City of Kenmore

Sen. Joe Nguyen was elected to the Washington state Senate in 2018 and has worked as a senior program manager at Microsoft since 2013. His parents were refugees from Vietnam who came to White Center, where Nguyen was born and raised.

During Nguyen's time in the Legislature, he has been an advocate for Washington's families and equality, including playing a leadership role in fully funding the Working Families Tax Credit. In addition, he co-sponsored legislation to require anti-racism and equity training in public schools.

Nguyen is running for county executive to implement sweeping actions on the affordable housing crisis, to reform the criminal justice system with deep changes and accountability, and to make the state's economy work for everyone, not just the wealthiest people. In particular, Nguyen has proposed to make all transit services free to improve access and increase ridership. He also wants to leverage the new Regional Homelessness Authority to significantly scale up the building of affordable housing.

Nguyen has the support of elected leaders including state Reps. Kirsten Harris-Talley and David Hackney as well as state Sen. Bob Hasegawa and Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti. Nguyen is a progressive choice if you're looking for new leadership in the executive's office who will prioritize racial justice and systemic change.

Incumbent Rod Dembowski is an attorney who has represented District 1 since 2013. He has served in county affairs in several capacities, including as a pro bono counsel for the King County Superior Court, policy analyst in the county executive's office, and special prosecuting attorney.

If re-elected, Dembowski will continue working on sustainable human services funding, protecting the wild areas of the Puget Sound region, and looking for sustainable transit funding that improves transportation options. He also wants to expand housing with an eye on reducing commute times and increasing affordability for workers and families. While on the council, Dembowski has sponsored several progressive reforms, including giving grocery workers hazard pay in the pandemic and moving to make the sheriff an appointed position through the council and an advisory committee.

Challenging Dembowski is Kenmore resident and first-time candidate Sally Caverzan. According to her LinkedIn, she has worked as a long-term care social worker and is passionate about the environment. Her official voters' guide statement says that she would support instituting term limits for politicians, expanding mental health and addiction care with the creation of a King County regional treatment facility, and increasing supportive and permanent housing.

Dembowski has earned broad support from elected officials, reproductive health and environmental organizations, labor unions, and many more. We recommend Dembowski for King County Council in District 1 because of his proven track record of progressive leadership.

Joe Marshall is running unopposed for re-election to Kenmore City Council, Position 2. Marshall is an attorney and the former president of the Northshore Rotary Club who was elected to the city council in 2017. In his first term, Marshall supported Kenmore's Climate Action Plan and first Pride Proclamation, helped distribute COVID-19 relief and assistance in the community, and worked to improve roads and traffic congestion. If re-elected, he states that he will continue to support safer sidewalks and new bike lanes, environmental protections, and a public pool.

Marshall is running unopposed and deserves your vote for Kenmore City Council, Position 2.

Angela Kugler is running unopposed to retain Kenmore City Council, Position 3. Kugler has served on the local planning commission as vice-chair and was appointed to the city council in January of this year. She has volunteered as an advisor to the Kenmore Business Incubator and was an advocate for buses along 522. Kugler's campaign platform emphasizes environmental stewardship and making government more equitable and accessible. She also wants to prioritize increased affordable housing and public transit.

Kugler is unopposed in the race for Kenmore City Council, Position 3, and deserves your vote.

Nigel Herbig is running for re-election to Position 4 on the Kenmore City Council. Herbig has served on the city council since 2014 and was appointed deputy mayor in 2018 and again in 2020. He also works in the state House of Representatives as a legislative assistant.

During his time on the council, Herbig has worked to improve government transparency and upgrade transportation options and pedestrian safety. He helped develop the Walkways and Waterways projects, which have already added three miles of new bike lanes and sidewalks to Kenmore.

Recently, Herbig played a lead role in extending Kenmore's eviction ban through January 15, 2021 to ensure that renters can access federal assistance before potentially facing eviction. If re-elected, Herbig plans to continue building progressive momentum in Kenmore towards improving transportation, maintaining affordability, acting on the climate crisis, and making Kenmore a welcoming city for all. He also helped create the Kenmore Cares program that is using federal funding to provide one-time direct cash payments to low-income Kenmore residents.

Also in this race is Bob Black, a former operating engineer and aviation inspector who has run for Kenmore City Council twice before. Black does not have experience in community leadership, and his campaign website and his statement in the King County Voters Guide are copied directly from his 2015 race in some places. In both past and current statements, Black prioritizes conservative economic policy, emphasizing again and again that he would stop any new revenue-collecting measures while simultaneously promising new infrastructure improvements.

Nigel Herbig is the clear choice for Kenmore City Council, Position 4.

Debra Srebnik is running for re-election to Kenmore City Council, Position 6. Srebnik was first elected to City Council in 2017 and is a human services program manager at the University of Washington. She has served on the Kenmore Planning Commission and is a member of both Friends of St. Edwards State Park and the Northshore School District nutrition and the fitness advisory council.

In her time on the council, Srebnik has worked on Kenmore's Climate Action Plan, overseen shoreline and habitat restoration in local parks, and supported the completion of hundreds of new affordable housing units. She also made an effort to engage the community in the civic process.

Also in this race is Jon Culver. He is a civic technologist and small business owner running with a focus on climate action, affordable housing, and proactive civic engagement. Culver's campaign conveys the dangers of an incremental approach to fighting climate change and promotes phasing out fossil fuels in favor of more sustainable sources of energy. However, Culver lacks the experience and deep community connections that Srebnik brings to the council.

Srebnik is the best choice for Kenmore City Council, Position 6.

Jacqueline McGourty is running for re-election to Northshore School Board in District 1. She has worked in the biotechnology industry for three decades and was elected to the school board in 2017 where she now serves as the vice president. In her leadership role, she has hosted community forums on equity issues facing the Northshore school district.

In her time on the school board, McGourty advanced mental health support, upgraded learning facilities, and worked to provide internet access and digital devices to all students. Her strong campaign platform includes ensuring students are able to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, closing opportunity and outcome gaps, and making more progress on inclusivity and access to education for all students. In this race, she is endorsed by local Democrats and a number of elected leaders.

McGourty is being challenged by Elizabeth Crowley, a Boeing employee and concerned parent running without a background in community leadership. Her top campaign priorities are increased cybersecurity for teachers and students as well as stronger communication between the school district and the community.

McGourty is the best choice in the race for Northshore School Board Director representing District 1.

Incumbent director Sandy Hayes is running for re-election to represent District 4 on the Northshore School Board. Hayes first joined the school board in 2009 and has also served as a leadership consultant for the Washington State School Directors’ Association since then. Outside of public service, she runs a restorative justice practice.

Since joining the board, Hayes has led school district improvements such as building both Ruby Bridges Elementary and North Creek High School, creating one-to-one student access to laptops for learning, and purchasing three electric buses to reduce the school district’s carbon footprint. In this race, she is prioritizing expanding arts programming, achieving digital equity including universally accessible broadband, and building an adaptable curriculum to support career paths that may not yet exist. Hayes defines her campaign against the reactionary politics of some conservative school board candidates, and she has been widely endorsed by progressive elected officials and organizations.

Aerospace professional and consultant Chris Roberdeau is also in this race. Earlier this year, Roberdeau participated in a reactionary rally to unseat board members for not going back to in-person learning sooner, despite science-based health concerns. Unfortunately, he also subscribes to the Trump-led, right-wing efforts to not teach honest, up-to-date history to students. Roberdeau is not a progressive choice.

Hayes is the best choice to represent District 4 with her background in law, community leadership, and direct school board experience. She deserves your vote to continue bringing positive change to the school district.

Incumbent school board director Amy Cast is running to retain her seat representing District 5 on the Northshore School Board. Cast has served the school district since first being elected in 2013. Outside of elected office, she runs her own website design company and serves as a leadership consultant for the Washington State School Directors’ Association.

On the board, Cast has helped Northshore to become one of the highest performing school districts in the state through work like adding language immersion programs, investing in alternative career paths through the Career and Technical Education class, and implementing social-emotional health curriculum for kindergartners and up. If elected, she has detailed suggestions to increase equity, including incorporating Universal Design for Learning, expanding cultural competence curriculum, and investing in student services like social-emotional learning, mental health supports, and wrap-around financial need programs. Cast is also prioritizing thoughtful budgeting after a 20% increase in the student population, and she wants to fund programming for modernized skill-building.

The other candidate in this race is Amy Felt, an attorney, NSD parent, and PTA member. Felt wants to amplify student voices while improving relationships between all school stakeholders including parents, administrators, teachers, unions, and board directors. She supports spending to close learning gaps between students and funding mental health resources.

Cast is the best choice in this race because of her widespread support from local leaders and organizations as well as her clear plan for bringing positive change to the school district.

Katie Grainger is running for King County Public Hospital District 2, Commissioner Position 4. Grainger works as a communications consultant with Clinical Care at Providence. She was the first in her family to receive a college degree and went on to earn a master's at the University of Washington. Additionally, Grainger serves as an ambassador with the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation.

Grainger believes her experience living with an autoimmune disease paired with her work at a health care nonprofit makes her well-poised to bridge hospital administration and patient needs while bringing a community focus. If elected, she wants to work on health care reform at the local level in the service of the health and wellbeing of all district residents.

Grainger is facing retired emergency doctor Charles Pilcher. He was elected to Commissioner Position 4 in 2010 and is running to cut funding for services. While Pilcher is the only physician on the board, he does not appear to be a progressive choice.

Katie Grainger is the best candidate for King County Public Hospital District 2, Commissioner Position 4.