Pierce County

Frank Boykin is an account manager with United Parcel Service running for Port of Tacoma, Position 3. He has served as vice chair of the University Place Planning Commission as well as a leader in Tacoma's Black Collective, the Annie Wright School, Pierce College Foundation, and Washington’s Commission on African American Affairs. Boykin is running to increase the port's engagement with the community, encourage responsible growth, and protect family-wage jobs.

He is running against Deanna Keller, a Marine Corps veteran who is currently the CEO and President of Kel-Tech Plastics in Tacoma. She is focusing on modernizing facilities at the port, creating family-wage jobs, and keeping the port competitive in the region.

Boykin is the best choice in this race.

Attorney Kristin Ang is running for Port of Tacoma Commissioner, Position 5 to build a sustainable vision for industry at the port. She seeks to protect community health and the environment by reducing noise and air pollution, improving water quality, and increasing shore power technology. Ang opposes the port's property tax and supports pressing businesses to clean up their share of pollution, developing a comprehensive public engagement plan, and working with tribes, businesses, and local government to create shared agendas for the port.

Ang is running against Dave Bryant, a Navy veteran who wants to optimize the loading and offloading of goods with surface transportation and update the port's infrastructure. However, he lacks Ang's knowledge and experience when it comes to environmental conservation and creating clean energy jobs.

Ang is the best choice in this race.

Chris Stearns is running for Auburn City Council, Position 1. He has a comprehensive record of leadership, including serving as a previous chair of the Seattle Human Rights Commission, Democratic counsel for the Committee of Natural Resources in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first director of Indian Affairs for the U.S. Department of Energy. He currently serves as the Board President for the Seattle Indian Health Board, which is a community clinic that serves 6,000 patients and operates the Thunderbird Treatment Center. He has been endorsed by a large number of labor unions. Stearns is running unopposed in this race and deserves your vote.

Parks and Recreation board member James Jeyaraj is running for Auburn City Council, Position 3. Jeyaraj's top priority is helping vulnerable residents by providing additional shelters and shelter expansions. He wants to improve housing affordability by giving tax incentives to developers for a number of years and holding them accountable for creating multi-level apartment buildings to serve as affordable housing for young families. He also wants to partner with small businesses to promote local spending and create a clean, welcoming, safe city for all. However, he takes a more fiscally conservative approach to taxes and local government spending.

Jeyaraj is running against Ken Pearson, a reverend who as of late August has yet to post detailed campaign information on his site. However, in his candidate questionnaire to the Auburn Examiner, Pearson stated that he had no plan on affordable housing, as he believes that's not the city council's job, saying, "For all you ‘woke progressives’, that’s the cost of progress. In the near future, you’ll need to earn six figures a year in order to afford to live here." On public safety, Pearson asserts the need for "broken windows" policing, an incredibly damaging policy that leads to aggressive over-policing of communities of color and low-income communities. Pearson also states that a sanctuary city policy would "import poverty and the criminal element."

While he's not progressive on every issue, Jeyaraj is by far the best choice in this race.

Robyn Mulenga, the District 2 Director of the Auburn School Board, is now running for Auburn City Council, Position 5. During her time on the school board, Mulenga worked on the voter-supported bond that will fund the construction of new and replacement schools in the district, helped introduce racial equity policies, and supported building out the district's 5-year strategic plan. If elected to the city council, Mulenga says she will focus on reducing homelessness and its impacts, including building rest areas for the homeless for laundry and showering, as well as continue to focus on improving community engagement in education.

Mulenga is running against Ryan Burnett, a chef and restaurant manager who is concerned about family displacement, community safety, the opioid crisis, and improving business opportunities. He is a member of the mayor’s new jobs task force, which seeks to connect people with job training opportunities.

Mulenga is the best choice in this race because of her record of public service and experience working on important issues in Auburn.

Robyn Denson is a four-time parks commissioner who is running to help the city grow in thoughtful ways. She has served in the community in many capacities, including as a founding member of Harbor Wildwatch, a representative for Gig Harbor on the Pierce County Conservation Futures Citizens Advisory Board, and a member of the Peninsula School District Trades Council. Denson plans to utilize her experience as a parks commissioner to protect open spaces and encourage historic preservation, as well as addressing infrastructure issues like downtown parking, installing docks at Ancich Park, and supporting the Village in Gig Harbor North.

Denson's opponent in this race is Michelle Matheson, a self-described "moderate conservative" and employee of the Pierce County Chamber of Commerce. She also runs a small business doing political fundraising for conservatives. Matheson is running to work on growth management, including supporting the construction of more amenities in the city and streamlining the permit process. Local Republicans are backing Matheson with the hope that she uses this race as a stepping stone to higher office. 

Denson's strong support by community leaders and her progressive platform make her the best choice in this race.

Linda Farmer is a communications professional who has worked with the Washington State Puget Sound Action Team, the Pierce County Library System, and the City of Tacoma. She is currently on the Community Advisory Board for KNKX. She plans to leverage her experience to tackle issues of homelessness and mental health, expand parks, broaden the tax base, and improve roads.

Farmer is running against Ken Witkoe, a former commissioned reserve officer for Lakewood and an instructor at Bates Technical College. He has served in several community roles, including on the Lakewood Public Safety Advisory Committee and Clover Park School District CTE Visual Communications Pathway Advisory Committee. Witkoe is running to improve economic growth through the city's strategic plan, improve infrastructure, and invest in first responders.

Farmer is the best choice for Lakewood City Council, Position 6 because of her progressive values, long record of public service, and strong community support.

Robin Farris, a businesswoman who spent 23 years serving in the U.S. Navy, is running for re-election to Puyallup City Council in District 1. Farris stood up to a far-right group attacking homeless people in Puyallup and instead pushed for community-centered solutions that brought residents together with public safety, business, and homelessness advocates. She is dedicated to public safety, safe routes to schools, and humane solutions to the homelessness crisis.

Farris faces conservative Curtis Thiel in this race. Thiel is running to cut business regulations and find "effective solutions" to the issue of homelessness, though he does not have a detailed plan available. Thiel has not demonstrated the depth of policy knowledge necessary to address this important issue.

For compassion, experience, and community-centered responses to Puyallup's biggest problems, Farris is the best choice for Puyallup City Council in District 1.

John Palmer is the current mayor of Puyallup and serves as a city council member in District 2. He has been a progressive voice for building a strong and safe community, addressing our homelessness crisis with compassion, and smart growth in Puyallup. He’s worked at the Environmental Protection Agency for 25 years, served on Puyallup’s Planning Commission from 2008-2011, and was chair of the commission for three years.

Palmer is being challenged by Paul Herrera, an active army veteran and Puyallup tribal law enforcement officer whose campaign has the support of the Pierce County GOP. Like other conservative candidates in these city races, Herrera wants to bring a simplistic law enforcement focus to addressing homelessness instead of taking a holistic approach that addresses the root causes of the situation.

Palmer’s experience, values, and proven record of leadership on the council makes him the best choice in this race.

Independent Ned Witting is running for Puyallup City Council in District 3. He does not have a strong campaign presence, but has been endorsed by the 25th Legislative District Democrats and the Washington Education Association. Witting is a former board member at the League of Women Voters who in 2018 ran for representative in the 25th Legislative District on the platform of ensuring school resources, affordable housing, and addressing traffic gridlock.

Witting is challenging Curt Gimmestad, the incumbent council member for District 3. Gimmestad is running for re-election on a more conservative platform that would undermine city services and rely too heavily on law enforcement.

Witting is the best choice for Puyallup City Council, District 3.

Heather Shadko previously served on the Puyallup City Council from 2013 through 2017 and is running again, this time for the at-large seat. She is currently a contracts manager for the Port of Tacoma and a board member of the Pierce County Transit Board, as well as a former vice-chair of the Planning Commission. Shadko made good use of her time on the council, advocating for environmental impact statements for large development projects, fighting for humane treatment of the homeless, and championing public open spaces. Now she is running to improve transportation options, advocate for solutions to homelessness that include affordable housing and addressing mental health, and ensure Puyallup is heard by Pierce County leaders.

Shadko is running against conservative incumbent Dean Johnson, who works at the Nordstrom corporate office in Seattle. Unfortunately, during his time on the council Johnson has failed to adequately address the affordable housing shortage or provide compassionate solutions to the homelessness crisis.

Shadko is the experienced, progressive pick for this position.

Nathe Lawver, the Political Director at Laborers Local 252, is running for Tacoma City Council in District 1. He has served as chair of the Pierce County Human Services Coalition and on the Tacoma Environmental Services Commission, as well as on the boards of the Sweet Hope Foundation, Healthy Tacoma, and United Way. While working at United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367, he helped pass the city's landmark $15 minimum wage and sick leave laws. Lawver's top campaign priorities include affordable housing, updating the city's infrastructure, and working on the city's mental health needs.

Lawver's opponent is John Hines, an instructional facilitator at the Department of Academic Equity and Access for the Tacoma Public School District. Hines states that if elected, he would lead the city "back to the basics" of providing essential services like road work, expanding law enforcement, and "removing blight and increasing security" of neighborhoods.

Lawver has secured an impressive number of endorsements from the progressive community and is the best choice in this race.

Incumbent Keith Blocker is a managing partner at Archway Consulting Group, a strategy firm that provides political consultation and support for workplace diversity and inclusion. During his time on the council, Blocker has supported immigrants by helping create an Immigrant Legal Defense fund and calling on the public to give to the Deportation Defense Fund, which pays for legal representation for Tacoma residents going through the deportation process. He has also focused on housing and homelessness while on the council, helping establish stronger tenant protections against eviction and supporting the Affordable Housing Trust. Blocker has pledged to continue his work on supportive housing and low-income housing for the community.

Blocker is being challenged by David Combs, the owner of a Tacoma screenprinting shop. Combs points to rising rent as one of the biggest drivers of homelessness in Tacoma. He supports wraparound services that make high-quality education accessible to all, especially low-income students and students of color. Combs also supports demilitarizing the police for a more equitable city, and instead pursuing alternatives like restorative justice and rehabilitation for those with criminalized behaviors.

Blocker has been endorsed by a few of our partners as well as a large number of his fellow Tacoma City Council members. We believe he's the best choice in this race because of his progressive values and strong community support.

First elected in 2015, Deputy Mayor Conor McCarthy has supported important measures like increasing shelter bed capacity at Tacoma Rescue Mission and enacting tenant protections. Along with Pierce County Councilmember Derek Young, McCarthy proposed the Tacoma-Pierce Opioid Task Force, which brought together local stakeholders to present findings and solutions on the opioid epidemic in the county. McCarthy is a politically moderate voice in Tacoma and has been endorsed by all the current members of the city council. However, we were disappointed that McCarthy did not respond to requests to meet with our local recommendation committee to discuss his campaign. 

McCarthy is facing Courtney Love, a lifelong Tacoma resident and a single mother who serves on the board of Whole Washington, an advocacy group for universal single-payer health care in Washington. Our local recommendation committee was very impressed with Love's progressive values and platform, including improving affordability, election transparency, and food and health care security in Tacoma.

We recommend McCarthy because of his support from our Progressive Voters Guide partner organizations. 

Kristina Walker is the executive director of Downtown on the Go, a Tacoma-based transportation advocacy organization that aims to encourage the use of biking, walking, transit, and other forms of non-single occupancy vehicle transportation. Walker's campaign emphasizes improving transportation as one of her main priorities. She also advocates for bringing down the cost of college, protecting the city's green spaces, and affordable housing.

She is running against John O'Loughlin, who worked as the Assistant Director for the Waste Water, Surface Water, and Solid Waste Utilities. He states that he will work to make Tacoma friendly for businesses and manage future growth.

Walker's broad support from the progressive community and her dedication to Tacoma's residents and environment make her the best choice in this race.

Lisa Keating is the executive director of My Purple Umbrella, an organization which advocates for LGBTQ students. She was motivated to run because of recent teachers' strikes and is striving to bring more transparency and accountability to the school board.

Keating is challenging 30-year incumbent Debbie Winskill, the longest-serving member on the board. Unfortunately, Winskill was the only member of the board who did not sign a letter condemning the controversial op-ed titled "Diversity education is a divisive education" penned a Tacoma teacher who opposed the incorporation of ethnic studies into Tacoma schools' curricula, saying that she thought he was a good teacher.

It's long past time for fresh leadership on the Tacoma School Board. Lisa Keating is the best choice in this race.

Dr. Enrique Leon was chosen to join the school board by the Tacoma School Board of Directors after School Board President Catherine Ushka was elected to the city council. Along with his position on the board, Dr. Leon works at MultiCare Tacoma Family Medicine and is a team physician for Lincoln and Stadium High schools.

Leon notes that last year's teacher strike gave educators a well-deserved raise, but acknowledged rifts in the community between the district leaders and the unions that resulted.

The state Legislature has enacted a cap on levy funding that has contributed to a budget deficit in Tacoma schools. This year the formula was amended, but schools still face consequences such as teacher layoffs. In light of further likely budget cuts in the district, Leon says he is looking at free and open evidence-based curriculum rather than buying a new curriculum. He will also focus on supporting an enhanced elementary reading curriculum, emphasizing kids' emotional and mental health, and creating community-school partnerships.

Leon is running against Kristopher Kerns, the vice president of Point Defiance Elementary's PTA. He supported last September's teacher strike, saying that teachers deserve fair wages, but noted the burden on parents like himself. Kerns would modify hiring timelines and policies for teachers, aggressively recruit new educators, and states that he will ensure no additional layoffs in the district

We lean towards Leon in this race.