City of Lakewood

Army Special Forces veteran Amelia Escobedo is running for Lakewood City Council, Position 2, to push for a reckoning on police accountability. She cites the still-open civil case of Said Joquin, who was killed by a Lakewood police officer, as an example of the dangers of not holding officers to account. Escobedo's other priorities include expanding affordable housing, especially in areas where low-income housing is being displaced, building no-barrier entry housing for people experiencing homelessness, and respecting tribal treaties.

Escobedo is facing incumbent Mike Brandstetter and Malcolm Russell. Brandstetter has served on the Lakewood City Council since 2010 and he represents the council on the South Sound 911 policy board. He is a retired Army command sergeant major and former dean at Bates Technical College. He does not have a campaign website available but has stated that his priorities include addressing affordable housing and homelessness, building a new library and senior center, and continuing to expand human services in Lakewood. Malcolm Russell ran for Lakewood City Council in 2019 and has not updated his campaign Facebook as of June 1 of this year. He also ran as a Republican for Legislature in 2012. According to the News Tribune, Russell has suspended his campaign for the position.

Lakewood is growing rapidly and in the years to come will need to reckon with harsh economic truths. An estimated 17 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, higher than the national average of 13 percent. In addition, the community must address a legacy of excessive use of force by the police department, which has been sued five times since 2021 just for incidents involving police dogs and has been slow to implement body cameras. In this low-information race, we lean slightly towards Escobedo who we hope will provide prospective and progress on these and other issues.

Siabhon Ayuso is an executive board member for the Pierce County Democratic Central Committee for Legislative District 29. She does not yet have a campaign website as of mid-July but states that as a single mom of four kids, she would focus on bringing economic opportunities for those who live in Lakewood. She states that frontline workers during the pandemic should have been offered hazard pay, which the city council voted down, and that more needs to be done to bring better-paying jobs to Lakewood. On her campaign Facebook, she has posted in support of removing Sheriff Ed Troyer for his racist and potentially criminal endangerment of a Black man in Pierce County, as well as in support of justice for those killed by the police. Overall, Ayuso is looking to represent the community, especially communities of color who she feels have been ignored by the council.

Ayuso is facing David Howarth and Jason Whalen. Howarth describes himself as a pro-worker carpet cleaner. He states that if elected, he would prioritize street repair and digital infrastructure, as well as pushing for a $15 minimum wage. While he seems to have progressive values, he lacks a detailed policy platform.

Republican and deputy mayor Jason Whalen has served in Position 3 on the city council since 2010. While we appreciate his support of increasing mental and behavioral health service funding, the rest of his platform skews conservative. His scaremongering ads against Jani Hitchen, who he ran against for Pierce County Council last year, attempted to divide and deceive voters.

We lean towards Ayuso for her progressive values.

Patti Belle was appointed to the Lakewood City Council in January. She previously worked as a communications team manager in the city of Kent's Office of the Mayor. If re-elected, Belle states that she will continue to focus on investing in infrastructure, prioritizing funding for city services, and increasing communications from the council.

Belle's opponents are Gene Drawhorn, Ria Covington Johnson, and Antonio Calimano Montanez.

Electrical engineer Drawhorn has no policy agenda or platform agenda and is not running a competitive campaign. Like Drawhorn, real estate broker Antonio Calimano cedes in his voter statement that he has no elected or relevant civic experience. Only his real estate website is available, with no details about his run for city council. Ria Covington previously ran for Lakewood City Council in 2017 and 2019 and her voters' guide statement cites that she has been a VISTA volunteer and worked with Lakewood African American Police Advisory Committee (LAAPAC). She states that if elected she will focus on inclusive policy at the city level, but her campaign website lacks detail or a platform.

Belle has not yet served long enough to review her record on the council, but she appears to be the only serious contender in this race.