Snohomish County

Ray Miller is a longtime leader in Snohomish County who is running for Snohomish County Council Position 1. Miller is an active veteran and Tuskegee Airman who has dedicated his life to helping veterans return to civilian life through housing and health care services. He has served the community in many other capacities as well, including his roles as the Co-Chair of the Snohomish County Homeless Day Committee, Snohomish County Charter Review Commission for District 1, Snohomish County Human Rights Commission, and appointment to the Washington State Salaries Commission by Governor Inslee. Miller seeks to leverage his service as a mental health counselor to combat addiction and homeless in Snohomish County, as well as balance new housing and development with rural areas.

His opponents Chris Ihler, incumbent Nate Nehring, and Robert Sutherland are conservatives who support a range of policies from regressive taxes to cutting business regulations. Ray Miller's exemplary service to the community has earned him your vote for Snohomish County Council.

Kristin Kelly is the former Snohomish County Program Director at Futurewise, a land use and conservation advocacy organization, and is currently working as the Smart Growth Executive Director for the Pilchuck Audubon Society. She is also a former Snohomish County Charter Review Commissioner for District 5. Kelly is focused on environmental protections issues; she serves on the Executive Committee of the Sustainable Lands Strategy, which restores wildlife and salmon habitats along the Skykomish, Snohomish, and Stillaguamish River basins and estuaries. She supports living wage jobs, preserving farmland, housing for all income levels, a fully funded public health budget, and using tourism money instead of timber sales to fund schools.

Kelly is running against conservative Samuel Low and activist Tara Schumacher. Schumacher founded the Maltby Citizens Coalition, and has volunteered with numerous nonprofits. She wants to develop more transit than what's planned through Sound Transit 3 and develop non-criminal rehabilitation responses to homelessness and addiction.

We believe Kelly is the best choice in this race because of her broad progressive support and experience with public policy.

Cassie Franklin is running for mayor with a history of community service, especially on homelessness issues. An Everett City Council member since 2015, she serves on Everett's Streets Initiative Task Force for chronically homeless people. She supports upgrades to the city's water and wastewater systems, ensuring that businesses are responsible for environmental cleanup, increasing homeownership rates, and creating a Small Business Advisory Council. In addition to her roles in local government, Franklin has worked with organizations like the Puget Sound Runaway and Homeless Youth Collaboration, the Families Matter Vision Council for United Way of Snohomish County, and the Statewide Coordinating Committee on Human Trafficking.

Also running in this race is Everett City Council President Judy Tuohy and Shean Nasin, who is not running a competitive campaign. Sullivan is the best choice in this race because of his strong support from our Progressive Voters Guide partner organizations.

Paul Roberts is running for his fourth term on the Everett City Council. He serves as Chair of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency board and on the Sound Transit board. Roberts has worked to expand Everett's naval and Boeing job opportunities, update the city's master shoreline plan, protect the estuaries of the Snohomish River, and work with the Association of Washington Cities Center for Quality Communities to build up green jobs in the city. Roberts is the best choice for Everett City Council Position 2.

Alex Lark is a running for Everett City Council Position 2. Lark has worked for Senator Patty Murray as well as former Congressman Brian Baird. Currently he is an Everett Planning Commissioner and the philanthropy manager for Housing Hope, a nonprofit that provides services to help the homeless and make affordable housing a reality. Central to Lark's campaign is his desire to increase affordable housing. He has outlined a plan to encourage diverse housing stock in Everett, develop a sweat equity homeownership program, and create a nonprofit land trust to decrease mortgage costs. He also supports expanding the embedded social worker program and fully staffing the fire department.

His opponent, Jeff Moore, has served on the Everett City Council since 2009 and is currently the Everett School District Executive Finance Director. He voted yes in favor of the controversial aggressive begging ordinance, which makes panhandling a misdemeanor that could result in jail time.

Jordan Marsh, the other candidate in this race, is not running a competitive campaign. Lark is the best choice in this race.

Jonathan Peebles works in Shoreline Community College's Global Affairs Center. His campaign is centered on bringing more union jobs to Everett, affordable housing, and crime prevention. He also wants to increase job training opportunities for young people and invest more in programs to reduce homelessness in Everett.

He is running against Libertarian Jennifer Hesse and conservative incumbent Scott Murphy. Hesse holds some progressive viewpoints, such as police accountability, supporting LGBTQ rights, and advancing sustainable solutions like solar panels, but she is opposed to some investments in our community and is not running a viable campaign.

Peebles is the best choice in this race.

Tina Over is a real estate broker running for Position 2. Over has worked as the Marketing and Promotions Director for the Share-A-Bear Angel Foundation, and as a local PTA board member. She supports the city's move to become a "welcoming city" for people of all immigration statuses and providing more parks and green spaces for multigenerational use.

Her opponents in this race are Peter Zieve and Bob Champion. Zieve, an aerospace company executive, donated $1 million to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. He also created an anonymous postcard mailing campaign to oppose plans to build a local mosque.

Bob Champion is the incumbent for the position. He is currently the city council president, and serves on the National League of Cities Information Technology Steering Committee and the Association of Washington Cities’ Federal Committee, among other responsibilities. Over is the best choice in this race.

Former mayor Karen Guzak is running for the new strong mayor position. Earlier this year, she resigned from her 7 years as mayor when Snohomish voted to move to a "strong mayor" form of governemnt. This will be the first strong mayor election, which means that the mayor will be directly elected by voters instead of the city manager role of a "weak mayor" chosen by fellow members of the city council. If she is not elected to the mayor position, she will remain on the city council. Guzak owns a local yoga studio and also works with the local Committee for Strategic Planning, Snohomish County Tomorrow, the Snohomish Womens’ Network and Snohomish Giving Circle.

Guzak is running against Elizabeth Larsen and John Kartak. Larsen is a senior environmental planner with the Snohomish County Public Works. She supports the creation of neighborhood committees, town hall meetings, and addressing climate change locally. Kartak is a construction worker and a Proposition 2 supporter (which moved Snohomish from a weak mayor system to a strong one). He is not running a competitive campaign. Guzak is the best choice in this race

Meagan Gray, a hair stylist and board member of the Snohomish Historical Society, is running for Position 7. She supports town halls as a way to have conversation about city issues, instead of during city council meetings. As an Open Government Committee member, her campaign has emphasized governmen transparency as well as affordable housing.

Gray is running against Trump suporter Steve Dana, and former Snohomish Rotary Club president Lisa Caldwell, who has not presented a serious campaign platform. Gray is the best choice in this race.