27th Legislative District

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.

Rep. Derek Kilmer is running for re-election in the 6th Congressional District. He is a moderate Democrat who is a reliable supporter of creating jobs and improving infrastructure. Kilmer has been a leader on small business development and protecting the Puget Sound during his four terms in Congress. A former state senator, he previously worked as a business consultant and economic development official.

In Congress, Kilmer is a sponsor of the federal Dream Act in support of immigrants who arrived in the country as children with their undocumented parents. He supports commonsense gun safety legislation and co-sponsored the Voter Empowerment Act, an online voter registration system that helps keep voting rights equitable. Kilmer has also worked on several environmental bills, including the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This year, he supported coronavirus relief as well as the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.

Former education researcher Elizabeth Kreiselmaier is challenging Kilmer for the 6th Congressional District seat. Kreiselmaier is running on a dangerously conservative platform that prioritizes dismantling the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a global pandemic, defunding Planned Parenthood, and removing equitable access to education by privatizing our schools. Kreiselmaier says she enthusiastically supports Trump’s agenda and is amplifying some of his worst lies and conspiracy theories in her campaign. 

Kilmer has been a reliable vote in Congress and has earned strong support from progressive advocacy organizations for his re-election. Kilmer is the best choice for the 6th Congressional District.

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.

Democratic Sen. Jeannie Darneille is running for re-election in the 27th Legislative District. Darneille has been a strong advocate in her 12 years in the House and six years in the Senate, particularly for families who are struggling to make ends meet. She is a champion of women, people with disabilities, formerly incarcerated individuals, health care access, and expanded economic opportunities for all.

This year, Darneille sponsored legislation requiring schools to incorporate curriculum on local tribal history and voted to prohibit discrimination based on citizenship or immigration status. She is running to reform the justice system and spoke out recently on the need for better public health in Washington prisons. If re-elected, Darneille will continue to fight for improved education, increased health care access, and gender and racial parity.

Also in this race is Republican Kyle Paskewitz. Paskewitz is the executive director of Parentalink, a nonprofit organization. He is anti-choice and opposes greater investments in our communities during the economic downturn. Earlier this year, Paskewitz's campaign social media proposed that Washington state should recklessly re-open before it was safe to do so, and he has since promoted anti-mask rhetoric on his personal social media.

Darneille is a strong advocate with the support of a number of progressive organizations. She deserves your vote in this race.

Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins is running for re-election to the 27th Legislative District, House Position 1. Jinkins was the first lesbian to serve openly in the state Legislature, where she helped pass marriage equality. She now serves as the first woman and LBGTQ+ speaker of the House in Washington. In office, she has been a passionate and effective champion for progressive values, particularly in her fight for women, equity, and closing tax loopholes.

Jinkins has sponsored bills to improve education funding and secured resources for a new health clinic in Hilltop that serves low-income patients. She consistently advocates for a capital gains excise tax on the wealthy that would fund schools. This year, Jinkins voted in support of bills to establish comprehensive and age-appropriate sexual health education, to prohibit discrimination based on immigration status or citizenship, and to establish the Washington State Office of Equity. To confront the detrimental effects of the coronavirus pandemic in Washington communities, Jinkins wants to reduce tuition costs, provide job training, introduce a public option to increase health care access, and work to guarantee affordable housing.

She is being challenged by Democrat Ryan Talen, a registered nurse. Talen is running to restructure Washington's electoral system, proposing "proportional representation with ranked-choice" as an alternative. However, Talen doesn't have a strong campaign presence.

Jinkins is an important progressive leader in our state. She is the obvious choice in this race and deserves your vote.

Rep. Jake Fey is running for re-election to the 27th Legislative District, House Position 2. He is a reliable progressive who has championed youth, environmental, and education issues in Olympia. As the son of German immigrants who helped raise his younger siblings at age 13 after his father passed away, Fey is very committed to ensuring future generations of Washingtonians have the support they need to succeed.

This year, Fey sponsored a green transportation bill designed to move Washington towards more sustainable and cleaner ways of traveling. He also sponsored bills to prohibit race-based hair discrimination and to require the state to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. With the coronavirus pandemic requiring Washingtonians to stay home, Fey has led the legislative response to address the transportation budget shortfall.

Fey faces a challenge from Barry Knowles, a perennial candidate who listed himself as an Independent in this race despite his past role as chairman for the district's GOP. Knowles has not updated his candidate materials since 2016 and does not seem to be running a serious campaign.

Fey is a progressive leader in the House. He the clear choice in this race and deserves your vote.

Navy veteran and former state Rep. Larry Seaquist served eight years in Olympia, where he chaired the House Higher Education Committee and served on the Budget, Health Care, and Education committees. He has continued to work in the community through a homelessness prevention project with the Tacoma-Pierce County League of Women Voters and is currently a member of the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce. If elected to the county executive position, Seaquist's top priority is implementing local standards of coronavirus contact tracing and testing to rein in the virus. He will also prioritize creating family-wage jobs, providing more affordable housing, and addressing systemic racism in the community.

Seaquist is running against incumbent Bruce Dammeier, who is a former member of state Senate Republican leadership. In Olympia, Dammeier opposed efforts to raise the minimum wage, ensure equal pay for women, and close tax loopholes to fund schools. He has continued to advance a conservative agenda as county executive, including pushing back on efforts to reduce vehicle pollution through cleaner fuels.

In September, Dammeier fell into a controversy of his own making with his handling of the firing of a member of his executive team. Former Senior Justice Council Carol Mitchell, the only Black woman on Dammeier's team, was fired while her whistleblower case was open. Dammeier then took to his campaign and private social media to attack and discredit the staffer in a statement both unethical and unbecoming of a true leader of the county.

Pierce County deserves better, both in terms of progressive policy and stable leadership. Seaquist is by far the better choice in this race.

Small business owner Sarah Rumbaugh is running for Pierce County Council's open District 2 seat, which was vacated by Pam Roach. Rumbaugh is active in the community; she serves on the Tacoma Human Rights Commission and previously served on the Board of Governors for Evergreen State College. Rumbaugh is running to reset the local economy, which has been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. She wants to use this moment to create more family-wage jobs, build more affordable housing, and improve access to health care. In addition, Rumbaugh supports the creation of an Office of Equity and Race within Pierce County and wants the Pierce County Council to be more active on environmental issues, particularly when it comes to oversight of the Port of Tacoma.

Rumbaugh is running against Republican Sen. Hans Zeiger. First elected in 2010, Zeiger has been a party-line Republican in Olympia in opposing a host of commonsense reforms. He voted against raising the minimum wage, closing tax loopholes to fund education, and ensuring equal pay for women. In addition, he opposed marriage equality, voted to continue the abuse of children through the use of conversion therapy, and famously called the Girl Scouts of America a “pro-abortion, feminist training corps” and a recruitment ground for lesbians. Based on his 10-year voting record, Zeiger would be an obstacle to progress on the Pierce County Council.

Rumbaugh is the clear choice for the Pierce County Council, District 2 seat.

Former Tacoma City Council President Ryan Mello is an environmental champion who helped produce Tacoma's plan for addressing climate change. Currently, he's the executive director of the Pierce Conservation District where he works to protect our local clean air and water. Mello was the first openly gay man to serve on the Tacoma City Council.

Mello is running for Pierce County Council to improve housing affordability, address the behavioral health crisis, and fight for environmental justice. In his Fuse interview, Mello committed to working to reduce inequities in the criminal justice system by investing in community courts and other alternatives to jail. He also pledges to increase oversight of the county executive's office to ensure that taxpayer funds are being used to help working families.

Mello is running against real estate broker Javier H. Figueroa. Figueroa is a member of the University Place City Council who ran an unsuccessful Republican campaign for lieutenant governor in 2016. Although he's running as an Independent in this race, he has been endorsed by Republican leaders like Dino Rossi, Rob McKenna, and Steve O'Ban. 

Mello's excellent track record on the Tacoma City Council and strong support from our Progressive Voters Guide partners make him 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.

Judge David S. Mann was appointed to the Division I Court of Appeals by Gov. Inslee in 2016. Prior to joining the court, Mann was an attorney with a broad range of experience in environmental work. He is a former board member and president of the Washington Environmental Council and the Northwest Fund for the Environment. 

Mann is running unopposed this year and deserves your vote.
 

Judge Bill Bowman was appointed to the Division I Court of Appeals in January this year by Gov. Inslee. Before his appointment, he was a trial attorney for over twenty years and served on the King County Superior Court for eight years. He has worked at Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons (SCRAP) and as a deputy prosecutor for King County, before moving on to criminal defense work and positions such as president of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Bowman is running unopposed this year and deserves your vote.
 

Andrea Robertson is running for Position 13 on the King County Superior Court. Robertson is a local trial attorney with more than 20 years of experience including work for the Snohomish County Public Defender Association and private practices. In addition, Roberson teaches courses in trial law at the University of Washington and volunteers as a coach for Nathan Hale High School's Mock Trial team.

Robertson is endorsed by many current judges on the King County Superior Court as well as other judicial leaders across the state. In addition, she is involved with the Washington Women Lawyers and served as the Vice-President of Professional Development there for a couple of years.

Robertson faces a challenge from Hillary Madsen, a progressive legal advocate who has worked with youth caught in the justice system as well as those incarcerated in detention centers, jails, and prisons throughout the state. Madsen’s advocacy-oriented background has earned her the support of many local Democratic organizations and progressive leaders. However, while her progressive political credentials are unquestioned, Madsen has very limited trial experience compared with Robertson. 

We evaluate judicial candidates somewhat differently than others running for office. In particular, we rely on the ratings of the various bar associations in Washington state that meticulously research the track records and civic engagement of those seeking to become judges. Robertson received a higher rating than Madsen from all eight bar associations that evaluated this race and she received the top “Exceptionally Well Qualified” rating from five of them, which reinforces her superior experience and legal credentials. 

We believe that Robertson is the best choice for King County Superior Court, Position 13. 

Judge Bryan Chushcoff is running for re-election to Position 4 on the Pierce County Superior Court, where he has served for the last 23 years. On the bench, Chushcoff has built a respected track record and was the presiding judge from 2009 to 2012. In addition, he has been a Budget and Finance Committee member on the Washington State Board of Judicial Administration and a treasurer for the Superior Court Judges Association of Washington state.

With more than two decades of experience, Chushcoff is seeking to retain his seat to maintain fair and impartial justice in Pierce County. In 2017, he received the William O. Douglas Award from the Washington State Association for Justice for his work on the Superior Court. Chushcoff has received diverse community support and the endorsement of every other judge on the Pierce County Superior Court.

Brady Horenstein is challenging Judge Chushcoff to bring a "fresh" perspective to the Superior Court. Horenstein has never sat on a bench but he has previously worked as a law clerk for the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II, and later as the associate director for legislative and judicial relations with the Washington Administrative Office of the Courts.

Judge Chushcoff is the best choice for Pierce County Superior Court, Position 4 because of his experience and commitment to equal justice for all.