Washington

Due to an error by the Kitsap County Auditor's Office that resulted in almost 400 of the race's ballots going to the wrong voters, a county superior judge has deemed that the 2021 general election between Anna Mockler and Mike Simpson for Bremerton City Council District 6 must be re-voted.

Mockler is a former professor and wetland scientist who is running for Bremerton City Council, Position 6 to support sustainability. If elected, Mockler would focus on securing grants that help low-income families buy their first home. She also wants to build more bike lanes and safe sidewalks, as well as promote green manufacturing jobs.

Unique to Mockler's campaign is her focus on housing quality. As a former insulation contractor whose family works in construction, she wants to enforce a warranty of habitability to ensure that residents have structurally safe housing. She supports union workers and believes that the city should prioritize union contracts to promote living wages and fair working conditions.

Her opponent, incumbent Mike Simpson, is one of the more conservative members of the council. In February 2021 when Simpson had been working in Japan for an extended period of time, the city council voted to remove Simpson from the District 6 seat because he had spent more than 30 continuous days outside of the city. They immediately voted to re-appoint him, but as a result, Simpson must now run for the seat again. While on the council, Simpson voted against making it easier for people to have small rentals on their properties, which could help alleviate the affordable housing crunch. He also pushed back on the need for a race equity committee, which was established after the national conversation on racial justice to better address the concerns of Bremerton residents. Simpson is backed by the local county Republicans.

Mockler was widely endorsed by progressive state legislators and local Democratic organizations in her 2021 run and is the better choice in this race.