30th Legislative District

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

Dr. Kim Schrier is seeking re-election to her seat in the U.S. House representing Washington’s 8th Congressional District. Before serving two terms in Congress, she worked as a pediatrician and ran a local pediatric practice in Issaquah caring for kids and families across the region.

Elected in 2018 as the first Democrat to hold the seat, Schrier has consistently brought her community values and professional health expertise to Congress. Unlike her Republican opponents, Schrier would support a federal law protecting reproductive freedom for all Americans. This term, Schrier supported the bipartisan infrastructure bill that will provide essential funding to improve local roads and bridges, as well as $19 million dollars for pedestrian safety projects in the 8th District alone. She also voted for Build Back Better, which would provide funding for early education, extend the child tax credit, reduce the cost of child care, and combat climate change. If re-elected, Schrier wants to prioritize the everyday needs of working families as well as be a compelling changemaker on public health issues like affordable prescriptions, gun violence prevention, clean air, and fresh groceries.

Schrier has been a standout member of Congress working across party lines to get things done for her district. She has earned your vote for re-election.

Stephanie Gallardo is a progressive teacher and first-generation Chilean American challenging Rep. Smith this year. She lived on the University of Washington campus until she was 10 years old while her parents were finishing their education. She has taught history in the Tukwila School District and was elected to serve on the Washington Education Association board.

Gallardo's lived experience has shaped her platform and campaign for office. She supports Rep. Jamaal Bowman's Green New Deal for Public Schools Act, which would invest billions in green retrofits for school buildings, hire hundreds of thousands of new educators, and improve accessibility on campuses. She would also back Sen. Cory Booker's legislation to provide comprehensive and medically accurate sexual health education for all students.

Foreign policy is Gallardo's other top priority. During our interview, she stated that her family's escape from Chile as political refugees showed the danger of our country's "expansionist foreign policy." If elected, she would add her name to Rep. Jayapal's bill to prohibit the U.S. from aiding Saudi Arabia in their war with Yemen. She also wants to redirect some of the historically large defense budget that Smith writes to invest in education and fighting climate change. On community safety, Gallardo expressed support for revoking immunity for gun manufacturers, banning assault weapons, and prohibiting the military from transferring powerful equipment to law enforcement.

Gallardo's platform and experience offer a clear contrast for voters looking for a progressive alternative, particularly on foreign policy, to Rep. Smith.

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson is running as a nonpartisan candidate to bring an independent 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 as a nonpartisan candidate 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 nonpartisan, 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.

While Hobbs spoke more about using cybersecurity to protect our elections, Anderson leaned on her professional expertise to describe ways to expand our democracy. She believes, for example, that the state should redouble its efforts to reach voters with disabilities. By using a secure, expert-vetted electronic ballot similar to those used for overseas military voters, Anderson sees a path forward to reach those who don't always have access to vote.

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. She supports grants for local jurisdictions that are interested in trying ranked choice voting so that it's not unduly expensive for local governments, and so that auditors can learn more about how to manage and implement it.

Anderson offers voters an experienced option if they are looking for an independent to administer our state's elections.

Sen. Claire Wilson was elected to the Senate in 2018 and serves as the assistant majority whip. Prior to her election, she spent 25 years as an administrator of early childhood education at the Puget Sound Educational Services District and has served in many community leadership roles, including on the PTA, Citizens for Federal Way Schools, and the Building Better Futures Board, among others.

This year, Wilson sponsored bills to invest in transportation, including ferry upgrades and free rides for kids on transit, as well as the successful gun safety measure of limiting high-capacity magazines. She also sponsored the wealth tax, an effort to make Washington's extraordinarily wealthy residents finally pay their share of the resources we all use. As an expert in education and youth, Wilson also sponsored a bill that will expand accessible and affordable childcare and early education programs.

Wilson faces two challengers from the right: Linda Kochmar and Mark Christie. Former state representative and Federal Way Council President Linda Kochmar's bullet point agenda provides little detail on what she plans to do if elected, but she has opposed making the wealthy pay what their owe our communities and her legislative record received a "D" grade from Pro-Choice Washington. Kochmar is one of the more conservative members of the Federal Way City Council, going so far as to oppose hazard pay for grocery workers at the height of the pandemic.

Christie also ran for this seat in 2020. His MAGA agenda and website disparage some of the core components of strong communities, such as free and accessible education and healthcare for everyone. His "solution" for the district is to make cities Republican strongholds.

Wilson has been a solid legislator and a mover of progressive policies in the Senate, especially for kids and families. She deserves your vote in the 30th Legislative District.

Jamila Taylor is running for re-election to the 30th Legislative District, House Position 1. Taylor is an attorney who advocates for crime victims and has an extensive record of volunteer service. She previously served as the statewide advocacy counsel for the Northwest Justice Project where she managed a network of legal aid attorneys and has worked on youth intervention programs and other violence reduction efforts. Taylor was elected chair of the state Black Members Caucus this year, where she advocates for racial equity for all Washingtonians.

In her first term, Taylor sponsored successful bills to restrict the open carry of guns in public places like school board meetings, establish the state's first statewide digital equity plan, and create a system to locate missing Indigenous people. She was the prime sponsor of legislation that will expand scholarships for community and technical college students. She also supported increasing housing options near transit to alleviate the state's housing crisis. If re-elected, Taylor wants to work on crime and violence prevention, affordable housing access, and health care.

Taylor has three Republican opponents this year. Casey Jones states that he is a Federal Way police commander with 23 years in law enforcement who, unsurprisingly, wants to increase prosecution. Unfortunately, law and order is the only campaign agenda point on his website. This doesn’t speak to an interest in the majority of work that a legislator needs to do to keep their communities healthy and whole, including protecting our water and air, supporting great education, addressing the housing crisis, and more.

Republican Janis Clark is a perennial candidate who has run for many offices over the years, including Tacoma City Council, legislative representative, and mayor of Tacoma. She was removed from the Pierce County Charter Commission in 2005 after a court record of a military court-martial conviction was discovered. Though she has a bare-bones agenda available on her site, noting that she will support military families and pour more money into policing, Clark's failed 2020 run for the 30th Legislative District showed that she would support a very conservative agenda if elected.

Finally, Iraq veteran Paul McDaniel characterizes poverty and people struggling in the community as "moral decay." He promises to combat this by pouring more community resources into law enforcement, rather than connecting people with the health, job, and housing resources they need to thrive.

The 30th District doesn't need more abrasive and divisive rhetoric. As we begin to recover from the pandemic, the district needs someone who can bring together communities and write legislation that works for everyone. Taylor has shown that she is a progressive and capable legislator, and she has earned your vote in the 30th Legislative District.

Rev. Dr. Carey Anderson is running for state Senate in the 30th Legislative District to leverage his long history of community building for the benefit of all the district's residents. Anderson has served on several community organizations, including Democrats for Diversity and Inclusion, Washington Equity Now Alliance, and King County Regional Homelessness Authority. His leadership role as pastor in the historically Black First African Methodist Episcopal Church offers a different perspective than most elected officials in Olympia.

Anderson is unique among many candidates this year in that a large part of his work has been direct-to-community service through his church. He describes the $31 million housing project, with nearly 200 units of affordable housing, free produce and grocery drives, and vaccination sites as some of the direct impacts he's contributed as a church leader. First A.M.E. owns several hundred units of affordable housing across at least 13 buildings as of 2019, and Anderson wants to see the state lead on more housing, including units with wraparound services for those with additional behavioral health needs. In contrast to his opponent Reeves, Anderson backed zoning changes that would allow for more types of homes to be built as well as potentially lifting the statewide ban on rent control.

On social and economic issues, Anderson wants to see more economic investment in communities of color. Specifically, he noted that he's working with the Washington State Cannabis Alliance of African Americans to expand Black cannabis businesses. He also supports efforts like the wealth tax, which would create more equity for middle- and lower-income Washingtonians by finally making the extraordinarily wealthy pay their share. On the environment, Anderson supports a cap on statewide greenhouse gas emissions among other measures and he recently reaffirmed his support for abortion.

Anderson is a good choice if you're looking for a candidate who is deeply rooted in and experienced in advocating for the community.