Whatcom 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.

Rep. Rick Larsen is a moderate Democrat who is seeking his eleventh term representing Washington's 2nd Congressional District. Before serving in Congress, he served on the Snohomish County Council and worked on economic development for the City of Everett.

Larsen has been a reliable vote on House Democrats' priorities. Since his last election, he voted for both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Build Back Better, President Biden's more ambitious effort to fund clean energy, child tax credits, and other progressive priorities. In past years, Larsen supported the Lower Drug Costs Now Act to give Medicare the power to negotiate directly with the drug companies and pass on the lower drug prices to all Americans. He also voted for the Voting Rights Advancement Act, supported the coronavirus pandemic relief packages, and sought to reform student loans.

Republican Dan Matthews, a veteran and retired commercial airline pilot, is challenging incumbent Larsen in this race. Matthews lists dozens of "areas of concern" on his website with an invitation to "let the dialogue begin" but does not list any actual policy positions. However, some of the topics he lists are consistent with the MAGA Republican agenda we see across the country this year including dangerous rhetoric about voter fraud and border policies that echo Trump's 2016 talking points.

Larsen is the clear choice for Congress from Washington's 2nd Congressional 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.

Rep. Debra Lekanoff is running for re-election to Legislative District 40, Position 1. Lekanoff is currently the only Native American woman in the Washington Legislature. She formerly worked for the Swinomish Tribe as the governmental affairs director and now serves as vice chair of the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee.

Lekanoff is running to keep fighting to protect our ecosystems for future generations while advocating for investments in public infrastructure and economic recovery. This session, she was the prime sponsor of historic legislation that created the country’s first alert system for missing Indigenous women. Lekanoff also supported the historic Move Ahead Washington transportation bill that will make public transit in Washington more accessible and environmentally friendly.

Republican Shannon Perkes faces Lekanoff on the November ballot after receiving sufficient votes as a write-in candidate during the primary. Perkes has worked in logging, agriculture, and construction, and is now running on a very conservative platform that opposes Gov. Inslee’s progressive efforts. If elected, Perkes wants to reduce access to health care, increase militarized policing in our neighborhoods, reduce workplace protections and other regulations that keep businesses accountable, and sow doubts about election security.

Lekanoff is a strong progressive who will prioritize the environment, tribal representation, and community economic security. Lekanoff deserves your vote for re-election so she can continue building a future where all Washingtonians can prosper.

Rep. Alex Ramel is running for re-election to Position 2 in the 40th Legislative District. Ramel has been a strong progressive leader in the Legislature. The incumbent and environmental organizer previously served on the board of the Whatcom chapter of Washington Conservation Voters and now works as a climate policy advisor for an environmental nonprofit.

Ramel’s top legislative priorities include fighting climate change, making housing more affordable, preventing gun violence, investing in community-first economic recovery, and making sure all Washingtonians can afford the health care they need. One of his environmental accomplishments this session was helping to pass the Move Ahead Washington transportation package that will invest in accessible and climate-friendly transit infrastructure like electric vehicle charging stations and zero-emissions ferry technology.

Beyond the transportation package, Ramel prioritized keeping our communities safe by restricting ghost guns, banning carrying guns in places like school board meetings, and creating an alert system for missing Indigenous people. He also sponsored important policies that we hope will move forward in the years to come, including a wealth tax on extraordinarily high earners and expanding housing options near transit.

Ramel faces a challenge from Trevor Smith, a moderate Democrat and the political director of a labor union whose workers install and manage natural gas infrastructure. Unfortunately, Smith's challenge represents a push by conservative corporations and fossil fuel interests to stop Ramel from fighting carbon pollution by promoting alternatives to natural gas like electrification. Corporate and conservative PACs and people have spent more than $140,000 backing Smith's campaign to oust Ramel.

Ramel has been a champion for fighting climate change and protecting our clean air and water. We hope the Legislature follows his lead and continues to fund training for workers to pivot to cleaner sources of fuel. But with the recent attempts of a conservative Supreme Court hobbling the EPA's ability to regulate pollution, this is no time to stop climate action.

Ramel has been an outstanding advocate for progressive causes and is the clear choice to continue serving the 40th Legislative District.

Rep. Sharon Shewmake, who currently serves the district in House Position 2, is now running for state Senate representing the 42nd Legislative District. She is a professor at Western Washington University, a member of Bellingham’s Lettered Streets Neighborhood Association, and an active union member. Her background in agricultural economics paired with her progressive values have made her an effective representative for residents of the 42nd Legislative District.

Shewmake’s top priorities for the Senate include investing in good schools, living-wage jobs, clean air and water, a productive local farm industry, and safe communities. This year, she sponsored a number of commonsense bills focused on protecting marine habitats, promoting cleaner business standards, and working towards greater social equity in our state. Shewmake also wants to make sure that all residents can access prescription medication and health care services, including the freedom to make personal reproductive health decisions.

Shewmake is challenging Trump Republican Sen. Simon Sefzik, who was appointed to take over Sen. Doug Ericksen’s seat when the late incumbent passed away last December. Prior to being appointed to the state Senate at age 22, Sefzik served as an intern at the White House during the last year of the Trump administration.

Since joining the Senate, Sefzik has minimized the real issues facing our communities and used his platform to promote divisive and extreme positions. Recently, Sefzik reaffirmed that he opposes reproductive freedom at a time when abortion access is under attack nationwide. In the state Senate, Sefzik and his Republican colleagues oppose funding services that help working Washingtonians afford groceries, gas, rent, and prescription medication. He also sponsored short-sighted legislation that would have cut funding for badly needed transportation projects in Whatcom County and across the state.

Sharon Shewmake has spent the last three years working to make the 42nd Legislative District a place where everyone has the chance to thrive. She is the clear choice for Senate.

Incumbent Alicia Rule is running for re-election to House Position 1 for the 42nd Legislative District. Rule owns a therapy practice and previously served on the Blaine City Council and as president of the Blaine Downtown Development Association.

Rule brought her expertise in counseling to the Legislature in her first term by focusing on health care and youth services. Some of the bills she sponsored include increasing access to outdoor education, encouraging young people to participate in fishing and shellfishing, and ensuring that services like counseling are available to public employees. Rule also stepped up quickly to support her community by passing legislation to provide relief for farmers, ranchers, and communities affected by flooding in northwest Washington.

She is running for re-election to continue working to increase shelter options, create more living-wage jobs in Whatcom County, and keep our communities safe. In addition, Rule is passionate about preserving the environment of Whatcom County and has pursued local conservation efforts both as a volunteer and a city council member.

Rule faces Republican Tawsha Dykstra Thompson, who has served as a police officer for almost 25 years in Bellingham. She is running to bring a conservative and regressive agenda to Olympia that emphasizes the role of law enforcement in the district. Thompson wants to criminalize homelessness, characterizing law enforcement as the "brakes" on mental health or addiction issues despite the fact that arrests don't address the root causes of these issues and often make them worse. She opposes making billionaires pay their share of the resources we all use.

Republican politicians keep stoking fears and promising that the answer is always to put more and more people in jail. We need leadership that aims to address the many places where our country lags behind - in education, health, food security, housing, and more.

Rep. Alicia Rule has embodied the ethos of fully supporting the community and has earned your vote in the 42nd District.

Eric Richey is the incumbent prosecuting attorney in Whatcom County and he is running unopposed for re-election. Richey was elected to the prosecutor’s office in 2018. Before that, he served as a deputy prosecutor for more than two decades. Richey also works for the community in a number of volunteer positions including the Brigid Collins Foundation and Whatcom County Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services.

As prosecutor, Richey has led reform efforts to reduce incarceration in cases of low-level crimes, including founding the county’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program. His other primary goal in office has been to address racial injustice in the criminal legal system, and he joined community members in creating the Racial Equity Commission. If re-elected he wants to continue approaching the office with an equity lens while working to address expensive overcrowding in our prisons and invest in crime prevention and alternatives to incarceration.

Richey has a good track record and proven commitment to progress. He deserves your vote to remain the Whatcom County prosecutor.

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.

Jonathan Rands is running for Whatcom County District Court, Position 2 to fill the seat vacated by Judge Matthew Elich. Rands is a criminal defense lawyer who has spent more than two decades as a trial lawyer in local district and municipal courts. He already has four years of judicial experience through his work as a pro tem judge in local courts and he previously served as the president of the Washington Foundation for Criminal Justice.

Rands wants to bring nonpartisan, community-centric judicial leadership to the court. His goals are to reduce recidivism and seek out restorative justice approaches where possible while fighting for accountability and safety for all. In this race, Rands has received widespread and bipartisan endorsements including from key judicial leaders in the area.

Also in this race is Gordon Jenkins, a Whatcom County deputy prosecutor. Jenkins previously also worked in defense and he represents the state in Whatcom’s Drug Court. However, he has spent far less time in local courts than Rands and has no judicial experience.

We recommend Jonathan Rands for Judge Position 2 on the Whatcom County District Court because of his broad community support and his extensive local court experience.

Former Blaine City Councilmember Jaime Arnett is running for Whatcom County Public Utility District (PUD) in the commissioner 3 seat. Arnett runs a local company that connects people with animals as a form of mental and behavioral therapy. She also works on community housing issues through Habitat for Humanity and previously worked in the local commercial fishing industry.

If elected, Arnett would represent a progressive voice on the PUD. Her impressive goals for office include bringing free broadband to the county, safeguarding our clean air and water, ensuring responsible and sustainable fishing, and protecting the Nooksack River. With her commercial fishing background and her proven track record of community leadership, Arnett is equipped to advocate for these community issues effectively and collaboratively, while building good communication with the public.

Also in this race is Eric Davidson, a current Blaine City Council member and registered nurse. Davidson is running on a more vague platform to safeguard Whatcom’s public utilities and he lacks a campaign website as of late September.

We recommend Jaime Arnett in this race to bring a strong, progressive voice to the Whatcom County PUD as commissioner 3.