Thurston County

Former Vice President Joe Biden has a long track record of public service. He represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009 and then served as President Barack Obama's vice president from 2009 to 2017. His personal history, including losing his eldest son to brain cancer, influenced his agenda and led him to become an advocate for the Affordable Care Act, the signature policy of the Obama administration. 

After facing numerous progressive challenges in the presidential primary, Biden has shifted his platform to the left for the general election. Some of the hallmark policies of Biden's 2020 platform include supporting a public health care option and raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, as well as making huge investments in low-income housing assistance and public transit and making community college free. Biden has worked hard with progressive leaders like Sen. Bernie Sanders to unite the Democratic party under what is likely the most progressive party platform in history, though we need to continue pushing him to support bolder proposals like the Green New Deal.

California Senator Kamala Harris is Biden's vice-presidential running mate on the Democratic ticket. Harris was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 and served as California's attorney general before that. She ran her own campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination this election cycle before ultimately being selected as Biden's running mate in August. Harris made history as both the first Black woman and the first South Asian woman to be nominated for vice president by a major party. As California's first woman attorney general, Harris earned a reputation as a staunch advocate for victims and worked to pass marriage equality as well as protect the Affordable Care Act. In the Senate, Harris has sponsored progressive bills this year such as the Climate Equity Act of 2020, the COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Disparities Task Force Act of 2020, and the RELIEF Act. Harris also gained notice for her willingness to hold former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to account during Senate proceedings.

Biden's opponent is President Donald Trump, a man whose corrupt, lawless, and destructive track record speaks for itself. The damage that Trump and his administration have done to the public and to our democratic systems will take decades to reverse. Some of the worst moments of his presidency include a catastrophic national coronavirus response, separating thousands of children from parents and locking them in cages, eliminating critical environmental protections on our air and water, stripping healthcare protections for millions, and ramming through a dangerous, conservative Supreme Court nominee to rig the nation's highest court in his favor. 

While there are legitimate concerns about some aspects of Biden's track record, there is no comparison to Trump's attacks on democratic institutions and the rule of law, his dishonesty, his constant assaults on people of color and religious minorities, and his open embrace of white supremacy. Biden is the clear choice for President of the United States.

Carolyn Long has taught Southwest Washington’s students for 24 years at WSU Vancouver. She is challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler. Long ran against Herrera Beutler in 2018 and hopes to build off that strong campaign and win this year.

Long's platform boasts critically important health care policies, including protecting people with pre-existing conditions, defending the Affordable Care Act, and providing substantive and equitable health care for those in need of addiction and mental health services. She is also prioritizing treating gun violence as a public health crisis, caring for veterans, reforming the tax code to make it more equitable for working families, and protecting Medicare and Social Security.

Long's opponent, Herrera Beutler, is a conservative Republican who votes with Trump more than 80 percent of the time. Despite taking a few key votes to appear more moderate, Herrera Beutler is actually very conservative. She has stated she wants to overturn the Affordable Care Act, which provides health care to millions of Americans. Herrera Beutler was also the only member of Congress from Washington to support the Trump administration's cruel immigration bill and she refused to vote for the Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Herrera Beutler has been criticized by her constituents in the past for her refusal to hold town halls or be held accountable for the harmful votes she has taken. More recently, she voted against the COVID-19 relief in the HEROES Act, denying her constituents needed additional cash payments, funding for additional testing and treatment, support for the postal service, hazard pay for medical and frontline workers, and expanded SNAP benefits.

Long is the best choice in this race and deserves your vote.

Governor Jay Inslee has been a strong, principled leader on the important challenges facing Washington. Before he was elected as governor in 2012, Inslee represented both sides of the Cascades in Congress, opposed the Iraq war, and worked to increase accountability and oversight for Wall Street banks.

Inslee has established himself as a national leader on fighting climate change. He has invested more than $170 million into clean energy and energy efficiency projects, implemented the Clean Air Rule, and pushed for legislation that reduces pollution in Washington. In his 2020 bid for the presidency, Inslee brought a focus on climate to the race. Outside of his work on climate, Inslee has signed into law Washington's public option for health care, paid family leave, and the Equal Pay Opportunity Act.

Recently, Inslee has been a national leader in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. His proactive, decisive, science-driven efforts have saved countless Washingtonians from getting sick. Unfortunately, we've seen the flip side recently where states with governors who were slow or failed to act have seen dramatic increases in cases.

Inslee's opponent is Republican Loren Culp, the sole police officer of the town of Republic and one of the farthest right of Inslee's main primary challengers. Culp came to national fame for refusing to enforce the voter-approved Initiative 1639, which placed restrictions on semi-automatic firearm sales. Much of Culp's primary and early general election campaign has centered on opposing public health measures like wearing masks. 

Culp's policy track record is disturbing, especially related to the environment. He recently questioned whether the wildfires that have ravaged the region are climate-related. He's compared gun rights to the Holocaust and likened the governor's stay-home policies to the horrors of Japanese internment during WWII. He faces a lawsuit for failing to investigate a child sex abuse case and for intimidating the victim in a case that was swiftly prosecuted after the county stepped in and took over. 

As the coronavirus crisis continues and the gap in the state budget persists, we need real, experienced leadership at the helm of the state. Inslee is the clear choice for governor.

Former Port Commissioner and progressive state Rep. Gael Tarleton is now running for Secretary of State to serve as the state's chief elections officer, among other roles. First elected to the Legislature in 2012, Tarleton has been a strong advocate for environmental causes such as Governor Jay Inslee's initiative to reduce carbon pollution. She sponsored bills during her first term in the House to strengthen the maritime industry, improve access to health care, and ensure gender pay equity.

Tarleton is running for Secretary of State to expand access to voting in Washington while safeguarding our elections against "foreign and domestic" attacks. She wants to improve digital security and increase funding for county auditors to protect local elections from hacking attempts in the wake of the 2016 election. She would also expand audits of the state and local systems to identify any weaknesses that could be exploited.

Tarleton is challenging incumbent Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who has faced a bumpy road during her time in office. Last year, Wyman's office released a new $9.5 million voter registration database that was riddled with errors and led to a backlog of tens of thousands of registrations. King County elections director Julie Wise described the release as "irresponsible" and "not even functioning." In addition, Wyman was slow to support the Washington Voting Rights Act, same-day voter registration, and postage-paid ballots.

We need a progressive leader in the Secretary of State's office who is fully committed to protecting our elections and removing every barrier to participation in our democracy. Tarleton is the clear progressive choice in this race.

Mike Pellicciotti has served in the Washington state House representing the 30th Legislative District since 2016 and is now running for Treasurer. Pellicciotti has never accepted corporate campaign donations and has led efforts to make the Legislature's records open for public view. He also wrote the Corporate Crime Act, which increases financial penalties for corporate crimes by 100 times.

Pellicciotti is challenging incumbent Republican Duane Davidson. In 2016, incumbent Jim McIntire retired, leaving the seat open. Because of the crowded primary, two Republicans made it through to the general election, giving them control of the treasurer's office for the first time since 1957. Davidson previously served as the Benton County treasurer from 2003 to 2016. In his term, he has been a traditional Republican and has accused the state Legislature of "raiding" the Rainy Day Fund. He has only attended 3 of 18 critical pension meetings since fall 2017.

Pellicciotti has been a solid legislator and is the best choice in the race for Washington State Treasurer.

Washington Auditor Pat McCarthy has been a consistent advocate for government transparency and accountability during her first term in office. Previously, she served as Pierce County executive and Pierce County auditor, where she was honored as the 2006 Washington State Auditor of the Year.

McCarthy announced that her office has opened two independent audits of the Employment Security Department. The first will investigate the delay in unemployment benefits for hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second audit will look into how criminals stole hundreds of millions of dollars through a sophisticated fraud scheme.

McCarthy is facing a challenge from Republican Chris Leyba, a detective with limited audit experience related to this role. Leyba has expressed some very conservative viewpoints during the campaign, including opposition to stronger campaign finance laws, disagreeing with basic law enforcement reforms, and supporting Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic response.   

McCarthy's experience and commitment to oversight will be valuable as the state works to emerge from the pandemic and the recession. McCarthy is the best choice in this race.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson's accomplishments during his two terms in office are impressive. From delivering millions of dollars back to consumers who were wronged by fraudulent corporations to his ongoing battle with the federal government to clean up the Hanford nuclear waste site to successfully fighting two Tim Eyman initiatives, Ferguson has been a strong and effective advocate for the people of Washington. He has sued the Trump administration 80 times as of late September and won all but one completed case. Some of Ferguson's biggest accomplishments from the past few years include safeguarding consumer medical data, protecting statewide water quality from Trump's erosive environmental policies, and fighting back against the Trump administration's child detention laws.

Ferguson faces a challenge from Republican attorney Matt Larkin, who is currently the legal counsel for his family's manufacturing business. Larkin worked in the Bush White House on efforts to direct federal funds to religious charities and is an advocate for a traditional Republican platform. Larkin opposes the vast majority of the lawsuits that Ferguson has filed to hold the Trump administration accountable. 

Ferguson is the clear progressive choice for Attorney General of Washington.

Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz has been a proactive force for protecting our communities from climate change. As the head of the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), she has focused on protecting public lands, wildfire management, and climate action.

This year, Franz released a climate resiliency plan for rural Washington that includes massive reforestation as well as expanding wind and solar farms. Given the statewide threat and impact of wildfires with recent record-setting fire seasons, she has also worked on a 20-year forest health plan and a 10-year fire protection plan.

Franz's opponent is fisheries researcher Sue Kuehl Pederson, the former chair of the Grays Harbor Republican Party. Kuehl Pederson is running on a conservative platform that focuses on significantly increasing logging of state forests and rolling back protections for endangered species. In recent interviews, Kuehl Pederson also downplayed the importance of climate change in exacerbating this fall’s forest fires. 

Franz has the experience we need to guide and protect our state from increasingly dangerous fire seasons and the rising threat of climate inaction. Vote Franz for Commissioner of Public Lands.

Chris Reykdal is running for re-election to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to continue his leadership of our state's public schools through this challenging time. Previously, Reykdal spent 14 years serving on local school boards and in leadership positions at community and technical colleges, as well as serving 6 years in the Legislature. In the state House, Reykdal had a strong progressive voting record and was a consistent champion for public schools.

In his first term as superintendent, Reykdal has pushed the Legislature to fully fund K-12 education, increase teacher pay, and close the opportunity gap for students of color. More recently, Reykdal has worked closely with Gov. Inslee to help Washington schools navigate the pandemic. He made the tough decision early to close schools for the year in order to keep kids and families safe and to slow the spread of COVID-19. If re-elected, Reykdal will continue to advocate for these priorities and work with schools across the state as they make the transition back to in-person education.

Reykdal is facing former Republican legislative candidate Maia Espinoza. Espinoza is a school music teacher and a former legislative liaison to the Governor’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs. She was motivated to run by her opposition to comprehensive sexual health education and gained attention by publishing a false and inflammatory voters' pamphlet statement attacking Reykdal. In addition, an Associated Press investigation found that Espinoza provided false or misleading descriptions of her own education and the organization she leads. As of mid-September, Espinoza is also dangerously pushing for classrooms to re-open fully for in-person learning, despite mass outbreaks at schools and universities across the country.

Reykdal is the clear choice for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has spent his entire career serving the people of Washington. Prior to running for statewide office, Kreidler was a doctor of optometry, a state legislator, and a member of Congress.

As insurance commissioner, Kreidler has been a consistent advocate for consumers and patients in overseeing insurance companies in Washington. Kreidler set up one of the first and most effective Affordable Care Act exchanges in the country, helping expand access to health care for hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians. More recently, Kreidler moved quickly to issue an emergency order requiring insurance companies to waive copays, coinsurance, and deductibles for COVID-19 testing and office visits. In addition, he forced insurance companies to allow consumers to access other health providers if they did not have an in-network option for testing.

Kreidler is opposed by Republican Chirayu Avinash Patel, an insurance agent and biochemistry student at the University of Washington. He states that he wants to model the office of the insurance commissioner based on a hybrid of the Ronald Reagan and Thomas Jefferson administrations. Patel has no campaign website and does not appear to be running a credible bid for office.

Kreidler has earned your vote for re-election to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

Veronica Whitcher Rockett is running to bring a progressive voice to Olympia as a House representative for Legislative District 2. Whitcher Rockett has served as a precinct committee officer for the Thurston County Democrats, chair of the Thurston County Young Democrats, and is currently vice chair of the Thurston County Democratic Women.

Through her work with her children's PTA, two of whom have special needs, Whitcher Rockett states that she wants to improve special education programs and ensure that schools are truly fully funded. She is advocating for rural broadband to connect her district with work and education opportunities online, which is more important than ever during the pandemic. Whitcher Rocket is also committed to affordable housing, accessible healthcare, a greener economy, and police accountability, stating in July that she supports banning law enforcement's use of tear gas and chokeholds.

Whitcher Rockett is running against Republican incumbent JT Wilcox. Wilcox regularly and actively blocks progress in the Legislature and prides himself on being a conservative figurehead. In recent years, he has voted against progressive reforms including net neutrality protections for internet users, equal pay for women, and equitable access to Washington's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Despite contracting COVID-19 himself this summer, Wilcox stated that his legislative priorities were focused on economic recovery, offering no public health policy.

Whitcher Rockett is the clear progressive choice for the 2nd Legislative District.

Sen. Dean Takko is a moderate Democrat who has represented the 19th Legislative District since 2005. He previously served in the state House for 10 years before being appointed to the Senate in 2015. Takko has advocated for investing money in jobs and infrastructure but has disappointed progressives on environmental issues and gun safety.

This year, Sen. Takko supported bills to prohibit race-based hair discrimination and to establish a state Office of Equity, but unfortunately voted against a bill to repeal the death penalty. Takko is running to ensure funding for transportation projects, expand broadband for rural residents, and make health care more accessible for Washington residents. Though Sen. Takko does not support defunding the police, he believes that police reform is necessary.

Takko is running against Republican Jeff Wilson who serves as the Vice President for the Port of Longview Commission. Wilson promises that he will not move forward any additional business or capital gains taxation, which would maintain Washington's upside-down tax system. Rather than investing in communities, he would make knee-jerk cuts to services at the moment they're needed most and has yet to offer a strong policy response to the coronavirus pandemic.

If re-elected, Takko will support Democratic priorities in the Senate. He is the best choice in this race.

Progressive Democrat Marianna Everson is running for the 19th Legislative District, House Position 1 to advocate for the needs of working people. Everson is running on a platform of supporting safe and affordable housing, fully-funded education, progressive taxes, and a healthy economy with living-wage jobs. Her extensive policy ideas also include comprehensive criminal justice reform, infrastructure upgrades, and protecting labor unions. As a registered psychiatric nurse, she places particular emphasis on the need for universal health care reforms, such as free point-of-care health care.

She is running against incumbent Jim Walsh, a conservative, two-term Republican who has voted against efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Washington, prohibiting bump stocks and background checks for firearm transfers, prohibiting sexual orientation conversion therapy on minors, and more. Walsh has emerged as one of the most inflammatory members of the state House, undermining his ability to work with other legislators to get things done. His response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been painfully poor as he joined April protests against Gov. Inslee's stay-at-home orders.

Everson is the best choice for state House.

Rep. Brian Blake has represented the 19th Legislative District in the state House since 2002. He is currently the Chair of the House Rural Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Before assuming office, Blake worked as a logger for decades and later as an environmental specialist for the Department of Corrections.

Blake has a moderate voting record, and like the 19th's Sen. Takko, Blake has been problematic on some environmental and gun safety legislation this year. On a host of other issues, however, Blake has generally taken good votes on progressive priorities. He is running to increase jobs and private investment in the 19th District, "while ensuring public access to our natural lands and protecting our individual rights."

Blake faces a challenge from Republican Joe McEntire, who can be expected to promote a far-right agenda for the district. McEntire is a veteran and a chair of the Wahkiakum County Republican Party. Though he does not have a detailed policy platform available for 2020, McEntire also ran in 2018 for the same seat on a platform of slashing environmental protections and shrinking the government. In response to the threat of COVID-19, McEntire says he shifted his campaign to prioritize getting Washingtonians back to work, but he offered no policy recommendations on how to keep residents safe from the virus.

Blake is the best choice in this race to keep pushing a progressive agenda forward in the House.

Timothy Zahn is a Democratic precinct committee officer running for the 20th Legislative District, House Position 1. As a lifelong resident of Toutle, Zahn is focused on bringing infrastructure and employment opportunities to the district.

Zahn is campaigning for policies like student loan forgiveness for young people who return to the community to work, protections against the predatory development of valuable farmlands, new solar power projects, and a universal statewide health care system. He is passionate about expanding broadband access to all Washingtonians, particularly since both school and work have moved online for many due to the pandemic. In addition, Zahn supports a ranked-choice alternative for Washington's voting system.

Zahn is running against Centralia Councilmember and Pro Tem Mayor Peter J. Abbarno. Abbarno, a Republican, is running to prevent progressives from fixing our state's upside-down tax code. He also wants to repeal the Legislature's comprehensive sex education bill and protect Second Amendment rights. Abbarno is a "law and order" candidate and has criticized the elimination of the death penalty.

Zahn is the best choice in this race.

Will Rollet is running against Republican incumbent Ed Orcutt for House Position 2 of Legislative District 20. Rollet is a communications student at Lower Columbia College and a member of the Kelso Public Library Advisory Board. He is a working-class resident of the 20th District and wants to represent other working-class Washingtonians who make up a large part of the district but often lack a voice in Olympia.

Rollet is running to advocate for affordable housing, expanded broadband internet access, and accessible health care for the district. He has specifically stated his support for Medicare for All given the public health crisis caused by COVID-19. If elected, Rollet wants to pursue gun safety legislation, including policy targeted at suicide prevention.

Rollet is challenging 18-year incumbent Rep. Ed Orcutt, who is running on a typical Republican platform of reducing regulations on businesses and landowners. In addition, he's opposed to balancing our state's upside-down tax code, which will invariably lead to massive cuts to essential services given that the state faces a several billion-dollar budget shortfall due to COVID-19. Orcutt has also voted against many progressive bills, including establishing a state Office of Equity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, automatic voter registration, and requiring state insurers to cover contraception.

Rollet has earned numerous endorsements from local advocates and is the best candidate to represent progressive values in office.

Incumbent Sen. Sam Hunt is running for re-election after being elected to the Senate in 2016. In his 16 years of representing the district in the House, Hunt was an advocate of open and fair elections and sponsored bills to encourage online voter registration, while also supporting increased education funding and women's health protections. This year, the senator backed a broad range of progressive bills and sponsored several, including cost-sharing requirements for insulin and requiring schools to incorporate local tribes' history into their curriculum.

If re-elected, Hunt's priorities in the Senate include fixing our upside-down tax code, which is the most regressive in the nation, increasing equitable funding for early education, and supporting universal health care, among other key policies. Hunt is committed to a state economic recovery that does not dismantle the social safety net and has emphasized his universal healthcare stance during the current public health crisis.

Hunt is running against Republican Garry Holland. Holland is a former employee of the State Department of Social and Health Services and chaired the Thurston County Republicans during the 2016 election. He is running on a typical Republican platform and, in response to the ongoing pandemic, threatened to sue Governor Inslee and school districts if schools didn't open in the fall.

With his experience and support from the progressive community, Hunt is the best choice in this race.

Rep. Laurie Dolan is running for re-election for the 22nd Legislative District, Position 1. As an educator with more than 30 years of classroom and area director experience with Spokane Public Schools, Dolan has been an effective vice-chair of the Education and State Government Committees where she fought for workers' rights and fully funded education.

Dolan is a leader in sponsoring progressive bills in the House. Some of her recent legislative highlights include funding for mental health experts in schools and transparent salary history laws that benefit women and people of color. In January, Dolan sponsored a bill that prohibited race-based hairstyle discrimination. After hearing directly from constituents, Dolan sponsored a bill in February that protected survivors' privacy when reporting sexual assault in an effort to create safer avenues for them to tell their stories. If re-elected, Dolan states that she will continue her work on safe schools, protections for workers, and expanding affordable healthcare, which is as important as ever with the threat of COVID-19.

Dolan is running against Republican J.D. Ingram. Ingram has had little campaign presence. In an interview with his fellow candidates this July, Ingram took a number of conservative stances, claiming at one point that he does not "favor any tax increases of any kind, for any reason." Ingram responded to questions about police accountability by insisting that to avoid sowing division, we should avoid recognizing race. Ingram also rejected speaking much on the subject of climate change, insisting the issue has been "irretrievably politicized."

Given Dolan's commitment to progressive issues and marginalized communities, she remains an important voice for the 22nd Legislative District. Dolan has received the majority of support from progressive organizations and is the best choice in this race.

Colton Myers is running against incumbent Republican Rep. Dan Griffey for the 35th Legislative District, House Position 1. Myers is a senior health care analyst who is running on a much more progressive platform than Griffey, including closing the gaps in our health care system and bringing more family-wage jobs to the region. If successful, Myers will be the first openly gay House member to represent the 35th District.

Myers has taken the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge and wants to hold corporate polluters accountable and promote environmental justice. He believes that economic recovery will require addressing Washington's upside-down tax code to make sure everyone pays their share and the social safety net is protected. Myers rightly criticized Griffey recently for his votes against LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights, as well as his refusal to affirm that Black Lives Matter.

This year, incumbent Republican Griffey was an opponent of legislation to combat the climate crisis and voted against establishing the Washington State Office of Equity. He has served in the 35th Legislative District since 2015 and has not supported raising the minimum wage or allowing all workers to earn sick leave. Griffey missed a number of key votes this year and spent the rest of the session primarily voting against progressive legislation.

Myers has progressive values and will be a strong advocate for his constituents if elected. He is the clear choice in this race.

Darcy Huffman is challenging Rep. Drew MacEwen for the 35th Legislative District, House Position 2. For 25 years, Huffman has helped people with day-to-day money management and now serves as the Resource and Communication Director at her church in Olympia. She's also vice president-elect for the Southwestern Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and sits on their Affordable Housing Taskforce.

Huffman's platform includes increasing access to affordable housing and health care as well as expanding broadband access in rural areas. Her campaign priorities went from important to "urgent" due to the coronavirus pandemic. Huffman believes that in order to address systemic racism, all legislation must be evaluated with an equity lens. She is community-minded and wants to voice the specific needs and concerns of her many rural constituents.

Huffman is running against the incumbent Republican MacEwen, who stands on the wrong side of a host of progressive issues. MacEwen has opposed increasing the minimum wage, requiring employers to provide sick leave to workers, implementing democracy-expanding automatic voter registration, and prohibiting conversion therapy on LGBTQ+ minors. This year alone, MacEwen voted against prohibiting race-based hair discrimination, establishing the Washington State Office of Equity, and gun safety legislation. As COVID-19 cases rose in Washington state, MacEwen was one of the Republicans who frivolously sued Gov. Inslee over his stay-at-home order.

Darcy Huffman is running a strong campaign as a Democrat with a rural perspective. She is the best choice in this race.

Carolina Mejia is a judicial assistant for the Thurston County Superior Court. As an immigrant who moved to the U.S. as a youth, Mejia became interested in law and immigration advocacy from a young age. She has worked with organizations such as One America, El Centro de la Raza, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and Centro Integral Educativo Latino de Olympia. Mejia is also currently the treasurer of the Washington State Democratic Latino Caucus.

Mejia's top priorities are the county budget, affordable housing, environment, and inclusive government. She wants to support the Housing Trust Fund, which provides homes for low- and moderate-income families as well as seniors, people with disabilities, and others. She would also look to innovative sources of revenue rather than property taxes or levies. Mejia wants to balance the needs of all, including communities of color, Indigenous people, and farmers. In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Mejia is pushing for proactive preparedness, stocking medical facilities with the equipment they need, and securing additional funding for medical testing and prevention services. Because she works for the county's judicial system, Mejia cannot put forth her opinion on the courthouse debate, but she emphasizes that she wants to bring transparency and accountability to the budget process.

Her opponent is C Davis, who ran for Rep. Laurie Dolan's seat on an anti-tax libertarian platform in 2018. He has few concrete campaign details on his website but says in his voter's guide statement that he wants to send the homeless into "labor-based drug treatment or into the legal system" and would roll back protections against sprawl. Davis also states that he does not support a new courthouse because the old courthouse hasn't been maintained, so a new one would not be either.

In recent weeks, Mejia came under attack from a former county commission candidate in an attempt to discredit her citizenship status, while Davis was accused of registering to run under an address where he does live. As of mid-September, the attack on Mejia was thrown out by the county auditor because she has clear documentation of citizenship, while Davis indeed has been confirmed to have used the wrong address and will need to rectify the issue with the county.

Mejia is the clear choice in this race.

Lacey City Councilmember Michael Steadman is running for Thurston County Commissioner to bring environmental needs, infrastructure, and inclusion to the forefront. Steadman is a veteran and a small business owner who was first elected to the City Council in 2014. His environmental priorities include preserving Rocky Prairie, converting the county to 100% sewer systems, and tackling water quality and algae issues. He's in favor of increasing density in urban areas while protecting forests and rural places, as well as supporting a fare-free bus system through the Intercity Transit Zero Fare project. Steadman believes that the county should expand alternative criminal justice options and improve mental health services.

Steadman is running against incumbent Commissioner Gary Edwards. Edwards, a former Thurston County sheriff, is running for re-election to reduce regulations on businesses and home builders. Despite running as an Independent, Edwards has entertained far-right interests. Last year, he joined Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza last year in holding a guns-rights meeting, where a discussion was held on a citizen's arrest of Attorney General Bob Ferguson. At that meeting, Edwards threatened "revolution" if Trump could not get the courts stacked his favor. Even in light of the nationwide protests against police violence, Edwards spoke in a counter-rally to support law enforcement.

Steadman is the best choice in this race.

Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis is running to retain Position 3 on the Washington State Supreme Court. Montoya-Lewis was originally appointed to the state Supreme Court in December 2019 by Gov. Inslee to replace Justice Mary Fairhurst. As a member of the Pueblo of Isleta tribe and the first Native American justice in Washington - and second in the nation - to serve on a state Supreme Court, Montoya-Lewis believes that representation on the bench matters.

Previously, Montoya-Lewis served on the Whatcom County Superior Court and as chief judge for a number of Indian tribes. She has spent much of her career on juvenile justice work and as a staunch advocate for communities who have historically been excluded from representation in the judicial system. In her short tenure on the court, Montoya-Lewis has been a thoughtful and engaged member who has earned the support of many respected judicial leaders and other progressive organizations. However, some progressives have expressed concern about a decision she wrote recently where she sided against nurses who had been deprived of guaranteed workplace protections. 

Also in this race is Judge Dave Larson, a Federal Way Municipal Court judge who also ran for a state Supreme Court seat in 2016. Larson was heavily supported by corporate PACs in his previous campaign and he espouses a conservative judicial philosophy focused on a narrow interpretation of the law.

Raquel Montoya-Lewis deserves your vote in this race.

Associate Chief Justice Charles W. Johnson is running to retain his seat in Position 4 of the Washington State Supreme Court. As the longest-serving justice on the court, having sat on the bench for nearly three decades, Johnson has proven time and again his judicial integrity, accountability, and impartiality.

During his time on the state Supreme Court, Johnson has consistently supported civil rights and equitable representation. He co-chaired the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission for 24 years and also served as co-chair for the 2004 Task Force on Civil Equal Justice Funding. On the bench, Johnson has opposed bias in judicial proceedings, joining the rest of the state Supreme Court this June in an open letter vowing to "administer justice and support court rules in a way that brings greater racial justice to our system as a whole."

Johnson is running unopposed for re-election to Position 4. With a commitment to justice for all Washingtonians, he has earned your vote.

Justice G. Helen Whitener is running to retain her position on Washington's Supreme Court. She was appointed to the Supreme Court this April by Gov. Jay Inslee. Prior to her appointment, she served on the Pierce County Superior Court, the Pierce County District Court a Pro Tem judge, and the City of Tacoma Municipal Court, after working for 14 years as a prosecutor and defense attorney.

Whitener has been rated as "exceptionally well-qualified" by a wide slate of bar associations and has earned an endorsement from every current Supreme Court Justice as well as several past justices. Notably, she is the first Black woman to sit on the state's Supreme Court, and as an immigrant from Trinidad and an openly gay justice, she brings new perspectives to the state's highest court. While serving on the bench, she has made a point to continue to interact with the community, teaching a civics course at Tacoma's Lincoln High School.

She is running against Richard S. Serns, a school superintendent who filed for office just weeks after passing the bar exam this spring. While he has no experience as a lawyer or judge, he states that his history of working with public records requests and privacy laws is preparation enough to serve as a justice.

Whitener is the clear choice for State Supreme Court Justice, Position 6.

Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens was first appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2008 by Gov. Christine Gregoire after many years of public service and was unanimously elected by her colleagues in 2019 to serve as the 57th Chief Justice of the state's highest court. She spent a decade serving students on the school board and mentored at-risk high school students as well as students at Gonzaga University. Stephens is also the first woman from Eastern Washington to serve on the Supreme Court. She has been rated "exceptionally well-qualified" by numerous legal groups and endorsed by a number of progressives.

Stephens is running unopposed this year and has earned your vote.

Sharonda Amamilo is running for Thurston County Superior Court, Position 8. Amamilo is a public defender with more than 15 years of experience representing children and families. Currently, she works for the Thurston County Public Defense office and is a member of the Army Reserves.

Amamilo has served on the Washington State Criminal Justice Treatment Act Panel and as vice president of the Washington Trafficking Prevention Board. She is ranked as "exceptionally well-qualified" by the Loren Miller Bar Association and "well-qualified" by the Cardozo Society of Washington State. Amamilo is engaged in systems change at the county and national levels and promises to bring "compassionate and courteous deliberation" to the bench.

Amamilo is facing Scott Ahlf in this race. Ahlf served as an Olympia Municipal Court Judge for 15 years and as a prosecutor and assistant city attorney for the City of Lacey. He has worked on establishing the therapeutic court model which has been shown to reduce recidivism by offering healing services rather than a purely punitive response.

Amamilo will advocate for equitable justice for all on the bench. She deserves your vote to be the next judge for Thurston County's Superior Court.