23rd 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.

Rebecca Parson is a progressive activist, small business owner, and former instructor at Johns Hopkins University running for Washington's 6th Congressional District. Parson also challenged Rep. Kilmer in 2020 and came in third in the primary, earning 13.5 percent of the vote. She got her start in activism as a housing organizer and has been a leader with the Tacoma & Pierce County Democratic Socialists of America and Tacoma Indivisible.

Parson is running on an extremely progressive platform that includes a Green New Deal with 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, protecting and expanding Social Security, national rent control, and Medicare for All. Possibly the boldest part of her ambitious platform is her plan to repurpose vacant homes to house people experiencing homelessness. During our interview, she said she wants the federal government to purchase many of the 11 million vacant homes. For those who don't wish to sell, she wants to make it "financially onerous to have an empty home."

When asked about how she plans to make change in our often-gridlocked Congress, Parson pointed to Rep. Cori Bush as an example of someone who is both writing legislation and making change through direct action. If elected, she would organize more direct action and use her platform to draw attention and build support for progressive issues over time.

While we struggle to see a path forward for some of her more bold ideas, she does offer an alternative to voters who are looking for a much more progressive and outspoken alternative to Kilmer.

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.

Rep. Tarra Simmons is running for re-election to the 23rd Legislative District. Simmons is the founding director of Civil Survival, a nonprofit organization that helps formerly incarcerated people reintegrate and become advocates for their community. She also made history when she became the first formerly-incarcerated person to graduate law school and be admitted to the Washington State Bar Association.

Simmons' 2020 campaign focused on criminal justice and legal reform, as well as fighting for more robust support for working people. In just her first two years in office, she has delivered in a big way. Her first piece of legislation in 2021 was automatic voter registration for formerly incarcerated people. In the 2022 session, Simmons sponsored legislation limiting ghost guns, supported creating a system to find missing Indigenous people, voted to make the wealthy pay their share into our communities, and supported housing near transportation. If re-elected, she wants to continue building off her success in expanding access to free and reduced-cost health care, restoring civil rights, and funding education.

Simmons has been a strong advocate for restoring civil rights, health care access, and the district's youth. She is the clear choice for the 23rd District.

Rep. Drew Hansen is running for re-election to House Position 2, where he has represented the 23rd Legislative District since 2011. As a trial lawyer and former law professor, Hansen's focus on education and civil rights has greatly improved the lives of residents in his district for the past decade.

Hansen helped expand the Olympic College engineering program for shipyard workers and sponsored legislation to protect marine jobs. Hansen has also supported fully funding the State Need Grant for low-income college students, as well as providing free and reduced college tuition for families earning less than $50,000 a year. Finally, one of Hansen's hallmark accomplishments in Olympia was passing a major gun safety law to prevent illegal gun purchases.

Challenging Hansen from the right is Paige Jarquin. She ran for Central Kitsap School Director in 2021, though she submitted no bio to the official voters' guide and lost in the primary. As of mid-July 2022, her campaign platform for state House is very thin. Like many other Republicans this year, Jarquin's priorities don't mesh with the fact that many in the community are struggling to make rent and put food on the table. She takes a vague stance on education, saying that what's taught in the classroom "isn't good" without offering any concrete policies or vision of her own.

Hansen has been a reliable progressive vote in the House who has led on several important issues for the district and the state. Vote for Drew Hansen in the 23rd Legislative District.

Paul Andrews is the current Kitsap County auditor running for a second term in office. Andrews worked as a data analyst for more than two decades before joining the auditor’s office. Additionally, he has served on a number of community boards and is a current member of the Washington State Association of County Auditors board.

Andrews is running to continue bringing transparent and reliable leadership to the auditor’s office. He is proud of how the office managed elections safely through the pandemic and has since both opened a new voting center and also added a handful of secure ballot drop boxes to increase voter turnout. If re-elected, he wants to keep building accessibility, equity, and security in the auditor’s office to strengthen democratic systems in our communities and deliver high-quality financial and licensing services to the county.

Also in this race is Republican Mike Simpson, an Army veteran and former Bremerton City Council member. Simpson has stoked some conspiracy theories about a ballot error that caused a special election for his council seat last February. Now, he is running without a campaign website on a platform that is full of blame and conservative rhetoric but lacks real suggestions for how the auditor’s office can best serve the county.

Paul Andrews deserves your vote to be re-elected as Kitsap County auditor.