City of Fife

Democrat Jamie Smith is challenging incumbent Paul Herrera for the Pierce County Council, District 2 seat. Smith has spent nearly two decades teaching high school at local public schools, and she works as a youth sports coach. Additionally, she serves as an elected executive board member with the Puyallup Education Association.

Smith has a progressive vision for a vibrant county with a strong community, a healthy economy, and a unique character. She wants to build bridges between law enforcement and mental health care professionals to create collaborative community safety. If elected, Smith would also build affordable housing so that people of all income levels can find a home, as well as invest in our school district to develop successful future generations and protect our local ecosystem. She has earned impressive support in this race, including from local city and county council members.

Republican incumbent Paul Herrera is running for another term on the county council. Herrera is an army veteran and served as a police sergeant for the Puyallup Tribe for more than two decades. In this campaign, he wants to bring his military and law enforcement expertise to the council. However, he places less emphasis on the things that we know keep our communities safe: affordable housing, health care, and good wages.

We recommend Jamie Smith in this race to bring community-focused progress to Pierce County Council in District 2.
 

Jeanette Twitty is the founder and partner of Homeward Bound, a program that provides life skills training for those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. She is also a member of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, and a board member of the Washington League of Minority Voters, among other roles. 

Though Twitty has much experience in community service and leadership, her vision for the port is somewhat lacking. She states that she's running to bring good jobs and prevent pollution, bring more equity and diversity to the port, and sustainably invest, but her campaign website lacks detail about what policies in particular she advocates for or would do to change things. Her campaign materials, similarly, say that she will maintain and enhance partnerships that are critical to the port's success and address the port's impact on local communities, though again no specifics are provided. She has been endorsed by Pierce County Democratic Central Committee but has not earned as much support as her opponent in this race.  

Attorney Kristin Ang is running for re-election for Port of Tacoma Commissioner, Position 5 to continue building a sustainable vision for industry at the port. She seeks to protect community health and the environment by reducing noise and air pollution, improving water quality, and increasing shore power technology. Ang opposes the port's property tax and supports pressing businesses to clean up their share of pollution, developing a comprehensive public engagement plan, and working with tribes, businesses, and local government to create shared agendas for the port.

Ang is running against Dave Bryant, a Navy veteran. Voters may find this matchup familiar - Bryant and Ang also ran against each other in 2019, with Ang winning by about 3 percent. This year, Bryant's campaign is similar to his last run. He wants to optimize the loading and offloading of goods with surface transportation, update the port's infrastructure, and use his knowledge of operating deep draft ships to make the port more competitive. However, he still lacks Ang's knowledge and experience when it comes to environmental conservation and creating clean energy jobs.

Ang has worked hard as a member of the port’s tribal liaison committee, diversity, equity, and inclusion committee, and as a board member of the Central Puget Sound Economic Development District and the Washington Council on International Trade. She has earned your vote for Port of Tacoma Commission, Position 5.
 

Community organizer Bryan Yambe is running to retain his seat on the Fife City Council, Position 1. Yambe is a lifelong volunteer and movement-builder. He has worked with the Pierce County Young Democrats, 25th Legislative District Democrats, and the Washington State Labor Council, as well as multiple other boards and progressive organizations. When he was elected in 2013, he became only the second Japanese-American person and one of the youngest people to ever serve on the Fife City Council.

Yambe is running to improve public safety and accountability measures, increase funding for transportation, reduce homelessness, and make living in Fife more affordable for youth, seniors, and working people. During his time on council, he has helped connect residents experiencing homelessness to housing and services, secured more than $100 million for transportation projects, and provided utility payment relief and living wage career options to young people in the city.

Yambe faces a challenge from Barry D. Johnson, who previously served on the Fife Planning Commission and Parks Board. He is running to improve transparency and collaboration on the council, but his campaign platform is otherwise thin on details. 

Yambe is endorsed by many progressive groups like Planned Parenthood, the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, and many local unions. Because of his dedication to inclusion and creating opportunities for the young people in our community, Yambe is the best choice for Fife City Council, Position 1.