City of Spokane Valley

James "JJ" Johnson is a program advisor and adjunct instructor at Spokane Community College. He has served as both chair and vice chair of the Spokane Valley Planning Commission, director of the Spokane County Human Rights Task Force, and on the Pasadena Park Citizens Advisory Committee.

Johnson is running for Spokane Valley City Council, Position 1 to bring more homes to the city as well as affordable housing along the Sprague corridor. Johnson wants to see the Appleway Trail connected with the Centennial Trail and would advocate for more parks and green spaces to be bought or established.

His opponent is Rod Higgins, who has served on the Spokane Valley City Council from 2012 to 2021, and was mayor from 2016 to 2019. He is running again to apply "conservative principles to city government." His website is inactive as of mid-October, but Higgins is prioritizing making the city more business-friendly. An archived version of his site blames progressives for trying to unseat Trump and states that his goal is to re-establish a conservative majority in the city council.

Johnson has been endorsed by Republicans, labor unions, and the more moderate members of the current city council. While not a progressive choice, Johnson represents a better direction than Higgins. We lean Johnson for Spokane Valley City Council, Position 1.

Voters for Position 4 this year will find themselves picking between a Republican incumbent and a far-right challenger. Incumbent Ben Wick describes himself as conservative but has taken some solid votes while in this position. Wick served on the council from 2012 to 2015, was elected again in 2017, and was then chosen as mayor by the council in 2020. Wick points to the hiring of a housing and homeless coordinator, as well as increasing regional cooperation with the county on homelessness, as big steps forward for dealing with the housing crisis. He also supported buying 45 acres of parkland in support of resident feedback during the last city master-plan process.

His opponent, Brandon Fenton, wants to roll back that progress. He states that the city should spend fewer resources helping people experiencing homelessness, and should not have hired a housing coordinator. The bar owner, who is the son of fellow city council candidate Wayne Fenton, describes himself as a Trump Republican. He lept into the public spotlight last year when he refused to close his bar during the pandemic, endangering the very residents he's running to represent.

While progressive voters may not find a perfect choice for this seat, Fenton is even more conservative than Wick, who has at least made several good votes that support the residents of Spokane Valley and is not an extremist. Voters should choose the more moderate Wick for Spokane Valley City Council, Position 4.

Incumbent Linda (Hatcher) Thompson was elected in 2017 as part of a more moderate shift on the council. She works as a nonprofit executive director for the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council. Thompson states that she is running to continue to make infrastructure upgrades, add parks, and enhance community engagement in crime prevention. Like fellow incumbent and candidate Wick, Thompson has made several good votes on the council, including hiring a housing and homeless coordinator to address the city's housing crisis and supporting parks and trails expansion.

Like the voters in Position 4, voters looking at Position 7 will find themselves picking between a more moderate incumbent and Thompson's far-right opponent, Republican Laura Padden. Padden has stated in a candidate questionnaire that she believes reproductive health funding, equity measures, and environmental regulations should be cut. Padden, a web developer who is the wife of far-right Sen. Mike Padden, is running on a conservative agenda to pour more money into policing and reducing regulations. Unlike Thompson, who has directly addressed the housing crisis to assist residents, Padden says that it should be mostly addressed at the state level.

Thompson represents some solid votes on the council and a more moderate view than her opponent, who has offered a divisive agenda that will drive the city's progress backward. Voters should choose Linda Thompson for Spokane Valley City Council, Position 7.

Teresa (Tere) Landa is running technically unopposed for Central Valley School District, Board Director in District 2. However, she has recently faced a challenge from Brett Howell, who is mounting a write-in campaign aligned with other extreme far-right candidates in school board races this election.

Landa has worked in the Central Valley School District for more than 25 years and in education for even more. She worked in a range of roles including, but not limited to, elementary teacher, administrator, and K-12 curriculum director. Landa also served as the superintendent of the Newport School District. Now, she is running to make sure that all students have the learning opportunities and resources they need to recover from the pandemic disruption.

Howell was recruited to challenge Landa by District 5 candidates Pam Orebaugh and Rob Linebarger who represent extremist views in this election. Howell, a business executive and consultant, wants to oppose the state’s science-based, health directives by making masks and vaccines optional, which would threaten the health and safety in the school district as well as jeopardize state funding which accounts for 81% of the district’s budget.

Teresa Landa is the obvious choice in this race to represent District 2 on the Central Valley School District board.

Stan Chalich is opposing two far-right candidates in a strong write-in campaign for Central Valley School Board Director in District 5. Chalich is a retired coach and high school teacher with the Central Valley school district, where he was awarded for his teaching on civics and government. He has represented the school district with the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce and works on the Liberty Lake Sewer District, Liberty Lake Trails, and Watershed Committee. Chalich is a recognized community leader with a campaign to address the most pressing issues for students, teachers, families, and the school board, itself, rather than divide Spokane Valley’s school community more.

Chalich is facing conservative candidates Pam Orebaugh and Rob Linebarger. Pam Orebaugh is a nurse and nursing educator who was a part of the 2020 campaign to oppose comprehensive sexual and emotional health education in Washington schools. She has taken some extremist stances in this race including teaching climate change denial and the Christian origins of life in public schools, severely limiting students’ access to reproductive health care, and encouraging homophobic ideas of family in all parts of the curriculum.

Rob Linebarger is a self-described “Freedom Loving MAGA Populist Conservative” and more extreme even than Orebaugh in his vision for the school district. Linebarger recently led a group to recall school board directors over their science-based mask policy which has helped to keep teachers, students, and their families safe from the spread of COVID-19.

In this campaign, Chalich has strong community support, including from both the Washington and Central Valley Education Associations. By comparison, Chalich’s opponents are unfit to serve on the board due to their refusal to comply with Washington’s health standards for schools, which would jeopardize the 81% of the school district’s funding that comes from the state. Additionally, both candidates are involved in a nonprofit, Washington Citizens for Liberty, that appears to be in open violation of campaign finance laws.

Write in “Stan Chalich” for “Director Dist No. 5” on the Central Valley School Board and then completely fill in the bubble left of Chalich’s name.