City of Kenmore

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. 

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. 

Melanie O'Cain is running for re-election for Kenmore City Council, Position 1. O'Cain was first elected to the council in 2020 and was appointed deputy mayor in January 2022. She serves on the King County SeaShore Transportation Forum and the Water Resource Inventory Area #8 Salmon Recovery Council. Outside of public service, O’Cain works in accounting and records management for the Port of Seattle, where she has been for more than 20 years.

In office, O’Cain has been a strong leader on environmental protections and clean air, affordable housing, and emergency crisis response. She's proud of her work helping implement Kenmore's Climate Action Plan and for testing the asphalt plant over air quality concerns. Now, she is running to continue bringing a progressive, community-oriented response to the city’s challenges with transportation, housing, and the environment. In particular, she wants to work with voters to purchase the Lakepointe Property and turn it into an environmental innovation hub for the region with green space and mixed-use sustainable development. 

The other candidate in this race is Kara Macias, a project manager for a construction company. Macias is running on a more right-wing platform in this race with a focus on business and little mention of the most pressing issues that Kenmore residents face. She wants to protect local ecosystems but only in the service of commerce, development, and tourism.

Melanie O’Cain deserves another term on Kenmore City Council, Position 1 because of her unwavering track record and staunch, progressive endorsements. She is the clear choice in this race. 

Valerie Sasson is running for Kenmore City Council, Position 3. The seat is currently held by Angela Kugler, who is not seeking re-election. Sasson is a retired midwife who previously co-owned her own birth center serving Washington families and taught at Bastyr University. Additionally, Sasson was the director of the Midwives Association of Washington State board.

Sasson is running on a progressive platform to make Kenmore a thriving place for all. She lists affordable housing, efficient public transit, and a walkable town center as some of her top issues. If elected, Sasson wants to steward responsible growth that prioritizes equity and climate mitigation. In this race, Sasson has been endorsed by the outgoing Councilmember Kugler herself, as well as county and local Democrats, community leaders, and progressive organizations.

Sasson is facing Josh Kurcinka, a marketing and brand management professional. He has worked for a variety of large companies such as Amazon, Kellogg's, and Noom. Kurcinka is running on a vague platform to bring positive change to Kenmore through downtown growth and affordability. He also wants to engage the voice of residents but he lacks a background in community or elected leadership.

We recommend Valerie Sasson for Kenmore City Council, Position 3 because of her strong community support and progressive vision for the city.

Technology analyst Jon Culver is running for Kenmore City Council, Position 5. Culver is a small business owner, five-term Democratic precinct committee officer, former legislative PTA co-chair, and UFCW Local 400 union member. 

He has organized several local projects, including Pride art at city hall and a local fire proposition, earning him the endorsement of the local firefighters. He now wants to bring that energy to the city council with a focus on truly affordable housing, climate action, and more. He wants the council to carefully track emissions to meet goals, ensure safety for marginalized community members, and continue to empower residents to engage with city government. 

Culver is challenging local business owner David Baker, who is running for re-election to Position 5. He has been a council member since 2003 and has also served as mayor during that time. Baker also sits on numerous local and regional committees, including serving on the board of Sound Transit and as caucus chair for the King County Regional Transportation Committee.

Baker has had his share of controversies this term on the council. He was one of two council members who voted against tenant protections last year in a 5-2 vote. This legislation limited late fees to 1.5 percent of one month's rent and required landlords to provide between 120 and 180 days notice of rent hikes, dependent on the cost. He also made heated comments in a discussion of the purchase of a warehouse for a public works facility that was later determined to have significant community and cultural value. Baker stated, “I think it’s absolutely disgusting that the community has stooped to levels like this" during resident testimony about the importance of the site to them. He later apologized after his fellow council members and residents said his comments were irresponsible and devaluing, and even potentially worthy of a recall vote against him.

Culver has picked up a large number of endorsements, including from unions, environmental groups, local Democratic leaders, and more. He is the more progressive choice in this race. 

Electrical engineer Han Tran is running for Northshore School Board, Director District 3 to replace David Cogan, who is not seeking re-election. Tran is an active community advocate, previously running for Bothell City Council in 2021 on a strong progressive platform. In addition, she participated in the school district’s Ethnic Studies Work Team and served as a Washington Human Rights Commissioner.

As an immigrant and a working mother of Northshore district students, Tran wants to champion equity and inclusion, empower educators, and bring a holistic and progressive approach to addressing the district’s needs. She would work to close opportunity gaps by implementing targeted academic support, culturally responsive teaching, and accountability metrics. Tran also believes in empowering staff with high quality professional development and data-informed decisionmaking. The rest of her campaign priorities are equally detailed and community-centric, reflecting her deep knowledge of the issues and the district. In this race, Tran has received an impressive list of progressive endorsements from unions, Democratic organizations, and elected officials.

Myriam Juritz, a substitute teacher with a Doctorate in Engineering in the Northshore School District, is running against Tran for the District 3 director seat. Juritz serves on the board of the Northshore Schools Foundation, and has also served with the Natural Leaders program, NSD Parent Advisory for Student Success, and more. She is a Spanish-speaking immigrant and credits her upbringing in political unrest as motivating her to run for local government to ensure that community needs are met. Juritz has also volunteered in the district extensively to help improve the Dual Language program, English Language Arts, and the Wellness and Safety Task Force. Her campaign platform emphasizes improving academic excellence and student health, both mental and physical. She states that fact-based education, resilience, and long-term fiscal responsibility is core to improving schools and education. However, her available platform is not as detailed as Tran’s, nor has she earned as many community endorsements.

Tran is the clear choice in this race and deserves your vote for Northshore School Board Director, District 3. 

We believe Amber Wise is the best choice in this race based on her impressive endorsements from our progressive partners and trusted community leaders. Wise previously worked at Harborview Medical Center as a preschool teacher for patients' families. She is running to support frontline workers and to build stronger connections between staff, patients, and hospital leadership. She is committed to improving staffing levels to ensure patients continue to receive top-quality care. 

Wise is challenging longtime board member Jeff Cashman, who previously ran a retirement plan administration and recordkeeping firm. 

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 sweeping endorsements in this race, we recommend Amber Wise for Public Hospital District 2, Position 6.