Ciudad de Sammamish

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.

Progressive John Murphy is running for King County Council, District 3. From serving as a Vietnam Navy corpsman to working as a Deputy Fire Chief at Eastside Fire and Rescue for 20 years, Murphy has devoted his life to public service. Murphy prioritizes the economic needs of working families and wants to implement responsible infrastructure development throughout the county. If elected, Murphy would also focus on affordable housing, public safety, transportation, and improving waste water management in King County.

Murphy is running against conservative incumbent Kathy Lambert, whose track record on health and human services shows that she prioritizes conservative ideology over the needs of her constituents. John Murphy is the clear choice in this race.

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.

Eastside high school teacher Anita Damjanovic has more than 13 years of experience in the field of education. Damjanovic is passionate about revitalizing K-12 education programs. She wants to invest in STEM education and early arts programs, create an early world language education program, and promote stronger teacher recruitment and retention strategies. Damjanovic also advocates for having school nurses present in all schools to ensure that the health and safety needs of students are met.

Cassandra Sage is a family advisor for Seattle Children’s Hospital and a Cub Scout leader who serves the community in many ways. As a mother with two sons with special needs, Sage wants to see more inclusion of special education kids in general school population. If elected, she would support increasing vocational programs, promote fully funded, equitable education, and increased support for college-bound students and their parents.

Both candidates have promising visions for the school district, however we lean towards Anita Damjanovic in this race because of the support she has earned from our progressive partners.