City of Issaquah

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 Zach Hall is running for another term in Position 2 on the Issaquah City Council. Hall made history as one of the youngest people to ever serve on Issaquah's city council when he was elected at the age of 25. Despite his relative youth, Hall has an extensive resume as a campaign manager and legislative assistant for our state representatives. 

His state level work has not distracted him from his dedication to his hometown, however. Hall has knocked on more than 10,000 doors in Issaquah while canvassing, keeping a notebook of community members' stories to guide his work. He represents Issaquah on the Cascade Water Alliance, a group of municipalities focused on preserving clean water supply on the eastside.

Hall has supported building 150 units of affordable rental homes near transit, introducing a community court program to connect people to resources instead of punishing them, and developing plans to protect the climate and improve transit options. Hall is running for re-election to continue his work to make Issaquah a place where everyone can get where they need to go, live in a home they can afford, and have clean water to drink.

Landon Halverson, a conservative Catholic school teacher, is challenging Hall for Position 2. Halverson is the vice-chair of the King County Republican Party. Predictably, his posts on social media echo Republican fear-mongering about crime. In contrast to the incumbent Hall, who helped provide relief to small businesses and set up vaccine clinics during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Halverson loudly opposed the science-based public health guidelines 

Zach Hall is the clear choice for Issaquah City Council, Position 2.
 

Lindsey Walsh, a small business owner and the current Issaquah City Council president, is running to retain her seat. She is running on a progressive platform that prioritizes transportation, safety, and affordable living for all Issaquah families.

Walsh has an impressive track record in all of these areas. She has implemented traffic calming measures to create safer streets for people walking and rolling, contributed to Issaquah's master plan for increasing mobility, and funded planning for public transit, including the long-awaited light rail expansion. Her approach to public safety doesn't only focus on funding police, but also addresses the root causes of crime. She supported creating community courts and expanding the human services department from one to six staff members, including two behavioral health coordinators. She also wants to make home costs more affordable for Issaquah residents by expanding affordable housing, creating more housing for middle-income folks, and continuing to fund rental assistance.

Walsh is a mother of two children who attend Issaquah public schools. She recently voted in favor of rezoning city-owned land in Providence Heights to allow the construction of several new public schools. During the hotly debated decision-making process, Walsh was able to balance residents' calls for transparency with the real need for Issaquah kids to have uncrowded classrooms to learn in.

Mike Palm is challenging incumbent Lindsey Walsh, but has not published any campaign information nor raised any funds as of mid-October. His personal Facebook page is full of conservative articles that deny climate change and blame progressive policies like the clean fuel standard and police accountability measures for working peoples' struggles caused by corporate greed and union-busting.

Lindsey Walsh deserves your vote for re-election to Issaquah City Council, Position 4.
 

Victoria Hunt is running for re-election to Issaquah City Council, Position 6. She is a data scientist at Breakthrough Energy, where she leads research efforts on renewable energy and does climate analyses to help cities meet their climate plans. She was elected to the council in 2019 and holds a Ph.D. in ecology.

In office, Hunt has been a champion for environmental protection. During her two years as council president, she helped pass the city's climate action plan. She also advocated for the acquisition and preservation of the 46-acre Bergsma property, which was one of the few remaining unprotected areas in the Issaquah Alps. Hunt has been involved in advocating for ambitious climate action at the state level as well, supporting a bill to make the largest energy supplier in Washington transition to clean energy.

Hunt also has a good track record when it comes to affordable housing. She was the only council member to support all the recommendations from the Regional Coalition on Housing (ARCH) that would combat landlords' continued raising of rents in Issaquah. If re-elected, Hunt states that she would like to study and expand housing options so that people with lower or moderate incomes can find and keep their homes.

Her opponent is Sam Sheehan, a conservative welder and business owner. Sheehan does not have a campaign website nor has he raised any funds as of mid-October, but his voter's guide statement bemoans "individual liberties" being sidelined for the "greater good." His proposals would result in cuts to funding for roads, parks, and other services that benefit working people. 

Hunt clearly stands out in this race with her knowledge of environmental stewardship and sustainable development in Issaquah. Vote for Victoria Hunt for Issaquah City Council, Position 6.
 

AJ Taylor is a former attorney and longtime Microsoft employer making his first run for office. He has been active in the community by volunteering with the Issaquah Rotary and serving on the 2021 Issaquah school levy committee and the mayor's economic vitality commission. 

Taylor is running to bring his strategic planning and budgeting experience to the Issaquah School Board from District 1. After the district faced difficult budget cuts last year, he wants to push the board to prioritize spending better to ensure that areas like special education and mental health care are adequately funded. If elected, he pledges to improve transparency, listen to the community, and communicate better with the public. 

Taylor is running unopposed and has earned your vote for Issaquah School Board. 
 

Matt Coyne is running for Issaquah School Board from District 5. He served on the Issaquah Schools Foundation Board for six years, including two years as Board President, as well as on the board of the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank.

Coyne comes from a long line of teachers in his family and is dedicated to recruiting and retaining the best educations for Issaquah. The high cost of living in Issaquah means the district must work harder to allow teachers to live in the community they serve. Another priority for Coyne is ensuring that special education and mental health care are fully funded in local schools, which is more important than ever as students continue to recover from the pandemic.

Coyne's opponent, Josiah Morauski, did not submit a voters' pamphlet statement and does not have a campaign website. He does not appear to be running a viable campaign.

Coyne has earned an impressive list of endorsements from local leaders and educators. He has earned your vote for Issaquah School School.