Yakima County

Sen. Patty Murray has been a consistent and strong progressive voice in the U.S. Senate. She's seeking re-election to continue fighting for our basic rights and a better quality of life in Washington and beyond.

Murray was first elected in 1992 and has been a champion for veterans, working families, women, and economic opportunities for all. Before her tenure in the Senate, Murray worked as a preschool teacher, on the Shoreline School Board, and in the Washington state Senate.

During her time in Congress, Sen. Murray has worked hard to keep our communities safe from gun violence, protect abortion access at the federal level so that everyone has reproductive freedom, and expand access to affordable childcare. This year, she voted in support of the Women’s Health Protection Act, the Freedom to Vote Act, and a slate of other progressive bills that invest in working communities so that our country is a place where everyone can thrive. Murray has earned an impressive and diverse coalition of endorsements from local and national organizations, elected leaders, and unions.

Sen. Murray faces Tiffany Smiley, a triage nurse running on a MAGA Republican platform. Smiley has never held public office but she previously worked on Capitol Hill. Her Trump-inspired agenda aims to divide us while she seeks to cut funding from our most essential services and repurpose it for a needless border wall and more militarized police forces. Working Washingtonians need real solutions so that we can access the basics like gas, groceries, rent, and prescription medicine – not MAGA rhetoric and tax breaks for the wealthy.

Sen. Patty Murray is a national leader on many of the most important issues facing our country. She has earned your vote for re-election.

Democrat Doug White is running for U.S. representative for the 4th Congressional District. His platform is focused on protecting the local environment and expanding rural health care. He comes from several generations of Central Washington farmers and has worked with family businesses.

White's focus would be a significant change from incumbent Dan Newhouse's conservative policies. White believes that climate change needs to be mitigated by local energy from solar and wind. He also believes immigrants need a path forward to citizenship, more must be done to secure affordable housing for all, a safety net for seniors and the vulnerable must be provided, and that infrastructure from waterways to broadband internet needs to be modernized and rebuilt. Unlike his opponent, he also supports passing a law to protect reproductive freedom for all Americans.

Incumbent Republican Dan Newhouse was first elected in 2014 and previously served as the Washington director of agriculture and in the state House of Representatives. He is very conservative, and while Trump was in office he voted with the president 93% of the time. While he was one of the few Republicans to support Trump's impeachment in 2021 after the attack on the capitol on January 6th, Newhouse refused to support the pandemic relief package. Newhouse is also strongly opposed to reproductive freedom and has an A+ rating from a national anti-abortion PAC.

White is broadly endorsed by many Democratic organizations, unions, and more. For his willingness to take on the district's and nation's biggest issues, like protecting water and building up communities more equitably, we recommend Doug White for Congress for the 4th District.

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson is running as an independent to bring a non-partisan voice to the secretary of state's office. Anderson served on the Tacoma City Council before running for county auditor in 2009 and winning re-election three times. As Pierce County auditor, which is a nonpartisan position, she has administered dozens of elections while also overseeing licensing and public record-keeping.

Anderson is running because she believes political parties shouldn't be involved in running elections they are simultaneously trying to win. Her campaign priorities include supporting more local races becoming non-partisan, increasing access to voting and election information, and improving election security. She wants to translate the voters' pamphlet into 10 languages, going beyond what is mandated by the Voting Rights Act. She also wants to conduct risk-limiting audits in all 39 Washington counties and "pre-bunk" rumors to increase confidence in our state's election systems.

During our interview, Anderson expressed support for ranked choice voting because she believes it will allow candidates to break through our two-party political system. This is one of the biggest points of difference between Anderson and Hobbs.

Anderson offers voters an experienced option if they are looking for a nonpartisan administrator to manage our state's elections and support ranked choice voting.

Laurene Contreras is challenging Republican incumbent Chris Corry for the 14th Legislative District, Position 1 without a party preference. Contreras works for the Yakama Nation as an administrator for environmental restoration, waste management, and cleanup projects. She grew up on the Yakama Reservation and has been a community leader on issues at the intersection of tribal sovereignty and environmental stewardship for years. Contreras is running on a general platform to support families and the district with community problem-solving and bipartisan collaboration.

Corry joined the Legislature in 2019 and continues to work as an insurance broker outside of public office. In 2020, he was one of four Republican lawmakers who sued Gov. Inslee for his stay-at-home order during the height of the pandemic. Recently, Corry voted against a number of progressive bills including legislation to update the state’s carbon goals and a bill to keep our communities safe from high-capacity firearms.

We recommend Laurene Contreras for House Position 1.

Former Green party candidate Liz Hallock is a small business owner and attorney running for the 14th Legislative District, House Position 2. Hallock ran for governor in 2020 on a platform to invest in small businesses, fight climate change, put people first, and safeguard our democracy from big money interests. Now, she is running as a “Women’s Reproductive Justice Party candidate” to lead with science, improve accessible child care, and pass a Green New Deal in Washington to bring economic security to working families while fighting climate change. A chosen delegate for Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016, Hallock has ideas for big, structural change in Washington to require corporations and the wealthy to pay their share. If elected, she also wants to address the housing crisis, end mass incarceration due to the war on drugs, and stop attacks on recent reproductive freedom.

Hallock is challenging Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, a staunch conservative seeking re-election for her fifth term in the Legislature. Outside of elected office, she works in the hotel industry. Recently, Mosbrucker voted with her Republican colleagues to oppose bills to keep our communities safe from high-capacity firearms and to improve our state’s climate response. She also voted against a ban on chokeholds and publicly critiqued the basic requirement that officers exhaust alternatives before using force.

Hallock is the most progressive candidate in this race. We recommend her for Position 2 in the 14th Legislative District to invest in our communities.

Lindsey Keesling is running to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Sen. Jim Honeyford in the 15th Legislative District. Keesling did not appear on the primary ballot but advanced to the general after a successful write-in campaign to challenge Republican Nikki Torres. She has held a number of community positions, including working as a middle school teacher, a homeless shelter site supervisor, and a residential aide in a mental health facility. Now, she is an adjunct professor at Heritage University and a teacher in the Wapato School District.

Keesling is running on a platform to make sure that the district can access the resources it needs to provide residents with quality schools, upgraded infrastructure, affordable housing, accessible health care, employment opportunities, and other public services.

Republican Pasco City Council member Nikki Torres is also in this race. Outside of public office, Torres works in strategic partner management for Western Governors University and ​​previously served the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as president. She is campaigning on a typical Republican platform to eliminate funding for key community investments in schools, roads, housing, and parks while increasing budgets to militarize and expand police forces.

Lindsey Keesling is the best choice in this race to join the state Senate representing the 15th Legislative District.

Democrat Angie Girard is challenging Republican incumbent Amanda McKinney for Yakima County commissioner in District 1. Girard made it onto the November ballot from a successful write-in campaign during the August primary.

Girard has spent more than a decade working in accreditation for the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences. She is running on a community-focused platform in this race to invest in health, safety, sustainability, and affordability in the county. She wants to work with the Board of Health to make sure that public health policy is science-based and address the housing crisis so that all Yakima residents can access a roof over their heads. Girard also wants to ensure that Yakima County has clean water and wants to build up renewable energy in the county to create high-paying jobs and a sustainable future.

Incumbent commissioner McKinney is running for another term representing District 1. Previously, she spent two decades in banking. Now, she is running to bring conservative values to the Board of Commissioners and to cut funding that supports community services and public infrastructure.

Angie Girard is the best choice in this race and deserves your vote to serve District 1 as a Yakima County commissioner.

Dulce Gutierrez is running for the open District 2 seat on the Yakima County Commission. This year, all three seats are open with new maps due to a lawsuit that alleged Latinos were disenfranchised by Yakima County's voting system. Gutierrez, a former Yakima City Council member, wants to deliver more economic opportunity, improve community safety, and expand affordable housing. She worked for seven years for the Washington State Labor Council and volunteers for the boards of the YWCA of Yakima, Planned Parenthood, and other organizations.

Her vision of the county is one in which residents' quality of life keeps up with economic change. Gutierrez wants to invest in roads and renewable energy like solar to boost business and make sure that new housing can be built. She also wants to improve water access for farmers. Gutierrez believes that new zoning changes, like allowing homeowners to add housing units to their properties, will help alleviate the housing crunch and provide income to families.

Gutierrez's opponent in this race is Republican Kyle Curtis, who is running as a moderate on a cautious platform. While both candidates say that a countywide emergency response radio system and a regional crime lab should be supported, Gutierrez goes a step further and wants to see more funding for crime prevention efforts, including recreational programs for youth. While Curtis says that the county should focus on mental health and substance abuse in working with its homeless residents, Gutierrez says that service providers are already giving assistance and more affordable housing will be crucial for helping people find permanent residences.

Gutierrez's strong experience on the city council and progressive credentials make her the best choice in this race.

Justice Mary Yu is running unopposed to continue serving on the state Supreme Court. Yu was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2014, elected by voters to the seat later that year, and re-elected in 2016. Before joining Washington’s highest court, she spent 14 years as a trial court judge in King County Superior Court and earlier as the deputy chief of staff to former King County prosecutor Norm Maleng.

Yu has an unimpeachable reputation and has been rated “exceptionally well qualified” by a number of key bar associations. On the court, she has been a voice for equal justice and upholding the rights of all. Now, she is running with endorsements from all of her fellow justices as well as a number of retired justices from the court.

Justice Yu deserves your vote to continue serving as one of Washington’s state Supreme Court justices.

Justice Barbara Madsen has served on the state Supreme Court for 30 years and is running unopposed for re-election this year. She was only the third woman to serve on the court when she was first elected in 1992. During her time on the court, her fellow justices elected her the 55th chief justice of the court – a position she held for 7 years.

Having spent her career in both prosecution and public defense, Madsen has extensive knowledge of the criminal legal system and a passion for serving her community. Her re-election has been endorsed by each of her fellow justices and a wide range of other judicial leaders and community organizations.

Justice Madsen has served the state with fair and equal justice. She deserves your vote to remain in her seat on Washington’s Supreme Court.

Justice G. Helen Whitener is running unopposed for re-election to Position 6 on Washington’s Supreme Court. Whitener became the first Black woman to serve on the state’s Supreme Court in April 2020 when she was appointed to fill a vacancy by Gov. Inslee. Later that year, she won her election to fill the remainder of the term. Prior to joining the Washington Supreme Court, Whitener served on the Pierce County Superior Court and worked as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney before becoming a judge.

Justice Whitener is both a Trinidadian immigrant and openly gay, and has worked to be a representative voice for justice for all in the state’s highest court. In this race, she has earned the endorsement of each one of her fellow justices as well as some retired justices. Whitener has been rated as "exceptionally well-qualified" by a number of bar associations and has done an exceptional job since joining the court.

Whitener is an important voice on the State Supreme Court and deserves your voice to continue serving as a justice in Position 6.

Incumbent Judge Gary Hintze is running to retain his seat on the Yakima County District Court. Hintze joined the court in March of this year when he was appointed to replace the retiring Judge Kevin Roy. Hintze worked in the county prosecutor’s office for more than two decades where he was a trial lawyer, including presenting cases in front of the district court.

Though he doesn’t have a particularly progressive vision for the court, Hintze is a well-respected and consistent voice on the bench. If retained, he wants to continue delivering fair and equal justice and respecting the dignity of all who come before him. Hintz has earned an impressive roster of endorsements from judges, attorneys, law enforcement officers, and members of the community.

Wes Gano, Hintze’s challenger in this race, is a litigation attorney at a private practice and a local pro tem judge. Gano previously served on the Selah Municipal Court as the presiding judge. He is running on a vague platform that emphasizes his past experience without mentioning goals for the seat or the court.

Gary Hintze is the best choice in this race for Judge Position 1 on the Yakima District Court because of his well-rounded legal experience and his deep knowledge of the court.