City of Federal Way

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. 

Incumbent Lydia Assefa-Dawson is running for re-election to Federal Way City Council, Position 1. Assefa-Dawson is a family self-sufficiency coordinator at King County Housing Authority and has also served as a financial educator at the YMCA for survivors of domestic violence. She was the first person of African descent to serve on the Federal Way City Council and has been a strong community leader in roles such as the co-chair of the Regional Law, Safety and Justice Committee and the vice president of the Ethiopian Community Center.

Assefa-Dawson does not have a working campaign website available as of mid-October, but she has spent her time on the council affirming the rights of LGBTQ+ residents for Pride Month, expanding housing options by making accessory dwelling units easier to build, and more. 

Conservative perennial candidate Mark Greene is running against Assefa-Dawson after multiple previous campaigns for lieutenant governor, state representative, county director of elections, and mayor. On X, formerly known as Twitter, he describes himself as a fan of far-right Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He has complained about Federal Way City Council's proclamations in support of the Black and LGBTQ communities, asking "is there some crisis or something I didn't hear about?" While Greene's website is not working as of mid-October, his public statements and past campaigns make it clear he is not a progressive choice. 

Assefa-Dawson is the best choice for Federal Way City Council, Position 1. 

Roger Flygare is running for Federal Way City Council, Position 6. He has run eight times for various offices since 2010 including fire commissioner, state senator, and state representative. Though he does not have detailed policy information available, he aims to work regionally on homelessness, advocate for more affordable housing, and more. 

He is running against incumbent deputy mayor Susan Honda. First elected in 2011, Honda has spent her time on the council focusing on criminalizing homelessness by banning pushing shopping carts on sidewalks, an idea Honda brought to the council that passed 5-2 and will cost taxpayers $250,00 annually. It does nothing to solve the underlying causes of homelessness and punishes the poor by subjecting them to a $50 fine. She tends to vote more on the moderate-conservative side of the council. 

We lean toward Flygare because of his endorsements from unions and local Democrats. 

King County program manager Katherine Festa is running for Position 5 on the Federal Way City Council. A dedicated community advocate, Festa is the founding member and chair of the Native American Leadership Council and chair of Federal Way's Human Services Commission FUSION transitional housing. She's also the president of Soroptimist International of Federal Way. If elected, she'd be the first Native American to serve on the council in the city's history.

Festa wants to leverage her many years of advocacy and deep knowledge of what community members need to thrive on the council. In her work as a housing coordinator, she has helped people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live successfully in their communities. She wants to see more regional solutions to the issue of homelessness, protect parks and green spaces, and find funding for more local projects through the state. Festa has received an impressive slate of endorsements, including from labor unions, elected officials, the Native American Caucus of the Washington State Democrats, and more. 

Festa is challenging incumbent Jack Walsh, a former newspaper reporter who currently owns a local ice cream business. Walsh's last campaign in 2021 emphasized a refusal to consider investing in community safety alternatives as well as spreading damaging misinformation about people experiencing homelessness. His current politics are no more progressive than before, with Facebook posts asking constituents to push back against a legislative bill on gender-affirming and reproductive health care for youths. He also voted to pass an ordinance to ticket people $50 for pushing shopping carts, a measure unlikely to actually challenge the root causes of homelessness in the community.

Festa is the clear choice in the race for Federal Way City Council, Position 5.

Denise Yun is a nurse running for Federal Way City Council, Position 7. Her three-part platform includes public safety, homelessness, and economic development. With her experience as a mental health nurse and an addiction nurse, Yun says the city can do more to promote medical treatment and getting people back into homes and reunited with their families. As someone who is formerly homeless, Yun also wants to see a multifaceted approach to the problem that takes into account whether people are suffering from untreated mental health issues, affordability, or more, and make sure they can get the help they need. 

Yun's endorsements by many Democratic elected officials and progressive organizations, including local Democratic organizations, point toward the hope that she can turn around the conservative votes taken by the incumbent. 

Her opponent is current council member Linda Kochmar, who has served for nearly 20 years on the Federal Way City Council. She is the current council president and has also been mayor, deputy mayor, and a former Republican state representative. Kochmar ran and lost a campaign for state senate in 2022 on an agenda of overturning police accountability laws that passed in recent years. If Kochmar is re-elected, there's no reason to believe that she would not continue to be a conservative force on the city council. She opposed hazard pay for essential grocery store workers in 2021 and would likely continue to oppose efforts to meet the needs of the most economically vulnerable in the community. 

Yun is the best choice for Federal Way City Council, Position 7. 

Dr. Jennifer Jones is running for another term serving Director District 2 on the Federal Way School Board. She is a professor at Highline College, where she has worked for 25 years. She has a long track record serving the community including as a social worker for public housing, as a member of an elementary school PTA, and as a guest lecturer for senior centers.

In Jones’ first term, she worked hard to make the school district a welcoming place where all students gain the skills they need in our modern world. Now, she is running with a focus on bringing the community together and delivering a high-quality education to Federal Way students. Jones has earned a strong slate of progressive endorsements from elected leaders, community organizations, and local unions.

Jones faces a challenge from Daniel Kukhar, who works as a manager at his own general contracting company. Kukhar is running on a typically Republican agenda that does not reflect the needs of local students and families. Compared with Jones, Kukhar's lack of experience in education shows in his failure to understand the nuances of the school district and the curriculum. 

Dr. Jennifer Jones has been a strong leader on the Federal Way School Board and deserves your vote for another term serving as Director, District 2. 

Educator and district parent Luckisha Phillips is running for re-election for Federal Way School Board, Director District 3 where she has been serving since 2018. Phillips is a faculty member at Highline College and has previously worked for nonprofits providing direct services to children, families, and community members. Phillips is also a very involved community leader on equity and inclusion in our schools, and has served on the OSPI Dyslexia Advisory Council, worked with the Hamlin Robinson School for Children with Language Learning Impacts, and joined the King County Youth Community Accountability Committee.

Phillips has worked tirelessly to ensure that all Federal Way students can access the education and support they need to thrive. Combining the perspectives of a parent and an educator herself, Phillips has a strong understanding of the various community needs at stake in school board decisions. If re-elected, she wants to continue making investments in mental health resources and special education programs. Her progressive and community-oriented platform has been endorsed by a number of elected leaders, unions, and community organizations.

The challenger in this race is Christopher Dowllar, who has submitted no information to the voters' pamphlet. He is associated with the far-right Moms for Liberty group and is endorsed by one of the most conservative organizations in school board politics. With no public platform but strong ties to far-right movements that want to impose their political agenda on our kids, it is clear that Dowllar would be a step backward for Federal Way students.

Luckisha Phillips is clearly the best choice in this race and deserves your vote for another term in Federal Way School Board, Director District 3.

Public school teacher and librarian Gavin Downing is running for Federal Way School Board, Director, District 5, the seat currently held by Hiroshi Eto, who is not seeking re-election. Downing has worked in public education for 17 years and is a union member. He has advocated against conservative censorship movements and received a 2022 award for fighting book bans. Downing also serves as vice-chair of the Washington Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Section.

Downing has an optimistic vision for the school district where every student can access the resources and education they need to thrive. One of his top campaign priorities in this race is to ensure that our school district is a safe, equitable place both to learn and to work. Downing believes that student success comes from having the best possible staff and faculty, which he wants to attract through competitive wages. If elected, he would also invest in libraries, including staffing and curriculum development, so that students are both prepared for the digital age and gain literacy in identifying misinformation. 

Joan Marie Murphy, a former special education teacher in the school district, is running against Downing. Murphy is running on a broad platform that includes specific curriculum ideas such as an emphasis on STEM, strategies to engage students, and changes to school board procedures like making meetings more accessible to the public. Unfortunately, she appears to oppose the inclusion of some LGBTQ+ stories in public libraries. We know our children are the safest and have the best opportunity to grow when their stories are represented in history curriculums and on library shelves.

Gavin Downing is the clear choice for Federal Way School Board, Director, District 5.