City of Walla Walla

Small business consultant Amy Schwab is running for Port of Walla Walla in District 2. She previously worked at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory before retiring in Walla Walla. She is active in the community, serving on the board of the Washington Economic Development Finance Authority and co-founding the Grandmother's Roundtable.

Schwab is running to raise wages for local port workers and place more emphasis on engaging small local businesses, not just the large out-of-state businesses that are typically the focus of the port. She also wants to push the port to become a leader in clean energy to create the next generation of jobs and businesses in Walla Walla County. This includes preparing the regional airport to accommodate electric aircraft, which are already being tested locally.

Schwab is running against Mary Wollmuth, who co-founded the Three Rivers Winery. Wollmuth is focused on implementing the Port's economic plan and wants to work on housing affordability. However, she provides few other details on her campaign website. Notably, either candidate would be the first woman to serve as a Walla Walla Port Commissioner since its founding in 1953.

Schwab's experience in business and clean energy and her forward-looking vision for the Port of Walla Walla make her the best choice in this race.

Monte Willis is running unopposed for Walla Walla City Council, Position 4. Willis is a personal injury lawyer who was motivated to defend injured walkers and bikers after being struck by a car while cycling. He holds a law degree from Cornell Law School, and is a member of the Washington Association for Justice. Although Willis has no elected political experience, he has served on the boards of the Walla Walla Downtown Foundation, Little Theatre of Walla Walla, and Goodwill.

Willis' top priority is to diversify the jobs in the city. Although he appreciates the tourism in local vineyards, he has seen how the industry has caused our neighborhoods to become more gentrified and unaffordable. He would address issues with homelessness and urban sprawl by building much-needed dense, affordable homes like accessory dwelling units.

When asked how he would reach out to the Latino community, Willis said he would prioritize making communication multilingual and accessible remotely. He also wants to host more in-person outreach events.

If elected, Willis will bring a more moderate voice to the Walla Walla City Council.

Jeff Robinson is vying for Walla Walla City Council, Position 5 to represent the West Ward. Robinson works as a case manager with Aging and Long Term Care. He is an active community advocate who has organized for LGBTQ+ rights, affordable housing, and living wages. Currently, Robinson serves on the city’s planning commission.

Robinson is running to make Walla Walla a safe and healthy place to live, work, start businesses, go to school, and raise families. He lists a lack of medical infrastructure and affordable housing as the city’s biggest challenges. Robinson also wants to work on equity issues in the city, proposing that Walla Walla establish an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission and include Spanish language interpretation for all city council meetings.

In this race, Robinson is challenging conservative incumbent Susan Smiley Nakonieczny, a language arts teacher, who is seeking a second term on the council. Nakonieczny has been regressive in office, including opposing some housing affordability efforts. 

Walla Walla deserves a leader who places community needs first. Jeff Robinson is the best candidate in this race.
 

As of late October, 12-year incumbent Tom Scribner is running unopposed for this position. The Union-Bulletin reports that his opponent Troy Head has dropped out of the race, though Head's name will still appear on the ballot. 

Scribner is a moderate who has served in several leadership positions, including on the board of the Chamber of Commerce and the board of the Public Library. His extensive experience on the council and in civic life continues to benefit the people of Walla Walla. 

Scribner is the better choice for Walla Walla City Council, Position 6. 
 

Ruth Ladderud is a 10 year incumbent on the Walla Walla School Board who is running to retain her seat in Position 3. Ladderud has lived most of her life in Walla Walla, and currently works as an administrative assistant at Whitman College.

Ladderud served as the school board president in 2022, the same year that Walla Walla was awarded the Washington State Board of the Year. Under her leadership, the school board successfully funded improvements to school facilities, and used pandemic relief funding to increase opportunities for students facing more barriers to education. Although the pandemic challenged classrooms across the state, Walla Walla students ended up with even stronger English and math skills thanks to the response of the board.

Walla Walla Public Schools also successfully quashed challenges by right-wing groups like Moms for Liberty, who tried to ban books that center LGBTQ+ and Black experiences. Thanks to the board's rejection of these attempts, historic and representative books will be safe from challenges for the next three years.

Ladderud's opponent is Chris Leyendecker, whose official candidate statement says he has worked in various juvenile detention centers, in adult probation, and as courthouse security. He has no other campaign information available as of late October and has declined to answer local interview questions about his candidacy.

Ladderud is by far the best choice in this race.
 

Alayna Marie Brinton is running for Walla Walla School Board, Position 4, after incumbent Eric Rindal lost in the primary election. She is the chair of the board of the Blue Mountain Health Cooperative and serves on the Walla Walla Community Health Advisory Board.

Brinton is running to improve local schools by implementing innovative teaching methods and ensuring every student has the opportunity to thrive. If elected, she would work to improve transparency between the board, parents, and students and she would prioritize improving access to mental health care.

Brinton is running against conservative Dr. Zana Carver, who does not have a website or campaign platform publicly available as of mid-October. Carver also ran in 2021 and lost to the current board vice president, Kathy Mulkerin. While she is thin on details, Carver's goals are aligned with groups that want to take away a historically accurate curriculum and ban books from school libraries.

Brinton's record of serving the community and strong endorsements make her the clear choice for Position 4 on the Walla Walla School Board. 

Derek Sarley is running for a third term on the Walla Walla School Board, Position 5. He is also the vice president of the Washington State School Directors Association and volunteers with the Blue Mountain Girls Softball Association.

Sarley worked collaboratively to help navigate the district through the turbulent times of the pandemic. He's proud of his record of using federal recovery funding to expand after-school learning and provide students with more mental health support to improve academic recovery. He also supported the freedom of parents and students to choose what to read after a small effort in 2022 to ban certain books from the school library. He's running for re-election to improve community connections and establish new five-year goals for the district.

Sarley is running a non-political campaign against far-right conservative Kirk Jameson. He was previously an instructor and more recently worked as a district administrator. In 2018, Jameson resigned as principal of College Place High School after he was the subject of a host of complaints. The Union-Bulletin reported that a "packed room of people spent more than two hours detailing their issues with [Jameson], ranging from free-speech violations to unequal treatment for Latino students to policies weighted against Latino and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students."] In addition, a school survey found that two-thirds of his staff felt unsafe at work, and some said he asked them about their religion or place of worship.

More recently, Jameson has shared conspiracy theories about overturning the will of the voters in the 2020 election and the pandemic. His public statements make it clear he is unfit to play a leadership role in the Walla Walla School District.

Sarley's experience and non-political agenda make him the clear choice for Walla Walla School Board, Position 5.