City of Tukwila

King County Assessor John Wilson is running unopposed for re-election. He worked as the chief deputy assessor for four years before being elected by the public to lead the office in 2015. Wilson has also worked in the county’s Department of Information Technology and in public affairs consulting. 

In office, Wilson has focused on housing affordability, making sure our tax code is balanced, and improving the efficiency of assessor services. One of his top priorities has been to ensure that property taxes don’t push our senior neighbors out of their homes. Wilson also revamped the office’s web services and instituted the Taxpayer Transparency Tool so county residents can easily calculate how policy changes impact their upcoming taxes. In this race, Wilson’s platform emphasizes similar values of accessibility, innovation, and efficiency in the office while working on community issues like housing and immigration.

With his years of experience and strong community focus, John Wilson deserves your vote to serve another term as King County Auditor. 

Incumbent Julie Wise is running for her third term serving as King County Director of Elections. Wise has worked in elections since 2000 and as the county’s director since 2015. During her two terms, she has brought innovative community services to the offices that have advanced civic education and voter participation.

Wise has led progress in the county elections office, instituting the Voter Education Fund (a public-philanthropic partnership), providing prepaid postage on ballots, introducing new language options, and adding 65 new ballot drop-off locations. Her past term included successfully navigating the storm of election misinformation and conspiracy theories about the democratic process. Wise has won numerous awards for her leadership in the office.

Wise’s campaign reflects her continued commitment to reducing barriers to voting, protecting elections from infringement, building community trust in the accuracy of election results, and making sure every vote is counted. Her biggest priorities for a third term are continuing progressive efforts to increase accessibility while investing in security to protect voters and elections offices from intimidation.

Republican Doug Basler is challenging Wise in this race. Basler runs a digital video and marketing services company, and he has previously run for office. His campaign platform dangerously promotes far-right fictions of election fraud that fueled the 2020 criminal conspiracy to overthrow the will of the people. Basler has also previously questioned the integrity of county elections, and even participated in lawsuits aimed at overturning the function of our democratic institutions. 

King County voters deserve an elections director who is focused on delivering quality and accurate services rather than someone who wants to overturn our votes and stoke chaos in order to elevate their position and that of their party. Julie Wise deserves re-election for another term as King County Director of Elections to continue bringing strong leadership to the office. 

Attorney and nonprofit founder Girmay Zahilay is running unopposed for re-election for King County Council, District 2. 

In his first four-year term, Zahilay has been a standout progressive on the council, focusing on equitable development, preventing gun violence, and fighting for justice at the county level. He has pushed for more funding and opportunities for Skyway, an unincorporated part of the county with the highest proportion of Black people of any community in the state that also faces immense disinvestment, childhood poverty, and a low median income. Zahilay has worked to increase funding for Metro transit, open a tiny home village, fund $5 million in affordable housing, and $10 million in seed funding for a community center. Finally, he played a lead role in amending the county charter to appoint the sheriff, as well as giving more investigational power to the county on cases of police brutality. 

Zahilay has earned your vote for King County Council.  

Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda is running for King County Council, District 8. Mosqueda was first elected to the Seattle City Council in 2017 and has proved a consistent and progressive policymaker. She previously worked at the Washington State Department of Health, Children’s Alliance, Community Health Plan of Washington, and the Washington State Labor Council, with a focus on workers' rights and childrens' healthcare. Among other community roles, she also served on the board of Fuse Washington, which publishes this guide. Mosqueda is a proud third-generation Mexican-American who would become the first Latina ever to serve on the King County Council if elected.

Mosqueda has distinguished herself as a progressive leader on the Seattle City Council. She championed the Jumpstart Seattle legislation, which funds affordable housing, childcare, and climate resilience through a tax on high earners and wealthy corporations. Mosqueda also helped secure paid sick leave and fair wage protections for working people that are often exploited by their employers - like gig drivers, domestic workers, and hotel workers. Her current goal is passing the 2023 Housing Levy, which will be on the ballot for Seattle voters this November and would provide funding for crucial affordable housing, childcare services, and communal and cultural spaces that are disappearing from the city.

If elected to the county council, Mosqueda hopes to use her experience to address new and pressing issues in the county. Some of her priorities include finding locations for the six new county behavioral health centers, building workforce housing outside of Seattle, increasing apprenticeship programs, and more. 

Mosqueda is the clear choice for King County Council from District 8. 
 

Sam Cho is running unopposed for re-election for Seattle Port Commissioner, Position 2. Before his election in 2019, he served on Gov. Jay Inslee’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs and previously worked on trade issues for a member of Congress. Aside from his work on the commission, Cho also serves on the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Council on International Trade.

Cho has been a standout on the commission in his first term. When Cho became commission president in 2022, he was the first Asian American to serve in the role in port history. As the son of South Korean immigrants and a fluent Korean speaker, Cho has led several international trade efforts with Korea, including creating a green trade corridor with the Port of Busan and working with Hyundai and KIA to make the Port of Seattle the exclusive importer of their cars.

Cho deserves your vote for Position 2 on the Seattle Port Commission. 

Incumbent Fred Felleman is an environmental consultant and marine biologist. He is running for re-election to the Seattle Port Commission, Position 5, as the senior member of the commission, having served since 2016. With his science background, Felleman has pledged to continue supporting environmentally friendly reforms at the port.

As commissioner, Felleman has focused on fighting climate change and increasing the port's green energy jobs. He has been a leader on the commission when it comes to protecting orcas, publicly opposing the dangerous Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline, and advocating for well-paying jobs. Elected commission president in 2021, he has recently supported more efficient and greener policies at the port to reduce pollution, including adding solar panels to the Fishermen's Terminal's net shed and powering new docks so ships don't have to idle and burn additional fuel. Felleman often supports social causes as well, including condemning Trump's Muslim ban and government agencies’ response at the airport, as well as welcoming Ukrainian refugees, with Washington hosting 16,000 refugees, the third most among U.S. states.

Challenging Felleman is Jesse Tam, the managing director for Mega Pacific Investments, a strategic development consulting firm. He is a former parks commissioner for the city of Newcastle, as well as past president and current board director for the Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce, among other roles. 

Tam states that he's running to use his business experience to source well-paying union jobs, negotiate business deals, and lead on climate change. While we agree with Tam's listed priorities, Felleman has been an excellent environmental advocate and scientific mind on the board, and we don't see a strong case for how Tam would bring progressive change to the port. 

Felleman has earned your vote for re-election to the Port of Seattle, Position #5. 

Kate Kruller, a current Tukwila City Council member, is running to be the city’s next mayor. Kruller was first elected to the city council in 2011 and also serves on a number of community boards, including chairing the Transportation and Infrastructure Services Federal Advocacy Committee. Outside of public service, she has spent more than three decades in IT and communications (primarily for municipal government offices), and she currently works for the county as a senior IT project manager. 

Kruller is running on a community-focused platform focused on affordable housing, safety services, public transportation, and responsible budgeting. She recognizes that Tukwila has seen major changes in the past few years and she wants to continue working on solutions to the rising cost of living, gentrification and rapid development, and the displacement of local, small businesses. In this race, Kruller has been endorsed by an impressive list of progressive elected officials, labor groups, and nonprofit organizations.

Fellow city council member Thomas McLeod is running against Kruller for Mayor of Tukwila. McLeod is a tax accountant who first joined Tukwila’s city council in January 2016. He previously served on the city’s planning commission for five years. If elected mayor, he wants to build on some police accountability measures and secure upgrades for roadways and sidewalks. He also wants to create more affordable housing and steer Tukwila’s growth in a responsible way.

We recommend Kate Kruller for Tukwila mayor due to her strong track record of city leadership and numerous key endorsements in this race.
 

Armen Papyan is running unopposed for Tukwila City Council, Position 2. Papyan is a lifelong community leader and advocate. He has been involved in student leadership at his local Tukwila high school to leading University of Washington’s student government where he championed higher financial aid and a campaign to secure 52 affordable housing units to address homelessness in the school community. Papyan credits his commitment to structural change and advocating for the most marginalized members of our community with his experience as a child watching his father be separated from their family and deported.

If elected, he wants to work on environmental protections, budget sustainability, community safety, and the housing crisis. He has earned strong endorsements in this race from a number of unions, progressive organizations, and elected leaders.

We recommend Armen Papyan for another term on the Tukwila City Council in Position 2.