26th 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.

Melissa Watkinson is a social scientist who has taught at U.W. Bothell in several roles. She is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and a descendent of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and she has worked with Indigenous Sisters Resistance and Seattle's Environmental Justice Committee.

At the core of Watkinson's platform is a commitment to equity and a sustainable vision for the area. As a council member, she wants to encourage mixed-income housing, provide more accessible transportation, support small business programs, and incentivize the protection of the local ecosystems.

Watkinson offers the most thoughtful and progressive platform in this crowded primary. We recommend Watkinson for Bremerton City Council in District 3.

Incumbent Jeni Woock has served on the Gig Harbor City Council since 2018. She has a long volunteer record, especially around the environment, as one of the cofounders of Citizens for the Preservation of Gig Harbor and chair of the Gig Harbor Sustainability Coalition.

Woock ran for council in 2017 on a promise of slower growth. She advocated for developers to pay their share of traffic impact fees in 2019 and voted for a six-month moratorium on residential development in 2018. Woock is also an advocate for switching from a strong mayor form of government to a council form after tumultuous leadership by Mayor Kit Kuhn.

Also in this race are Robert Wiles and Scott McCarley. Wiles is a real estate agent and former commercial fisherman. According to his candidate statement, he wants to see less development in the city and more historical preservation, but he does not have any concrete policy proposals or wider campaign plans available. Similarly, Scott McCarley states that he wants to protect the local economy but has no policy proposals or campaign information available.

While we ultimately can't classify her as a progressive, Woock is an environmentalist and she is the only viable choice in this race.

Roger Henderson is a member of the Gig Harbor Parks Commission and a former civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He states that if elected, he will aim for sustainable growth and to improve community walkability and accessibility to shopping, parks, and more.

Also in this race are Dave Ozier and John Skansi. Dave Ozier is a former Coast Guard officer and teacher. He states that he is running to expand bike and pedestrian walkways, maintain roads, and complete parks.

Skansi had originally filed to run for mayor but switched to city council at the last minute. He does not have a detailed platform available as of mid-July. His official voters' guide statement says that he is running to bring more local control to the community and smarter economic development, though he doesn't elaborate on what that entails. Skansi was recently barred from substitute teaching in at least four Seattle schools for a wide range of conduct offenses, including singling out Black students, failing to properly wear a mask, and failing to actually teach in his classes.

We lean towards Henderson in this race because of his longtime experience in sustainability and environmental work.

Juanita Beard is running a strong campaign for Peninsula School Board Director in District 5. Beard is a therapist, former social worker, and health care case manager. She runs a small business for her counseling services in Gig Harbor. Beard has two school-aged children currently in the Peninsula school system.

Beard has a progressive vision for the position. Her priorities include diversity, equity, and inclusion in the school system and the board itself, expanded mental health resources for students, making sure the school board is an accessible government body, and supporting teachers and staff. Beard hopes to bring her vast experience in listening and healing to the district as it recovers from the struggles brought by online learning and pandemic pressures. She has earned progressive and Democratic support in this race.

Beard is challenging incumbent David Olson in this race. Olson is the current president of the Peninsula School Board after being first elected in 2013. He works in the government banking division of U.S. Bank in Tacoma. Last October, when COVID-19 was tearing through Washington communities, Olson criticized local public health officials and expressed frustration that kindergartners weren’t in classrooms already.

We need leaders who will follow science and public health recommendations to keep our kids safe. Beard is the best choice in this race and deserves your vote to serve Peninsula School District No. 401 as the next District 5 director.