City of Lakewood

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.
 

Janet Caldwell is running for Clover Park School Board, Director, District 5. The seat is currently held by Paul Wagemann, who is facing evidence-based allegations that he both sexually harrassed a school employee and also made racist remarks at a school board meeting. Caldwell has been a public school educator in the Bethel School District for the past 29 years and currently serves as the Bethel Education Association president. She can relate to many district families as a longtime Lakewood resident, military spouse, and parent of district students.

Caldwell is running on an inclusive platform to improve education opportunities and resources for all Clover Park students. Her top priorities include ensuring that students are safe at school and attracting quality educators to Clover Park schools. She also wants to ensure public education is accessible to students of all learning needs. Caldwell has earned an impressive slate of endorsements from community leaders and local educators. 

Caldwell’s opponent in this race is Noa Bunting, who is aligned with the far-right group Moms for Liberty. Bunting is a 24-year-old conservative whose campaign platform promotes the agenda of right-wing groups that want to ban books from school libraries, eliminate comprehensive sex education, and change school curriculums to match their political agenda. Our students deserve a quality education free from the politicization of a small group of far-right activists and candidates like Noa Bunting. 

Janet Caldwell's decades of experience as an educator and strong community support make her the clear choice for Clover Park School Board, Director, District 5.