City of Spokane Valley

Merkel is a former USAID worker who currently works in logistics in the Department for Veteran's Affairs. His top priorities are economic, including bringing more tech jobs to the city, requiring developers to pay for the infrastructure their projects rely on, and saving money by changing up the city contracting process.

Jackson is defending his doctorate at the University of Otago. He seeks to increase transparency on the council, attract tech jobs to the city, and conduct more community outreach.

Both Jackson and Merkel are more on the moderate side, but both are better than the more conservative incumbent, Mayor Rod Higgins.

J. Scott Miller is a lawyer with 32 years of experience. Miller has practiced a wide range of civil law and is an adjunct professor of law at Gonzaga and Whitworth University. He's also active in the community, supporting Spokane Public Radio and low-income housing organizations.

Jocelyn Cook has 10 years of experience as a public defender working on criminal and dependency cases. She is passionate about criminal justice reform and her experience as a public defender would be a welcomed addition to the bench.

Tony Hazel has gathered an impressive list of bipartisan supporters. He is an experienced prosecutor appointed to the position this year and has been proactive in making reforms to the criminal justice system in his time as judge. However, some progressives are concerned with Hazel's past campaigning for conservative candidates and his "law and order" statements as a prosecutor.