21st Legislative District

Jared Mead is running for re-election to a four-year term on the Snohomish County Council in District 4. He previously served in the state Legislature and was appointed to the council in 2020 after Terry Ryan resigned, winning his election in 2020 for the final year of the term.

Mead is a strong progressive who has worked to prohibit discrimination, fight the climate crisis, and secure an energy-independent state for future generations. His campaign priorities include reducing traffic and pollution through transit-oriented development and protecting the county's urban growth areas.

Also in this race is Republican candidate Brenda Carrington. Carrington has a business background in construction and landscaping and opposed Mead for the same position last year. Carrington opposes new funding for essential services and disagrees with efforts to redirect some law enforcement funding to community safety and prevention. 

Mead is the clear choice for Snohomish County Council in District 4.

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.

Matt Kuehn is running for Bothell City Council, Position 5. He serves as Rep. Davina Duerr's legislative aide and previously worked for Sen. Guy Palumbo. His platform includes expanding the park and trail systems, creating more walkable neighborhoods, and increasing affordable housing.

Also in this race are incumbent Ben Mahnkey and Galen Altavas. Mahnkey is an Amazon employee running on a platform that includes praising police officers without offering any mention of increased accountability or reform. He mentions minimizing tax increases but does not offer actual solutions for how to fund essential services in Bothell. Altavas has worked at King County Metro and at Panasonic Avionics as an IT manager. He currently works at the Snohomish County Public Utilities Department. Altavas does not have a detailed campaign platform and does not appear to be particularly progressive.

Kuehn is the best choice in the race for Bothell City Council, Position 5.

Alicia Crank is running for Edmonds City Council, Position 1. Crank currently works as the chief development officer at a local nonprofit and serves as the vice-chair of the Edmonds Planning Board. She has extensive community leadership experience including working for the Edmonds Senior Center, Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, and the Edmonds Sister City Commission.

In this campaign, Crank is prioritizing housing affordability, transparent and responsive government, thoughtful growth, and public safety such as reducing gun violence. She has proposed green building practices and constructing mixed-use developments to make sure that Edmonds can grow while remaining committed to environmental sustainability and economic diversity. Crank is running a strong campaign and has earned endorsements from progressive elected officials and organizations.

Crank is running against incumbent Councilmember Kristiana Johnson and Brian Hartman. First elected in 2012, Johnson has made environmental protections a focus of her time on the council. Unfortunately, she sent a racially insensitive email last year regarding federal grants for white-owned and Asian-owned businesses that drew criticism from her fellow council members. She has since apologized but the situation raises concerns about her ability to engage an equity lens and to serve all Edmonds residents.

Hartman is a precinct committee officer and senior director of enterprise technology at Blue Origin. He does not have a strong campaign presence but has emphasized that his business background would translate to economic leadership if he is elected.

Alicia Crank is the best choice in this race and deserves your vote for Position 1 on the Edmonds City Council.

Incumbent Luke Distelhorst is running for re-election to Position 2 after being appointed to the Edmonds City Council in 2020. Before joining the council, Distelhorst worked for Community Transit in Everett and in the private sector abroad. He serves as a council liaison on the Diversity Commission and as a board member for the Alliance for Housing Affordability, amongst other council-related community positions.

During his time on the council, Distelhorst authored the Housing and Relief Fund and a resolution banning residential evictions during the pandemic. His campaign is focusing on affordable housing, public safety and reducing gun violence, climate action, and equitably supporting Edmonds’ underserved communities. Distelhorst has widespread support from local Democratic and progressive organizations as well as elected officials.

There are three other candidates in this race. Lora Petso is a former city council member who served in Edmonds from 2000 to 2003 and from 2010 to 2015. Petso is a lawyer and local business owner who has made her platform in this race about resisting policy to make housing more affordable in the Edmonds area. Also in this race is Janelle Cass, a former bioenvironmental engineer for the Air Force and small business owner who serves on the board of directors for the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce. Cass' platform is more moderate than that of Distelhorst and aims to commit to the needs of businesses and prevent zoning changes, which would keep housing out of reach for those who need more affordable options. The final candidate, Will Chen, is an auditor of large corporations as well as a small business owner. Chen currently serves on a lot of community groups including as Edmonds Citizen’s Housing commissioner. His platform lacks detail but is centered around his business background, council transparency, and post-COVID economic recovery.

Distelhorst is a strong progressive and the best choice for Edmonds City Council, Position 2.

Retired firefighter Don Schwab is running for Everett City Council in District 3. He worked as a firefighter for more than three decades and has served on various boards in the community and at the state level, including as a board member of the Snohomish County Red Cross and on the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters. He currently works for Snohomish County Treasurer Brian Sullivan and as an associate faculty member at Everett Community College.

Schwab states that the police and fire departments should be fully staffed and funded. He notes that Everett has one of the highest rates of COVID infections in the state, and supports expanding paid sick leave and family leave. He also supports fast-tracking the light rail system to stimulate economic development downtown and along Evergreen Way, promoting housing density, and improving citywide energy efficiency among other considerations.

Schwab is running against Lacey Sauvageau and Jacob Vail. Sauvageau is a 911 dispatcher for Snohomish County. She previously ran as a Democrat for Rep. Emily Wicks' House seat for the 38th Legislative District. Her previous campaign website is not accessible as of mid-July. During her previous run, she stated that she would focus on the environment and smaller class sizes, among other priorities. She supports police accountability but doesn't outline a specific policy agenda.

Jacob Vail is a member of the Everett Civil Service Commission and was appointed in March 2021 as a member of the Snohomish County Parks Board. He states that as a person with disabilities, he has a personal stake in improving accessibility in the community for everyone. His platform is somewhat minimal but includes the high points of using vacant hotels and apartment complexes to help the unsheltered and providing programs for skilled trade. He has earned the endorsement of Humane Voters of Washington in this race. 

Given that the city cut nearly every department aside from law enforcement in the last few months, we would like to see Schwab's policies on law enforcement evolve into a model that prioritizes investing more into human services. Nevertheless, Schwab is the best candidate in this race.

A note for Everett voters: this is the first election using the new redistricted map adopted last year. District 3 includes all of Boulevard Bluffs, Harborview Seahurst Glenhaven, View Ridge-Madison, Evergreen, and the southernmost tip of South Forest Park.

Demi Chatters is an education advocate who has spent more than a decade working to bring inclusive and quality education to public school students. She is deeply embedded in the community as a member of the Snohomish Human Rights Commission and Evergreen Middle School Equity Team. She also serves on the board for Seattle Suns, a youth sports organization that focuses on youth experiencing poverty, as well as a committee member for LGBTQ organization NOLOSE.

If elected to the Everett City Council, Chatters wants to advocate for an equitable and sustainable recovery from COVID that benefits everyone in the city. To that end, she will prioritize infrastructure investment, increase sustainable business development, and champion workers' rights through fair collective bargaining. She notes that the increasing struggle of residents to secure housing should be met with additional services in the form of mental health, encouraging more housing options, and moving the unsheltered towards more housing options. Specifically for District 5, Chatters wants to see the completion of the Silver Lake trail, reinforce road stability, and create opportunities for parks within neighborhoods.

Chatters is running against Kelly M. Fox and Ben Zarlingo. Fox is the executive director of Snohomish County EMS. Fox's campaign website emphasizes her interest in social justice, public transportation, and affordable housing for all. Her voters' guide statement says that she's running to encourage a strong economy outside of Boeing's success and to improve government services.

Zarlingo is a communications technology consultant and a leader in the Silver Lake Neighborhood Association. His platform is not yet concrete. He wants to create good jobs and handle growth and homelessness, though he does not elaborate on how.

Demi Chatters has the support of several local progressive officials and is committed to building an Everett that supports working families. She is the clear choice for Everett City Council in District 5.

Incumbent Cassie Franklin was the first woman ever to be elected mayor of Everett. Before becoming mayor, Franklin was an Everett City Council member and served in a number of organizations and programs addressing homelessness.

Her tenure as mayor, which began in 2017, came at a difficult moment in the city's financial history. Washington cities are required by law to produce a balanced budget. With a deficit of $18 million for the city, up from $15 million inherited before her term due to pandemic-related causes, Franklin and the city council cut costs to balance the budget. Their budget closed service locations like the Carl Gipson Senior Center and the Forest Park Swim Center, reduced library hours, and eliminated city-sponsored events like fireworks, the animal farm, and flower festival, along with laying off or voluntary separating from over 130 employees. Disappointingly, despite calls by Black activists to reduce or move funds from the police department budget into more community services, the police budget was not cut like most other departments. Franklin states that the department's body camera program and training efforts are meeting the changes demanded by activists.

Budget aside, Franklin has worked hard in the pandemic to administer pandemic relief funds and issued a stay-home directive in the early days of the COVID crisis.

Franklin's opponents are Steve Oss and Ron Wittock. Neither have campaign information or websites available as of mid-July. While Franklin is more moderate, her endorsements on both the conservative and progressive ends of the spectrum represent local faith in her second run, and she is the only viable choice in this race.

Former Lynnwood City Councilmember Shirley Sutton is running for Position 1 on the council. Sutton served on city council from 2015 to 2019 and was previously the executive director of diversity affairs at Edmonds Community College. She has also served as the chair of the Neighborhood Demographics Diversity Commission in Lynnwood and has experience as a Democratic precinct committee officer.

Sutton is running on a progressive platform that includes police accountability, civil rights, climate justice, and affordable housing. Her campaign priorities are grounded in addressing injustice and intervening where city government can improve residents’ quality of life. Sutton wants to improve public transportation, take climate action, and make Lynnwood more affordable for everyone. Notably, she has earned the endorsement of the Snohomish County Democrats. 

Small business owner Nick Coelho is also running for Position 1. His priorities include affordable housing, making Lynnwood walkable and managing growth, and investing in parks and public green spaces. He has served on the South Lynnwood Neighborhood Co-Design Committee and as the chair of the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board since 2020. Also in this race is Chris Eck, the deputy chief operating officer at Volunteers of America Western Washington and the chair of the City of Lynnwood Planning Commission. Her campaign priorities include promoting integrated housing for diverse income levels, making Lynnwood a cultural center and destination, and thoughtful economic development.

As a progressive community leader with a clear vision, Shirley Sutton is the best choice for Position 1 on the Lynnwood City Council.

Community leader Naz Lashgari is running to serve on the Lynnwood City Council in Position 2. Most recently, Lashgari has worked as the chair of Lynnwood’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission. She also worked for the Community Health Center during the pandemic in order to support marginalized communities through the public health crisis.

Previously, Lashgari spearheaded the “All Are Welcome” campaign and is dedicated to celebrating Lynnwood’s multiculturalism while working towards equity. If elected, she will continue working on social issues including homelessness, housing, health care, and safety. Lashgari believes it is crucial that all Lynnwood residents feel that their voice matters.

Also in this race is Patrick Decker, who was appointed to the Lynnwood City Council this April in order to fill the seat vacated by Ian Cotton. Decker works in finance at Microsoft and has served as chair on the city’s Planning Commission. Decker is running on a more conservative platform. Disappointingly, he has made divisive and insulting comments about local residents experiencing homelessness. 

Former Lynnwood Mayor Don Gough is also running for Position 2. Gough lost his bid for mayoral re-election in 2013, but he was asked to resign by the city council before that due to investigations into his discriminatory treatment of women employees. His website is not public as of mid-July.

We need leaders who will bring the people of Lynnwood together to address the complex challenges facing the city. Naz Lashgari is the clear choice for Lynnwood City Council, Position 2.

Joshua Binda is running for Position 3 on the Lynnwood City Council. Binda is an Edmonds College alum and has professional experience as an aerospace mechanic at Boeing and in cybersecurity at Microsoft. He has extensive community leadership experience and chairs the Lynnwood Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission. Additionally, Binda serves on the boards of the WA-GRO Foundation and the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County.

If elected, Binda’s priorities include affordable housing, community budgeting, pedestrian and transit accessibility, drug counseling, and environmental protections. He will pursue this progressive agenda by leveraging his relationship with community members and drawing on his local leadership experience. Binda's inclusive platform has earned him a long list of endorsements from local leaders. 

Binda is running against James Rutherford and former Lynnwood council member Lisa Utter. As a veteran, disabled resident, and husband to a former council member, Rutherford says that he will be a voice for Lynnwood to push for policies that would help seniors and Lynnwood residents with disabilities. Unfortunately, Rutherford does not have a detailed platform as of mid-July.

Utter served on the council from 1998 until 2009 and also worked on the Community Transit Board during that time. Until 2019, she was the executive director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Snohomish County. If elected, Utter wants to make Lynnwood an affordable and equitable city but doesn't have detailed policy suggestions available.

Joshua Binda deserves your vote in this race for Lynnwood City Council, Position 3.

Public benefit specialist Louis Harris was appointed to Position 1 on the Mukilteo City Council in 2020. His work with the state Department of Social and Health Services, as well as his service as the vice president of the NAACP of Snohomish County and on the boards of the YMCA and Communities of Color Coalition, have prepared Harris well to serve all residents of Mukilteo.

During his first year on the council, Harris voted in favor of adopting a plan that would improve housing options for seniors. He also supported a program to educate residents about services that could help them stay in their homes. If re-elected, he states that he will address noise pollution from Paine Field, invest in infrastructure improvements, and promote local businesses.

Harris is running against Peter Zieve and Tina Over. Zieve is a conservative businessman and misinformation promoter who is running for Mukilteo City Council for the third time. He is notorious for funding a hateful mailer campaign to oppose the construction of a mosque in Mukilteo in 2016. Zieve also funded misleading political campaigns against progressive candidates in 2018 and 2019, while in 2020 funded yet another mailer campaign aimed at keeping low-income residents out of Mukilteo.

Tina Over is a real estate broker with experience serving as a Mukilteo Civil Service commissioner. This is Over's third run for city council. Like her 2019 run, Over does not have a strong campaign presence, lacking both a campaign website or a voters' guide statement. In her previous campaign, she supported the city's move to become a "welcoming city" for people of all immigration statuses and providing more parks and green spaces for multigenerational use.

Harris has a very solid lineup of endorsements from state representatives, neighboring elected officials, and local progressive organizations. Harris is by far the best choice for Mukilteo City Council, Position 1.

Caitlein Ryan is the founder of Sound Cultivation, a cannabis political consulting firm. Ryan lists a long history of volunteer service in the community, including as a PTA member and a classroom volunteer for Mukilteo Public Schools. Ryan's platform states that she is running to advocate for business equity, family food security, and affordable housing. She is endorsed by a slate of Democratic elected officials and organizations.

Ryan is running against Ayesha Riaz Khan, Kevin Stoltz, and Tom Jordal. Khan is a substitute teacher at Mukilteo School District. Voters should note that the candidate is the wife of current council member Riaz Khan; her successful election would concentrate two-sevenths of the council's power in one household. Khan does not have a candidate website and the platform listed in her voters' guide statement is minimal. She states that she is running to prevent car tab increases - though she does not provide alternative sources of revenue for the services she is proposing, including sidewalk expansions.

Former Mukilteo Councilmember Stoltz is running again to resuscitate the Mukilteo Park and Ride, revisit traffic calming policies, and discourage nighttime passenger jets. He served on the council for two terms between 2006 and 2013. Like his fellow candidate Schmalz in Position 3, Stoltz was recently featured in the Mukilteo Beacon where some raised the issue of favoritism towards the former council members after speed humps were installed near their homes. While traffic concerns certainly affect the quality of life for residents, without a broader platform or values, we don't have reason to think that Stoltz will pursue progressive reforms on the council.

Tom Jordal is a small business owner and volunteer with the Mukilteo School District whose campaign lacks detail about how he would affect policy change in Mukilteo. He does not have relevant community or leadership experience and only states that if elected, he would bring more festivals and concerts to the city.

While we would strongly prefer that candidates be more explicit about their platforms, we would give Ryan a small edge here based on her community and elected support in this race.