31st Legislative District

Federal Way Councilmember Lydia Assefa-Dawson is running for King County Council in District 7. Assefa-Dawson is a family self sufficiency coordinator at King County Housing Authority and a financial educator at the YMCA for survivors of domestic violence. She was the first person of African descent to serve on the Federal Way City Council and is a strong community leader in roles such as the co-chair of the Regional Law, Safety and Justice Committee and the vice president of the Ethiopian Community Center.

Assefa-Dawson brings a strong record of progressive advocacy to this campaign. Her priorities include affordable housing, a living wage, criminal justice reform, and social equity and inclusivity work. Assefa-Dawson’s policy priorities are in the effort to bring economic stability and reliable government services to King County residents.

Also in this race is incumbent Republican Pete Von Reichbauer, who has held the District 7 seat on the council for 28 years. Reichbauer has remained a conservative voice on the council and mostly focuses on issues of public spaces such as the construction of the Federal Way Transit Center and the recent Hylebos Wetlands protection project.

There are two other candidates in this race. Dominique Torgerson is a brewery owner with a limited campaign platform. She is primarily criticizing business and zoning regulations and doesn't address most of the important issues faced by the communities in King County. Saudia Abdullah is the Community Corrections Division director for King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention. Her campaign priorities include economic recovery, education, and community safety, which for Abdullah, unfortunately, does not involve meaningful police reform.

Lydia Assefa-Dawson is the most progressive candidate in this race and is a good fit to represent District 7 on the King County Council.

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.

Running for Auburn City Council, Position 4 is Hanan Amer, a chemist for an aerospace company. Amer has been volunteering locally for years, including at food banks, the White River Valley Museum, the Auburn and Muckleshoot libraries, and with the police department. She has also volunteered as a tax preparer for United Way of King County in the Auburn and Kent areas. Amer is endorsed by Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus and the 47th Legislative District Democrats and is running to make sure everyone can feel empowered and engaged in their communities. 

Her opponents in this race are incumbent Councilmember Yolanda Trout and Andrea Niemeyer. Trout has been on the city council for seven years and previously served as the vice-chair of the local Domestic Violence Initiative Regional Task Force from 2014 to 2016 and on Auburn’s Planning Commission from 2010 to 2013. She does not have a campaign website as of mid-July but her re-election platform includes supporting Auburn’s businesses, affordable housing, social justice, and economic growth. Unfortunately, Trout has taken a couple of bad votes including opposing the B&O tax, which would help the city avoid a revenue crisis by 2023, and opposing hazard pay for grocery store workers in the pandemic.

The last candidate, Niemeyer, has not submitted an official voters' guide statement and does not have any campaign information available as of mid-July.

Hanan Amer is the best choice for Position 4 on the Auburn City Council.

Katherine Festa is running for Federal Way City Council, Position 4. She has been a program manager with King County for 20 years and is the vice-chair of the King County Native American Leadership Council. Festa is endorsed by many Democratic elected officials and groups including Rep. Jamila Taylor and the King County Democrats.

Festa's campaign is focused on improving transportation and addressing homelessness. She wants to use her position on the city council to push Sound Transit to stay on schedule reaching Federal Way, as well as to advocate for more parking at the Federal Way Transit Center. In addition, she is dedicated to reducing homelessness, particularly among veterans, and wants to increase local supportive housing at a scale that is sustainable for the community.

Also in this race are Daniel Miller and incumbent Hoang Tran. Miller is running to oppose both police accountability reform and efforts to reallocate funding to community safety services. Councilmember Tran was elected in 2017 and previously spent over 20 years as an administrator in public assistance programs for the state Department of Social and Health Services. He shares a conservative platform with Miller.

Festa is the best choice in the race for Federal Way City Council, Position 4.

Renae Seam is running for Federal Way City Council, Position 6. She works for Boeing Employees Credit Union utilizing her Masters in Business and Data Analytics and is running on a strong progressive platform. Seam wants to use her experience in risk management and analytics to ensure community members can remain financially stable or regain financial stability, disrupt the school-prison pipeline, create a Climate Action Plan to increase sustainability and minimize Federal Way's carbon footprint, and be a voice for the marginalized and disadvantaged communities. 

Seam is facing Adrienne Obregon, Martin Moore, and Jack Dovey. Obregon is involved with the Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) and used to work at a child care center where she worked to found a union and hold the corporation accountable when they fired her for doing so. Her platform includes calls for more police officers and disregards community calls for police accountability. Incumbent Moore was first elected to the city council in 2013 and also works as the director for Audiobook Ministries. While he previously ran as a Republican, he has taken some good votes more recently, including supporting hazard pay through at least July 6 for Federal Way's grocery store workers. Dovey is a marketing manager for GPSLockbox whose campaign website is not functional as of mid-July.

Seam is the best choice in the race for Federal Way City Council, Position 6.

Joe Colombo is an elected precinct committee officer in Pierce County and the founder of Indivisible Puyallup.

Colombo serves on the City of Puyallup Design Review & Historic Preservation board and has worked in IT in project management and facilitation. He brings both community leadership and political experience to his campaign. In this race, Colombo is prioritizing pedestrian safety, affordable housing, economic vitality, equity and diversity, disability accommodations, and community-focused government spending. He has stated that his first objective would be to form an equity and ethics commission that brings Puyallup citizens together to work on making the city better for all residents.