6th 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.

Democrat Dave Wilson, who previously ran for Congress in 2014 and 2016, is a retired health care administrator who says he aims to push back against Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers' and the Trump administration's mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic. In the long term, he wants to address income inequality with a $15 minimum wage that’s indexed to inflation, to bolster health care, and to provide a housing first approach to the homelessness crisis that affects thousands across the state. If elected, Wilson plans to join the evenly split bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus to move forward on these priorities.

Wilson is challenging Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who continues to be one of the most damaging lawmakers in Washington by voting with President Trump 95 percent of the time. McMorris Rodgers has voted yes on Trump's border wall, supported his trillion-dollar corporate tax cut, and was the only representative from Washington to vote for Trump's bill to cut $800 billion from Medicaid. She voted against raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and has refused on multiple occasions to hold town halls to answer to her constituents for her votes. McMorris Rodgers also refused to hold Trump accountable during impeachment on the charges of obstruction of justice or abuse of power.

Wilson is the best choice in the race for the 5th Congressional District Representative.

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.

Zack Zappone is challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Volz for the 6th Legislative District, House Position 1. As a former teacher and creator of after school programs, Zappone's top priorities include ensuring that everyone has the training they need to enter the workforce, a housing-first approach to homelessness, worker protections, and creating a more equitable tax system for lower-income residents. He highlights his experience in logistics through his volunteer work with the Spokane Food Fighters, who are delivering meals during the coronavirus crisis.

Republican Volz voted against a bill that aimed to create an office of gun violence prevention and opposed adding immigration status to the state's anti-discrimination laws. If re-elected, Volz promises to "get our state government back to living within its means," which considering next year's coronavirus-caused state budget shortfall of $6 billion, could have devastating consequences for the services many in the district and across the state are relying on.

In his interview, Zappone impressed the Fuse local council with his strong progressive values and equitable platform. Zappone is the best choice in this race.

Fire commissioner and housing attorney Tom McGarry is challenging incumbent Jenny Graham for House Position 2 in the 6th Legislative District. In addition to his role as fire commissioner, McGarry serves as board chair for the Spokane County Fire Commissioner’s Association. McGarry is determined to avoid any coronavirus-caused state budget cuts for those who are least economically equipped to handle them. If elected, he states he will bring a workers-first agenda to Olympia with a lens for racial justice. Some of his policy priorities include increasing affordable housing, increasing benefits for workers, and developing a careful and data-driven economic reopening.

McGarry is running against incumbent Republican Jenny Graham. In addition to conservative votes in Olympia against reducing greenhouse gas emissions, establishing a state Office of Equity, and capping insulin costs for diabetics, Graham's coronavirus response has been terrible. Facebook flagged one of her posts as untrue after she questioned vaccine science. Graham has also promoted disturbing conspiracy theories on her Facebook. Her offline coronavirus response has been equally unimpressive. The representative protested the early release of non-violent prisoners who were within 18 months of their scheduled release even with the knowledge that the coronavirus was primed to sweep through jails, threatening thousands of guards, prisoners, and staff.

The residents of the 6th Legislative District deserve better than far-right conspiracy theories from their representatives. Vote McGarry for proven, progressive leadership.

Union leader and Democrat Ted Cummings has worked at Kaiser Aluminum for many years. He serves as a board member of the Spokane Regional Labor Council as well as the district vice president of the Washington State Labor Council. Cummings is running to prioritize transparency and accountability in county government. Unlike some county officials, Cummings does not support building a new jail, and would rather the county put its efforts and budget towards affordable housing, diversion programs with appropriate health services, and natural assets like parks.

Cummings is running against Josh Kerns, one of the most conservative commissioners, who says his involvement with the Republican party "runs deep." Kerns states that "taxes should be the last resort," while simultaneously promising to keep roads well-maintained. Unfortunately, his math doesn't add up. As the coronavirus continues to deal a huge blow to state and local budgets, elected officials must either cut social services, infrastructure, and other necessities or make corporations and the wealthy finally pay their share. In the last few weeks of August, leaders of local organizations of color such as the NAACP called out the commission on watering down the county's set of guiding principles that would consider race, gender, and other identifiers in making criminal justice decisions.

Spokane needs a county commissioner who, especially in this massive health crisis, is looking out for people, not just the bottom line. Cummings is by far the better choice in this race.

Accounting business owner David Green is a longtime Democratic Party activist who currently serves as chair of the 3rd Legislative District Democrats and vice-chair of the Washington State Democratic Party. Green is committed to working with local allies to understand and address systemic racism in Spokane County's criminal justice system and wants to consider alternative approaches to incarceration. He supports a closer relationship between the county and cities to minimize urban sprawl, and he wants to address the housing crisis at the regional level.

Green is running against incumbent Mary Kuney, a moderate Republican who was appointed to the commission by Governor Jay Inslee in September of 2017. Kuney is a certified public accountant and the former Chief Deputy Auditor for Spokane County. While Kuney has worked across county departments to streamline budgets and improve efficiencies, she does not have the desire or progressive credentials needed to overturn years of conservative decision-making at the county level.

This race is particularly notable as Spokane has had an all-Republican board of county commissioners for nearly a decade. It's time for progress and a return to people-focused policy in Spokane. Vote Green for County Commissioner, District 2.

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.

Tracy Arlene Staab is running for Court of Appeals, Division 3, District 1, Position 2 to fill the spot vacated due to Judge Kevin Korsmo's retirement. Staab was appointed to the Spokane Municipal Court of Appeals upon its creation in 2009, where she and her colleagues aim to reduce recidivism and provide alternatives to incarceration, at which the community court has been successful. Prior to her appointment, she worked as a public defender, a Court of Appeals law clerk, a city prosecutor, and owned her own practice. Staab has several ratings of "exceptionally well-qualified" by independent bar associations, including the Washington Veteran's Bar Association and the Loren Miller Bar Association, which represents African-American attorneys.

Staab is running against Marshall Casey, a former consumer protection lawyer. Casey has practiced since 2010 and started his own law firm in 2013. Though Casey states that he's an independent voice on the bench, Casey has worked as an attorney for far-right Rep. Matt Shea, who was determined to have engaged in domestic terrorism by an independent report by the state House. Casey's firm also employed Shea up until December last year, before Shea was expelled from the House Republicans. Among the cases they co-represented, one involved a student at Eastern Washington University who sued after being removed from the school newspaper after criticizing Black protestors after the murder of Michael Brown. Casey stated that Shea's firing was due to the downsizing of his office, and declined to tell the Spokesman whether he had concerns about the House-commissioned findings.

Staab has successfully served the Spokane community and deserves your vote in this race.