponent Bill Hirt, who is not running an effective campaign. Constantine has clearly earned another term as King County Executive.

Community leader Janice Zahn has served on the City of Bellevue Transportation Commission since 2013. Previously, she was a manager for construction projects for the Port of Seattle, where she gained experience making sustainable transportation decisions on a regional scale. Zahn is running to ensure that the Eastside grows responsibly while protecting access to affordable housing for residents. She also wants to implement a climate change policy that reflects the city's values.

Zahn is running agains Phillip Yin, who ran as a Republican for Lt. Governor last year and lost in the primary to former state Senator Cyrus Habib. Zahn has earned strong progressive support and is the best choice in this race.

Lynne Robinson is running for re-election to the Bellevue City Council, Position 6. Since joining in 2014, Robinson has prioritized supporting small businesses, increasing responsible development, and protecting the environment at the local level. She is focused on addressing the needs of Bellevue families by focusing on education, affordable housing, and human services for vulnerable community members.

Robinson is running against attorney Steven Fricke, who is running on a conservative platform against expanding options for housing the homeless in Bellevue. Because of her track record as a progressive advocate on a range of local issues, Robinson is the best choice in this race.

Aaron Moreau-Cook is a Senior Engineering Manager at Microsoft. He is the Chair of Bothell’s Safe School Walk Routes Taskforce. Moreau-Cook is seeking reforms to housing, including increasing aging-in-place services, improving affordable housing options, securing affordable housing for workers making less than a living wage, and preventing Section 8 discrimination. If elected, he supports applying for federal and state grants to preserve forested areas, restoring wildlife habitats, implementing safe sidewalk plans, and adding bikeways to Bothell.

He is running against Thomas Agnew, who was elected to the council in 2009 and is running on a platform of public safety, fiscal responsibility, infrastructure improvement, bringing a Boys and Girls Club to Bothell, and the environment.

Moreau-Cook is the best choice in this race because of his broader support from progressive advocates.

Incumbent councilmember Nigel Herbig was elected to the council in 2013. Previously, he as worked as a legislative aide to state Rep. Jessyn Farrell. On the council, Herbig initiated an amendment to prevent housing discrimination by landlords and voted to prevent additional 520 construction in city limits due to concerns about pollution. His opponent, Patrick O'Brien, lacks Herbig's policy experience. Herbig has earned a second term on the Kenmore City Council.

Kirkland Deputy Mayor Jay Arnold was elected to the City Council in 2013 and has emerged as a real leader in the community. He chairs the council’s Planning and Economic Development Committee, participates in the regional King County-Cities Climate Collaboration, and has held leadership roles in YES! For Great Kirkland Parks, Futurewise, and Northwest SEED (Sustainable Energy for Economic Development). In his first term, Arnold has prioritized smart development and transportation plans for Kirkland, funding for parks, revitalizing the Totem Lake Mall, and supporting individual neighborhood plans. Arnold is also a part-time technology consultant at Fuse. He was not involved in this recommendation.

Jay Arnold's opponent is Martin Morgan, a perennial candidate who has sued Kirkland several times as part of a multi-year feud with the city. Arnold is clearly the best choice for Kirkland City Council Position 1.

Amy Walen has served as the mayor of Kirkland since 2014 and as a councilmember since 2009. She is the vice president of the Sound Cities Association and a member of the Puget Sound Regional Council Transportation Policy Board. Walen's track record includes supporting the Totem Lake revitalization and seeking to improve transportation infrastructure throughout the city. Her challenger, Jory Hamilton, is not running a competitive campaign. Walen is the best choice in this race.

Jon Pascal was appointed to Position 2 in late 2016, and is running now for Doreen Marchione's seat in Position 7. Pascal has a long history of civic engagement, including serving on the Kirkland Transportation Commission, the Planning Commission, and the Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods. Pascal wants to expand Green Kirkland Partnership's volunteer program for parks and open spaces as well as increase park-and-ride options to increase mass transit ridership.

Jeralee Anderson is the executive director of the Greenroads Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes and rates sustainable transportation infrastructure. A civil engineer by trade, she has been internationally recognized as a sustainability leader for Greenroads' rating system and won a Champion of Change award from the Obama White House in 2013. Anderson's platform focuses on green, resilient transportation systems, STEM education, and attracting new small businesses to Redmond. She is running against software engineer Jason Antonelli. Anderson is the best choice for Redmond City Council Position 6.

Appointed to the city council in 2014, incumbent Ruth Pérez is the first Hispanic councilmember in Renton. As chair of the Transportation Committee, Perez is focused on inclusive transit options, education, safe communities, and attracting more jobs to Renton. She has been a champion for communities of color and immigrant community members.

Jason Ritchie is running for Sammamish City Council, Position 1. Ritchie is an up-and-coming progressive leader on the Eastside and has demonstrated his commitment to progressive values on issues such as immigration reform, protecting safe and legal access to abortion, and fully funding education. In addition to his work on the council, Ritchie started a business remodeling homes for the disabled after his father had a stroke and suffered from limited mobility. He is running against conservative Mark Baughman, who has not offered progressive solutions to the challenges facing Sammamish. Ritchie is the best choice in this race.

Karen Howe is running for Sammamish City Council, Position 3. A newcomer to local politics, her fresh take on city budgeting, social services access, protecting the environment, and managing development is exactly what the community needs. She is prioritizing addressing the needs of working and middle class families as the city continues to grows. Karen Howe is running against Karen Moran, whose infrastructure-based campaign is not as progressive. Howe is the best choice in this race.

Rituja Indapure is a Senior Analyst at Costco. She has served in the community as Treasurer at Challenger Elementary, co-president of the Beaver Lake PTSA, and a United Way volunteer. Indapure is seeking cost-effective transportation solutions and sustainable growth that protects parks and the environment. She also seeks ways to improve emergency response times, specifically services deployed in natural disasters, and to decrease language barriers between the police department and the community.

Indapure is running against conservative Chris Ross. We recommend Indapure in this race.

Pam Stuart is a Senior Manager in Customer and Partner Advocacy at Microsoft. Her campaign priorities include balancing growth with environmental sustainability, investing in parks and senior services, and improving transportation options to reduce traffic.

As city council member, she would support buying and preserving wetlands and green spaces, creating a standing Health and Human Services Commission, keeping teens engaged and supported with targeted programs, and holding developers accountable for building infrastructure to support increased density. She is running against Republican John Robinson. Stuart is the best choice in this race.

Cary Moon is an urban planner, engineer, and civic activist who is best known for her leadership in the People’s Waterfront Coalition that opposed the deep-bore tunnel. She laid out a vibrant alternative vision for Seattle’s waterfront and was named the 2009 “Citizen of the Year” by the Municipal League. Moon is running to improve housing affordability by cracking down on real estate speculators, expanding renters’ rights, and expanding alternative housing options for working people, like duplexes and co-ops. Moon is campaigning as an innovative, big-picture thinker who can organize coalitions and solve the root problems Seattle faces rather than just addressing the symptoms. Her analysis of racial justice and equity issues is also thoughtful and impressive.

While Moon and Durkan agree on many issues, they have shown differences on a few key proposals:

Housing Affordability: Moon has proposed a tax on out-of-state real estate speculators and corporate investors as a way to slow housing costs and fund affordable housing. She largely supports the city’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda but wants to improve outreach to communities of color and revisit some upzone proposals. Moon would also invest more in public housing to reduce the dependence on private developers to address affordability. Learn more here.

Homelessness: Moon would end the sweeps of homeless encampments and allow people to sleep in parks while the city improves services to help people find permanent housing.

Youth Jail: Moon opposes the county’s plans to build a new youth jail in Seattle because she thinks it undermines efforts to reduce youth incarceration.

Taxes: Moon supports a statewide capital gains tax on households earning more than $250,000 per year to fund affordable housing, education, and transit.

From the campaign trail: Moon is running as the reform-oriented change candidate in this race. She is very smart and offers thoughtful policy responses to the complex challenges facing our city.

For more reasons why people are supporting Moon, you can read this op-ed by three Seattle union workers in The Stranger.

Lorena González has been a truly impressive leader in her two years on the Seattle City Council. González is a civil rights attorney who runs a bilingual legal clinic for low-income residents and is the President Emeritus of OneAmerica, a Seattle-based immigrant advocacy organization. She supports police reform for bias-free and just policing, paid parental and family leave for all workers, and supports much of the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) for more equitable housing policy and as a part of the solution to homelessness in the city. If reelected, González wants to create a legal defense fund for immigrants and to fix our city's upside-down tax code. She is running against challenger and small business owner Pat Murakami who is not running as progressive of a campaign. González is the clear choice in this race.

Kate Burke is running for Spokane City Council Position 1 to improve infrastructure and increase investments in Northeast Spokane. Burke is also a strong supporter of increasing racial equity and anti-bias training for the Spokane Police Department. She currently works as a Legislative Aide for state Senator Andy Billig and is the founder of the Spokane Edible Tree Project, which donates extra fruit to local food banks.

Burke is running against Tim Benn, a conservative anti-labor union activist. Burke is the best choice in this race and has earned the most endorsements from our progressive partners.

Breean Beggs is running for reelection to the Spokane City Council Position 2 seat. Beggs is a strong champion of smart justice and criminal justice reform. He has a long track record of holding corporations accountable and protecting the rights of low-income residents. Beggs is the former Executive Director of the Center for Justice in Spokane, and has recently pushed to increase safety protections for coal and oil trains that run through downtown Spokane.

Beggs is running against Andy Dunau, a nonprofit executive director and a moderate who is prioritizing improving infrastructure. Beggs is the clear progressive choice in this race.

Incumbent City Councilmember Candace Mumm has a long track record of community involvement and leadership on land use issues and women’s health. She voted to support earned sick leave for all workers in Spokane and is a vocal advocate for a better bus system. Mumm is also the past president of the city's planning commission, where she oversaw adoption of the city's first Comprehensive Plan. She co-authored the city's Crosswalk Ordinance and co-led the city's Gender and Racial Equity task force.

Mumm is running against conservative Matthew Howes, whose campaign is centered on crime, road maintenance, and reducing business taxes. Mumm is the best choice in this race.

Meredith Neal is running for Tacoma City Council Position 6. She has served on the YWCA Pierce County Board, the City of Tacoma Planning Commission, and the Forterra Regional Leadership Council. Neal is prioritizing both revitalization of the local economy and the environment. She is focused on increasing living wage job opportunities, incentivizing affordable housing development, upgrading Tacoma's stormwater infrastructure to protect the Puget Sound, and increasing the tree canopy.