City of Tacoma

Victoria Woodards is running for re-election to be the mayor of Tacoma. She had a long track record of public service before becoming mayor in 2017. Woodards supports working families and is committed to maintaining safe and healthy neighborhoods across Tacoma. She also crucially understands the importance of addressing institutional racism and has a demonstrated history of working within communities of color and building diverse coalitions to address the problems facing Tacoma. In her time on the Tacoma City Council, Woodards worked on establishing Tacoma’s Office of Equity and Human Rights.

While Woodards previously supported the proposal to build a highly polluting liquefied natural gas facility in Tacoma because it would have created jobs, she has since emphasized she does not support any new fossil fuel facilities in the Tideflats.

Woodards faces a challenge from Steve Haverly, a first-time candidate who works in construction and land management. Haverly does not have a detailed campaign platform. While he claims to be nonpartisan, what little campaign information he does have available demonstrates his priorities would not align with what Tacoma's communities need as we come together to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Woodards has earned broad support from our Progressive Voters Guide partner organizations and numerous elected officials. Woodards is the best choice for mayor of Tacoma.

Kelly Blucher works in community outreach and engagement for the Olympics & Rainier Region Goodwill and previously worked for AmeriCorps and Habitat for Humanity. Blucher is also a co-founder of Hire 253, a local organization that has helped over 2,500 people in vulnerable positions find jobs. In 2019, she was named the Advocate of the Year by the Children's Alliance for her work to expand child care and early learning.

Kelly Blucher is running for Tacoma City Council, Position 2 to improve access to affordable housing and child care. Blucher is running on a strong progressive platform that includes ending the homelessness crisis, increasing access to affordable housing, and connecting community members with well-paying jobs that will bring them economic stability. Blucher wants Tacoma to continue reducing its carbon footprint and implement green building practices. She also wants to provide child care subsidies for essential workers and provide greater training and a living wage for child care providers. 

Blucher's deep community connections from years of volunteer and professional work have given her a strong sense of what Tacomans need to thrive. Blucher is a good choice for Tacoma City Council, Position 2 if you are looking for a progressive advocate with a proven track record of making change.

Catherine Ushka is running for re-election to Tacoma City Council, Position 4. Ushka was first elected to the council in 2017 and previously served on the Tacoma School Board for eight years. She chairs the Community Vitality and Safety Committee and is a member of groups including the Parks Policy Board and Opioid Prevention Taskforce.

In her time on the council, Ushka supported apprenticeship programs by changing labor codes to make these programs more accessible. If she's re-elected, Ushka wants to do more to fight racial inequalities in health, housing, education, employment, and law enforcement. She states that she will continue to work for more flexible federal funding for housing and shelters, including low-barrier shelters with fewer barriers to entry for the city's unhoused population. Ushka also feels the city needs to increase zoning density where suitable to address the housing deficit and provide additional resources for responding to mental health crises.

Also in this race is Israel James McKinney. McKinney has worked for Boeing and Xfinity and currently works for Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services. His platform includes prioritizing education, supporting police reform and accountability, and reducing the gap in affordable housing.

Our local council was disappointed with some of Ushka's interview answers, including her support for moving the migrant detention center to the Nalley Valley. However, Ushka’s support from local progressive groups and our partner organizations makes her the best choice in the race for Tacoma City Council, Position 4.

Joe Bushnell is a Tacoma Public Utilities board member and Marine Corps veteran. He is running on a platform that focuses on addressing homelessness and creating jobs.

Bushnell is a moderate candidate whose orientation toward prioritizing downtown businesses has raised concerns among local labor unions. In addition, he is more focused on superficial discussions about law enforcement than making meaningful reforms and investments that will actually keep our communities safe.

Kiara Daniels is running for Tacoma City Council, Position 6. She is a small business owner and former Fuse fellow with strong progressive values. Daniels' campaign platform includes a holistic response to public health emergencies like COVID-19 by providing financial support to vulnerable families, workers, small businesses, and all others who have been severely impacted. She wants to invest in after-school programs for students and fight for seniors and other community members to have the stable housing and resources they need. Daniels is very involved in the Tacoma community and would bring a great progressive perspective to the city council.

Also in this race is Brett Johnson, a business owner and member of the Sound Transit Citizen Oversight Panel. He previously ran for city council in 2019 and has expressed support for a radical policy of "gifting" everyone a single "lifetime discretionary abortion." Johnson is neither progressive nor qualified for this role.

Daniels is the clear choice for Tacoma City Council, Position 6.

Sarah Rumbaugh owns a consulting business and serves on the Tacoma Human Rights Commission. She previously worked as a city planner for Kent and with the Housing Equity Task Force helping to develop the Home in Tacoma Project.

Rumbaugh wants to tackle challenges like air and water pollution and decrease our reliance on fossil fuels without impacting the local economy or jobs in the area. Her campaign is emphasizing resetting the economy as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, bringing more affordable housing to Tacoma, and prioritizing frontline workers and their families. Rumbaugh is also a passionate advocate for people with disabilities and has pledged to listen and push the city to become inclusive. Her platform includes a commitment to public education and ensuring that all schools receive equitable funding, regardless of neighborhood or zip code. 

Rumbaugh is a good choice for Tacoma City Council, Position 2 if you are looking for a moderate candidate who is focused on boosting the local economy.

Incumbent commissioner Eric Hansen is running for re-election to Position 1 on the Tacoma Civil Service Commission. Hansen is a lawyer and has worked for the Washington Education Association to defend teachers and other school employees in employment cases for more than 35 years. He first joined the commission in 2014 and also serves as a Democratic precinct committee officer. Hansen is running to bring his legal experience advocating for workers and his demonstrated commission track record to continue ensuring that all employees are treated fairly and justly.
 
Femi Adeleke is also in this race. Originally from Nigeria, Adeleke is passionate about representing marginalized communities within Pierce County and serving his home. He works as a clinical data analyst in health care, though he has not listed either community service or leadership in the local voters' pamphlet. In this race, Adeleke is prioritizing equity, representation, and accessibility for all residents.

We recommend Eric Hansen in this race because of his support from progressive organizations in the area.
 

Enrique Leon is running for re-election to Tacoma School Board, Director Position 2. He has served on the school board since 2018. Along with his position on the board, Dr. Leon works at MultiCare Tacoma Family Medicine and volunteers as a team physician for Lincoln and Stadium High schools. His re-election campaign prioritizes enhancing partnerships with local community groups, expanding social-emotional curriculum, and providing great resources to students and teachers.

His opponent in this race is Sarah Hendrix, the co-owner of a contracting company. Hendrix has served as PTA treasurer and president. Her platform is dismissive of teaching students healthy social and emotional skills like self-awareness and self-control, and is equally against teaching kids honest and complete history.

Leon is the clear choice in the race for Tacoma School Board, Director, Position 2.

Korey Strozier is running to retain Tacoma School District, Director Position 3. He works as a program manager overseeing King County's vocational rehabilitation program for young people and was appointed to this seat in 2020. Strozier has focused on ensuring equity has been centered in the decisions of the school board as well as being a voice for disenfranchised students. If elected, he will continue his work on closing access, opportunity, and achievement gaps in the district.

Strozier is unopposed in the race for Tacoma School District, Director Position 3, and deserves your vote.

Chelsea McElroy is running unopposed for Tacoma School District, Director Position 4. McElroy is the vice-chair of the South Tacoma Neighborhood Council and the assistant treasurer of the Pierce County Democrats. She has spent 10 years as a pre-school teacher and launched her own program, Vision Step Team, in 2016. McElroy's priorities for the school board include transparency, consideration of all students and parents when making decisions, and increasing accessibility including bringing translators to meetings.

McElroy is running unopposed for Tacoma School District, Director Position 4, and deserves your vote.

Elizabeth Bonbright is running for re-election to Tacoma School Board, Director 5. She was elected to this position in 2019 and has served as vice president of the school board since 2020. Before joining the school board, Bonbright served as the executive director of the Child Care Aware of Washington and on the advisory committee of organizations including the National Women's Law Center and Strengthening Families United Way. She is proud of her record of delivering meals, internet access, and needed technology to students during the COVID-19 pandemic and implementing safe in-person education ahead of the Washington state schedule. If re-elected, Bonbright wants to improve equity in the district by expanding early childhood education and addressing disparities in disciplinary actions against Black and brown students.

Bonbright is facing Bill Hanawalt, the development director of a local nonprofit organization. Hanawalt was the initial executive director of Peace Community Center and been involved with the Peace Lutheran Church. He also served on the Expanded Learning Statewide Council for over five years, and was a founding member of the Vibrant School Coalition. His platform is not particularly detailed but does mention accessibility, listening to the perspective of all community members, and ensuring students are equipped with all the tools they need to be successful.

Bonbright is the best choice in the race for Tacoma School Board, Position 5 because of her community support and her track record in office of serving youth and children with data-driven solutions.