City of Mercer Island

Claudia Balducci is running unopposed for re-election to the King County Council from District 6. 

First elected in 2015, Balducci previously served as the mayor of Bellevue during her 12 years on the Bellevue City Council. She is also the founder and chair of the Regional Affordable Housing Committee and a board member of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. 

Balducci is running on a platform of affordable housing, updating transportation options, and ensuring climate justice. A few of the policies that she and the council worked on this term include putting a fully serviced shelter on the Eastside for people experiencing homelessness, improving and electrifying buses, and passing gun violence prevention policies. Balducci spearheaded a successful effort to create a Sound Transit "starter line" to connect Bellevue and Redmond while work continues on the East Link Extension to Seattle.

Balducci is one of the brightest and most effective progressive leaders in our region. She has earned your vote for re-election to the King County Council.  

Moderate Wendy Weiker is running unopposed for re-election to Mercer Island City Council, Position 3. She has served in a multitude of community leadership roles, including as a board member of EarthShare, an active member of three PTAs on the island, and as a liaison to the Sound Cities Association. If re-elected, she will maintain her focus on public safety, protecting the community from gun violence, investing in infrastructure, and ensuring Mercer Island remains a great place to live and raise a family.

Moderate Craig Reynolds is running for re-election to the Mercer Island City Council, Position 5. Reynolds works as an actuary and believes his financial planning skills translate well to his work on the Mercer Island City Council. 

During his last term, Reynolds was proud to support the city's first climate action plan and worked to protect Mercer Island's parks and open spaces. He is running once again to focus on the city’s financial challenges as well as transportation, growth, and land use. 

Reynolds faces a challenge from planning commissioner Michael D. Curry. He is also focused on maintaining local parks but places a greater emphasis on crime in his campaign materials. Curry has not earned broad community endorsements, though he is supported by the King County Republican Party. 

We believe Craig Reynolds deserves your vote once again for Mercer Island City Council, Position 5, based on endorsements from our progressive partners and trusted community leaders.
 

Andrew Friedman is challenging council member Jacobsen for Mercer Island City Council, Position 7. Friedman owns a local bar and is a parent to three children in the school district.

Friedman loves the quality of life on Mercer Island, including local businesses, community events, and parks and greenspaces. He has a optimistic vision of progress in Mercer Island to improve on what makes the city great. If elected, Friedman wants to invest in infrastructure and public space. He also believes that the city can create affordable housing to ensure residents of all income levels have a place on Mercer Island.

Moderate incumbent Jake Jacobsen is running for a second term on the council after first joining in 2020. Jacobsen is the director and executive vice president of Osborne Construction Company where he has worked for nearly three decades. In this race, he is emphasizing the need to make Mercer Island resilient. He also wants to enhance public utilities, create a sustainability plan, and restrict funding for public services while providing more funding for law enforcement equipment. Jacobsen is not a progressive choice.

We recommend Andrew Friedman for Mercer Island City Council, Position 7 to bring community leadership to the council.

We believe Cristina Martinez is the best choice for Mercer Island School District Director, Position 1 based on endorsements from our partners and trusted community leaders. Martinez is active in local schools through the PTA Council and the superintendent's advisory groups. She is running to ensure that every student has access to equitable and inclusive learning opportunities in Mercer Island schools.

Martinez faces Ananta Gudipaty, who has many years of experience working in tech at Microsoft and Amazon. He has not released a detailed campaign platform but is motivated to use technology to achieve "global educational transportation." He has been endorsed by the King County Republican Party and some other local conservatives.

While we have not been able to conduct our standard independent research on this race, we encourage you to visit their website, social media, or voters’ pamphlet statement to learn more. Based on her strong local support, we recommend Christina Martinez for Position 1.

We believe Jody Lee is the best choice for Mercer Island School Board Director, District 5 based on endorsements from our partners and trusted community leaders. She is a longtime volunteer with the local PTSA and serves on the board of the Mercer Island Youth & Family Services Foundation. Her opponent, Todd White, has not been as involved with our local schools and has received the endorsement of the King County Republican Party.

While we have not been able to conduct our standard independent research on this race, we encourage you to visit their website, social media, or voters’ pamphlet statement to learn more.