Whatcom County

Navy veteran and Whatcom County Council Chair Barry Buchanan is running for Whatcom County Executive. Buchanan has been a reliable progressive leader on the county council during his two terms in office. He was chair of the Whatcom County Incarceration Reduction and Prevention Taskforce and played an important role in creating the Whatcom Crisis Stabilization Center. This facility provides an alternative for adults who are experiencing a mental health crisis or struggling with withdrawals. 

Buchanan has pushed for more progressive alternatives to a large and expensive new jail. Buchanan was also part of the unanimous vote in 2021 to prevent the expansion of fossil fuel facilities at Cherry Point. Previously, he worked to ban fracking and protect Whatcom County's water. Buchanan is now running for county executive focused on rebuilding trust and support for a more progressive jail plan, implementing the Children's Fund, and protecting Lake Whatcom. 

While Buchanan's campaign is off to a slow start, with relatively few funds raised as of mid-July and not much visible earlier campaigning, he offers an alternative for voters looking for more progressive leadership in Whatcom County.

Current Whatcom County Public Utility District (PUD) Commission president Atul Deshmane is now running for county council. He has a background in electrical and industrial engineering and proudly touts the working farm where he lives with his family. 

If elected, Deshmane would prioritize increasing the resilience of local infrastructure to adapt to climate change. He points to his record on the PUD as evidence of his experience in improving energy efficiency, protecting our water, advocating for clean energy, and expanding broadband access. Deshmane was one of the authors of "The Big Lift," an ambitious proposal to address the homelessness crisis by declaring a public health emergency and building four villages with 25 tiny homes each. He has also been an outspoken critic of the plan to build a new jail in Whatcom County, including voting against the recent proposal in his role on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee to the county council.

Kathy Kershner is running for re-election to the Whatcom County Council representing District 4. Kershner is the former chair of the Whatcom County Republican Party, and has been a conservative voice on the council since she was elected in 2019.

Despite describing herself as a fiscal conservative, Kershner increased spending on prisons and policing, voting to add 10 new deputies to the sheriff's office and supporting the construction of a new, larger county jail. She also voted to continue public funding for Lighthouse Mission Ministries after they were accused of hiring discrimination against LGBTQ+ people because they required employees to adhere to traditional Christian tenets of faith and "sex ethics."

While Kershner is clearly conservative, she has been willing to work with the progressive majority on the council. In particular, she voted in favor of putting Proposition 5, the Whatcom County Children's Initiative, on the ballot. 

Kershner's challengers are Mark Stremler and Katherine Orlowski. Stremler is  Whatcom County public works employee who has been active with his union in recent months advocating for pay increases to keep up with the cost of living. In his own words, Stremler is "devoted to re-establishing the conservative values" and would be a step backwards for the council. 

Orlowski is a recently-appointed member of the Child and Family Well-Being Task Force. In one of her first meetings, she expressed support for the Healthy Children's Fund and concern over the wellbeing of public school employees, but also supported an amendment by Kershner to explicitly remove COVID-19 vaccination requirements for a public fund. This is consistent with some of her other public comments expressing skepticism about the lifesaving power of vaccines. 

While we disagree strongly with many of Kershner's policy positions, her willingness to work with her colleagues makes her the best choice to represent this very conservative district.

Maya Morales is a progressive organizer and founder of the WA People's Privacy and previously worked with People First Bellingham. She was an outspoken advocate for the four progressive ballot measures that went before Bellingham voters in 2021, two of which passed.

Morales is running to bring the perspectives of low-income and marginalized people to the Bellingham City Council. She wants to push for a clean energy transition, advocate for community safety that goes beyond policing and mass surveillance, and ensure everyone has access to housing and public transit. 

Morales has likely the most progressive platform of any candidate in this race but has not received broad endorsements from community leaders or advocacy organizations.

J. Riley Sweeney is challenging incumbent director Craig Mitchell for the District 5 seat on the Meridian School District board. Sweeney currently works as the City of Ferndale’s Communication/Recreation Coordinator, but his work experience also includes nonprofit work and small business support. Additionally, he chairs the County Food System Committee and serves on the Irene Reither Elementary PTA board.

If elected, Sweeney wants to prevent partisan influence on public curriculums and instead focus on accuracy, fact, and science so that Meridian students are best prepared for their futures. Another priority for him is to make sweeping investments in the district to support educators with higher salaries, help continued recovery from the pandemic, and uplift enrichment programs and the arts.

Incumbent Craig Mitchell first joined the school board in 2017. He is a boilermaker and welder who has volunteered in some youth sports coaching. Mitchell is not yet running a strong re-election campaign. He has no website as of mid-July and his county voters guide statement is sparse, solely listing the vague ideas of “education” and “preparation” as his campaign priorities.

Also in this race is Michelle Simmons, who works for a restoration franchise business. She is a first-time candidate involved in a number of community groups, including the Meridian Boosters, the Meridian Strategic Planning Committee, and a PTA, where she serves as a chair. Simmons’ campaign platform does not include any progressive solutions or specific policy suggestions. She does not have a campaign website as of mid-July.

Nursing professor Malia Pickett is also vying for this seat. Pickett teaches at Skagit Valley College where she chairs the Nursing Department and serves on the college’s Federation of Teachers Executive Council. She served on the task force to implement a comprehensive sexual health curriculum in Meridian schools. In this race, she wants to bring rational leadership to the school board to focus on belonging and inclusion while attending to the physical, social, emotional, and academic needs of students.

As a parent to students in the Meridian School District with strong progressive values, J. Riley Sweeney is the best choice in this race for Director, District 5 on the Meridian School District board.