City of Burien

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.

Mitzi Johanknecht has worked in law enforcement for 32 years and is running to "restore honor and integrity to the Office of Sheriff." She believes the controversies surrounding the Sheriff’s office have been demoralizing for the department and a distraction for officers in the community. Johanknecht is against safe injection sites but has pledged to uphold any local laws surrounding these sites. She says she has never reported anyone to ICE and is a strong proponent of restorative justice. Johanknecht earned the support of staunch progressives such as Rep. Pramila Jayapal and The Stranger newspaper.

Johanknecht is challenging Sheriff John Urquhart, who was first elected in 2012 after serving 23 years as a sergeant and department spokesperson, where he was twice named Officer of the Year. As Sheriff, Urquhart has been an ally on a wide range of progressive issues. He supports sanctuary cities and protecting immigrant communities, and he was an outspoken critic of two anti-transgender ballot measures. He has been endorsed by a number of progressive organizations.

However, Urquhart has also been plagued by very troubling ethics issues in recent months. Late last year, reports surfaced that Urquhart was accused of raping a colleague 15 years ago. The FBI, Seattle Police Department, and the King County Prosecutor’s office investigated the allegations and did not find grounds to pursue criminal charges against him. However, the county ombudsman’s office faulted Urquhart for blocking an internal investigation into his behavior. You can read a lengthy description of the events here. In the closing days of the election, Urquhart has faced renewed criticism for attempting to bully and intimidate people who accuse him of wrongdoing and because a representative of his campaign threatened to release one accuser’s medical records to discredit her charges.

We expect our leaders in law enforcement to uphold the highest ethical standards and maintain the trust of the community they are sworn to protect. For this reason, we cannot recommend Urquhart and believe Johanknecht is the best choice in this race.

As the former chair of the House Environment committee in Olympia, Councilmember Dave Upthegrove is a strong environmental champion who has prioritized restoring salmon habitat on the Green River and cleanup for the Duwamish. However, he has recently disappointed progressives with his positions on the Veterans and Human Service Levy and safe injection sites. He is running unopposed in this race and deserves your vote.

Former Seattle City Council member Peter Steinbrueck is running to ensure that the Port of Seattle balances job growth and development with environmentally friendly environment platforms. He aims to make the Port of Seattle a leader in reducing emissions and restoring habitats. While Peter has a proven track record on supporting workers' rights, living wages, and environmentally responsible policies, we lean toward Shridhar for Port of Seattle, Position 4.

Judge Michael Spearman is running for re-election to the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division 1, District 1, Position 2. Appointed by former Governor Christine Gregoire in 2010, Spearman has more than three decades of legal experience including 14 years as a Superior Court judge. Spearman has also been rated as "exceptionally well qualified" by more than 5 Washington state bar associations including the King County Bar Association and QLAW, the LGBT Bar Association of Washington. He is opposed by attorney Nathan W. S. Choi, who lacks Spearman's depth of judicial experience. Spearman has earned another term on the appellate court.

Judge David Mann is unopposed in this race. With more than three decades of experience, Judge Mann was appointed to this seat in 2016 because of his extensive judicial track record. He is a former board member of Conservation Northwest, the Northwest Fund for the Environment, and the Washington Environmental Council. He also successfully argued before the Supreme Court in the case of Milner v. Dept. of Navy, which improved government transparency through the Freedom of Information Act. Mann has earned your vote.

Pedro Olguin is an Organizing Coordinator with Teamsters Local 117. As an advocate for workers, Olguin's campaign has focused on the lack of family wage jobs and affordable housing that disproportionately impact women, children, and people of color. He supports alternatives to arresting people for being homeless and wants to improve relationships between the police and community groups.

Pedro Olguin is running against Joel Manning, who advocates for aggressive anti-homeless policies and a complete repeal of the local business and occupation tax. Olguin is the best choice in this race.

Jimmy Matta is running for Position 3 with a deep understanding of the struggles of working families. His family immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala, and by the time he was a teenager Matta had dropped out of high school to support his family in the fields. Matta later started a construction business, and went on to become a representative for the Carpenters Union for more than 20 years. If elected, Matta wants to create dedicated positions in the city to support local businesses, address the homelessness crisis and connect people to existing services. Matta would also focus on affordable housing and developing community policing programs.

Matta is running against conservative incumbent Debi Wagner, who has voted against sanctuary city status. A large portion of Wagner's time on the council and her campaign have been centered on economic development and public safety in the form of hiring more police officers. Matta is the best choice in this race.

Incumbent Nancy Tosta is serving her first term on the Burien City Council and served as Deputy Mayor for two years. She has served on a multitude of local government and policy groups, including the King County City Climate Collaboration, the Burien Ad-Hoc Social Services Funding Committee, and as a South Correctional Entity (SCORE) Administrative Board Member. Her campaign emphasizes funding social services, implementing block watches and other community methods of public safety, and improving youth programs and parks. In the last four years, Tosta has worked on non-arrest solutions for homelessness, advocated for more transportation options, and voted to increase investments in social services.

Tosta is running against conservative Darla Green. Green's campaign centers on fighting the minimum wage and Burien's sanctuary city status, while promoting an anti-panhandling initiative against homeless people. Tosta is the most experienced and progressive candidate in this race.

Krystal Marx is running for Position 7 on a "Burien for All" platform that focuses on social equity and community-based crime solutions. She promotes the Housing First approach to homelessness, and seeks involvement on community issues from the most-impacted groups. She is a former nonprofit operations manager and community educator.

Her opponent, Patty Janssen, is a "law and order" candidate and volunteer with the Burien Police Department. Janssen has focused her campaign mostly on crime prevention and stronger enforcement of local ordinances on issues like loitering and panhandling.

Marx is the best choice in this race.