15th Legislative District

Small business owner Kelly Krieger is running for Port of Bellingham, Commissioner District 2. Krieger is active with the Whatcom County Democrats and has a professional background in business and marketing. She also served on the board of directors for the Puget Consumers Cooperative. Krieger's campaign is focused on climate-friendly economic development, municipal broadband, affordable workforce housing, and aviation innovation.

Incumbent Commissioner Ken Bell is running to retain his seat with the port. Bell is a former Whatcom County Planning commissioner and Whatcom County Charter Review commissioner, and he also currently serves as the president of the Iron Creek Group, a private company that cleans up contaminated soil. Unfortunately, Bell is involved with the Whatcom Republicans and played a role in a police-led sweep of a homeless encampment on port property earlier this year.

The third candidate in this race is Austin Chapin, an airline pilot and flight instructor with a strong campaign focus on aviation investments and the airport. Chapin has run a negative campaign so far. He has criticized his opponents’ focus on environmental impact and climate protections, stating that the port should not be treated as a “preserve” despite the fact that Bellingham’s port is an important natural space that requires attention to the environmental impact of port projects.

We recommend Krieger for Port of Bellingham, Commissioner District 2 because of her reliably Democratic values.

Incumbent David Simpson is running to retain his seat as Commissioner of District 1 for the Port of Everett, which he was elected to in 2019 to fill an unexpired term. Simpson also works as a member of the Committee for Housing and Community Development. He has an extensive record in public service, having served as an Everett City Council member, a Washington state representative for the 38th Legislative District, and a member of the Snohomish County Charter Review Commission representing county council District 2. Simpson has also worked in the aviation industry as a manufacturing engineer and aviation mechanic.

Simpson's campaign platform prioritizes economic development, environmental protections, and living wages. He has a slate of projects underway, including the Waterfront Place Central Development, that he believes will help Everett and the port recover from the community and economic impact of the pandemic.

Simpson faces a challenge from Scott Murphy, an Everett City Council member since 2013. Murphy strongly emphasizes his business background and has previously boasted of expanding Everett’s police budget during his time as a council member despite public support to reallocate some of those funds to community alternatives. If elected, he would push the port in a more politically conservative direction.

Snohomish County has benefitted from Simpson's commitment to bringing community-minded leadership to the port. David Simpson is the clear choice for Port of Everett Commissioner in District 1.

Family lawyer and small business owner Melissa Denton is another good candidate in this race. Denton serves on a number of boards including for the League of Women Voters and the Neighborhood Association. Additionally, she volunteers with the Tumwater Planning Commission and works as a local precinct committee officer. If elected, Denton wants to bring the values of integrity, diversity, and representational government to the commissioner role.

Denton’s campaign platform includes prioritizing clean air and water, expanding economic opportunities, supporting diversity at all levels of port operations, and remaining trustworthy and accountable to the public. With her background in law and business, she hopes to bring a practical, community-minded approach to the port. Denton has earned Democratic support from local elected officials and organizations. She is a good choice if you want a candidate with a more established reputation for leadership and climate progress.

Incumbent Commissioner Dick Marzano is running to retain Port of Tacoma, Position 2. Marzano was first elected commissioner in 1995 and serves on the executive committee for the Puget Sound Regional Council. Before his career in public service, Marzano spent 52 years working in Tacoma as a longshoreman and was also the president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 23.

If re-elected, Marzano wants to continue prioritizing environmental protection and job creation. With his background as a longshoreman, Marzano knows that the two issues are connected and that those who live and work near the port are directly affected by its environmental impact. However, Marzano has not been supportive of protecting our communities from pollution from the proposed LNG facility. 

Also in this race is Jeannette Twitty. Twitty has a strong social justice focus, articulating her approach to port responsibilities through the lenses of workers’ rights, equity, and environmental stewardship. If elected, Twitty wants to promote living wage job creation, economic development, environmental health, marine trade through land acquisition, and partnerships with local organizations.

Firefighter and veteran Brian Duthie is running for Port of Tacoma, Position 4. Duthie is a community leader who also serves on the board of Washington State Council of Firefighters Burn Foundation. He is a solid Democrat who has opposed Republican candidates in prior races with the support of progressive organizations.

Duthie is running to bring progressive values like workers’ rights, environmental stewardship, and community-focused economic investments to the port. Specifically, he wants to advance sustainable infrastructure, care for the local ecosystem and curtail pollution, expand living-wage union jobs, and make the port a destination. If elected, Duthie will make sure that the decisions made by the port will be in the best interest of everyone who lives and works nearby.

In this crowded race, Duthie is the best choice to bring a strong, progressive voice to the port, and he deserves your vote for Port of Tacoma, Position 4.

Danny Herrera is a public school teacher who is running to utilize his experience in education and racial justice on the city council. He has served in the community in several roles, including as a member of NAACP Yakima Branch, as a youth room tutor at YMCA Downtown, and as co-founder of the College Success Foundation Yakima Alumni Board. Herrera was lauded by our endorsing partners as a committed educator who has clear knowledge about the importance of reforming the state tax code so that everyone benefits, not just the wealthy. He is ready to join the council as an advocate for community investment in safer infrastructure, youth programming, and equitable economic growth.

Herrera is running against Edgar Hernandez, Raúl Martínez, and Christina Martinez. Hernandez has no statement listed in the official voter's guide as of mid-July. Some of the goals listed in his candidate literature include addressing the drug crisis and homelessness, though he does not expand on what policies he might put in place. However, he is endorsed by a right-wing organization whose priorities include removing historical discussions on race from schools and perpetuating fraudulent claims about rigged 2020 elections. Similarly, Raúl Martínez does not have a detailed campaign available as of mid-July. He states that he will prioritize safety and the economy if elected, but gives no details about how this would be achieved. Realtor Christina Martinez's candidate statement states that she has managed subsidized low-income housing in California, and her primary priority is securing affordable housing. She does not have a more detailed platform available as of mid-July.

For his dedication to improving the lives of youths and his support from our Progressive Voters Guide partners, we recommend Danny Herrera in this race.

Janice Deccio is a communications coordinator who is running in Yakima's District 4 for the council seat vacated by incumbent Kay Funk. Deccio has served on several boards in the community, including Wellness House, an organization that supports cancer patients and their families, and the Yakima Symphony. Her platform includes supporting affordable housing and maintaining city infrastructure. However, Deccio's focus on "suppressing crime" with law enforcement does not speak to progressive values. We hope that the candidate's position will evolve to include the many alternatives to law enforcement that can reduce gun violence, including expanding mental health services, providing outreach workers, and improving school dropout prevention.

Deccio is running against Tony Sandoval, Mark Shervey, and Eduardo Luis Gutierrez. Sandoval is the former owner of a bouncy house business. He has unsuccessfully run for several offices over the years, including for Yakima City Council in 2015 and 2017, and for U.S. House in 2014. He does not yet have a detailed campaign platform available as of mid-July, but says he will work to foster living wage jobs and provide accountability to voters. Shervey is the owner of a local coffee roaster. Shervey's priorities and policy proposals are not currently detailed as of mid-July, but they include addressing infrastructure, gang violence, homelessness, the economy, and the city's image. He is endorsed by at least one very conservative group whose key issues include some of the worst hallmarks of the right-wing agenda. Eduardo Luis Gutierrez Jr.'s official voter's guide statement says that he will focus on listening to the needs of the community and transparency, but his candidate site is not active as of mid-July.

We appreciate Deccio's attention on social media to health inequalities and standing against racism, and hope that if elected she will follow the lead of more progressive council members. Deccio is the best choice in this race.

Sam Johnson is a financial examiner with the Washington Department of Financial Institutions. He serves on the board for the Central Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and New Leaders Yakima County, as well as on several community organizations. Johnson's site states three main campaign priorities, the first being a promise to introduce a charter amendment that would declare a city council position vacant if the council member misses 3 consecutive regular business meetings or 8 meetings total a year. The second proposes that Yakima use zero-based budgeting, which usually means that the city's budget would be built entirely from zero every cycle. Lastly, he wants to empower the community to lead on a collaborative plan to address gun and gang violence, which would help it be culturally appropriate and to reach the core issues of the problem. He would invite the public, law enforcement, the Yakima School District, nonprofits, and others to forge a plan similar to the Gang Free Initiative, but modernized for 2021.

Sam Johnson's platform and strong support from our Progressive Voters Guide partners make him the clear choice in this race for Yakima City Council, District 6.