9th 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.

Paleontologist Jacquelyn Belock is running for Cheney City Council, Position 3. Belock is a professor at Spokane Falls Community College, and she also works as a precinct committee officer. She moved back to the area to raise her kids, and is running to represent working families and small businesses. Belock’s platform is focused on COVID recovery, getting schools safely back in person, expanding green space, updating infrastructure, preventing wildfires, and investing in affordable housing. In this race, she has earned the endorsements of her local Democrats and a regional labor council.

Justin Amyot and Ryan Delaney are two conservatives running against Belock. Amyot, who co-manages a local optometry office, boasts a very far right platform. He has advocated for the total cut of social services that Spokane residents rely on, and he is aligned with the Trump-led, conspiracy about critical race theory. Delaney is the general manager at a local inn who is running on a conservative platform to defund social services and public goods.

Tim Gainer, brother of former mayor Allan Gainer, works for an internet services company based in Cheney. He also ran for Cheney mayor in 2017 and has not provided any detailed campaign information in this race.

Mark Posthuma, a pastor, nonprofit board leader, and avid local volunteer, is also in this race. Posthuma does not have any specific campaign priorities and lacks a campaign website as of mid-July.

In this crowded race with few good options, Belock is the clear choice.

Zack Zappone is also running for Spokane City Council, District 3, Position 2. Zappone is a creator of after-school programs and a former teacher. He previously challenged Republican Rep. Mike Volz in the 6th Legislative District and narrowly lost.

Zappone's campaign priorities include ensuring everyone has the training they need to enter the workforce, a housing-first approach to homelessness, worker protections, and creating a more equitable tax system for lower-income residents. He highlights his experience in logistics through his volunteer work with the Spokane Food Fighters, who are delivering meals during the coronavirus crisis. Like Hill, he supports expanded protections for renters, incentivizing more housing density, and demilitarizing the police.

Voters for Position 4 this year will find themselves picking between a Republican incumbent and at least one far-right challenger. Incumbent Ben Wick describes himself as conservative but has made some solid votes while in this position. He's run, won, and lost several bids for city council. Following a 2015 loss, he won in 2017 and was chosen as mayor by the council in 2020. Wick points to the hiring of a housing and homeless coordinator, as well as increasing regional cooperation with the county on homelessness, as big steps forward for dealing with the housing crisis. He also supported buying 45 acres of parkland in support of resident feedback during the last city master-plan process.

There are three other candidates in this race: Christopher Ingraham, Mark McManus, and Brandon Fenton. Ingraham has a bare-bones voters' pamphlet statement and has yet to raise money or publish campaign materials. McManus' statement says that's withdrawing to give support to other candidates.

Fenton, on the other hand, wants to roll back that progress, saying that the city should spend fewer resources helping people experiencing homelessness. The bar owner, who is the son of fellow city council candidate Wayne Fenton, describes himself as a Trump Republican. He refused to close his bar during the pandemic, endangering the very residents he's running to represent.

While progressive voters may not find a perfect choice for this seat, Fenton is even more conservative than Wick, who has at least made several good votes that support the residents of Spokane Valley and is not an extremist. Voters should consider the more moderate Wick for Spokane Valley City Council, Position 4.

Like the voters in Position 4, voters for the Position 7 seat will find themselves picking between a more moderate incumbent against a mostly farther-right slate.

Incumbent Linda (Hatcher) Thompson was elected in 2017 as part of a more moderate shift on the council. She works as a nonprofit executive director for the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council. Thompson states that she is running to continue to make infrastructure upgrades, add parks, and enhance community engagement in crime prevention. Like fellow incumbent and candidate Wick, Thompson has made several good votes on the council, including hiring a housing and homeless coordinator to address the city's housing crisis and supporting parks and trails expansion.

Republicans Laura Padden and Renault Patrick Evans both believe that reproductive health funding, equity measures, and environmental regulations should be cut. Padden, a web developer who is the wife of far-right Sen. Mike Padden, is running on a conservative agenda of pouring more money into policing and reducing regulations. Evans, who does not have a campaign website or policy platform available, seems to be running an equally conservative campaign that decries public health efforts to contain the pandemic and refuses to acknowledge the rights of the city's LGTBQ residents and its sustainability goals.

Also running is Adam Smith, who ran for Spokane City Council in 2019. He is a volunteer EMT and firefighter and the owner of a martial arts center. However, he does not have a campaign platform, website, or policy proposals available.

Thompson represents some solid votes on the council and a more moderate view than her opponents, who have offered divisive agendas. Voters should consider Thompson for Spokane Valley City Council, Position 7.