37th Legislative District

Sen. Rebecca Saldaña is running unopposed for re-election to the Senate seat in Legislative District 37. She previously worked as the Executive Director for Puget Sound Sage, a nonprofit tackling issues such as environmental justice, affordable housing, and workers' rights. In her first term in the Senate, Saldaña has pushed for full education funding and an end to Washington's regressive tax system. Her first bill signed by Governor Inslee expanded HOV lane access for blood donation vehicles, and she has co-signed bills to protect internet privacy and prohibit criminal record check-boxes on job applications.

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.

Two-term incumbent Pete Holmes is running for re-election as Seattle City Attorney. A former business litigation attorney, Holmes also previously worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington D.C. Holmes is a critic of the war on drugs–he dismissed all pending marijuana possession cases when he took office and sponsored Initiative 502, which legalized and regulated marijuana use in the state. Holmes has also stood for police reform as a member of a police civilian oversight board and advocated for gun safety as a founding member of Prosecutors Against Gun Violence and Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration. He also lowered the misdemeanor sentence to 364 days to avoid the potential for federal deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Holmes is running against Scott Lindsay, the former public safety advisor and special assistant for police reform for Mayor Ed Murray. Lindsay is an architect of the city's "9 1/2 Blocks" plan, which aimed to reduce crime and stop the "open-air drug markets" downtown. He is aiming to reduce low-level crime by implementing drug addiction treatment programs and piloting the country's first safe consumption program.

We recommend Holmes because of his track record and support from progressive partners.

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.