King County

King County Budget Manager Becka Johnson Poppe is running to put her budgetary skills and experience to work for the King County Council. She has worked as the UW Director of Policy, Planning & State Operations and as a Budget & Policy Manager with King County. Like Reyneveld, Poppe has held many volunteer roles in the community as well, including as director on the board of youth homelessness advocacy organization YouthCare and serving as a precinct committee officer with the 36th District Democrats.

Poppe's top three priorities are the environment, equity, and the economy. In our interview with Poppe, she spoke in depth about her work to help oversee half of King County’s $16 billion budget to meet ambitious equity and climate goals. She also said that she would oppose criminalizing homelessness, instead advocating for the houseless as one of the many types of people left behind in the region's uneven prosperity boom. Poppe supports social housing and providing support for first-time homebuyers through a housing levy. 

Like Baron and Reyneveld, Poppe agreed that the county should seek more mental and behavioral health infrastructure and investments in community courts and other criminal legal alternatives. She said her biggest accomplishment was the development of the county's first-ever Climate Equity Bond, which brought $20 million to frontline communities. 

Poppe emphasized the environment during her interview. Her plan includes additional investment in accessible, emissions-free transportation like electrifying and expanding the county’s bus and vehicle fleet, providing more green spaces, and working on climate justice in communities most impacted by climate change. She was the only candidate to mention fare-free Metro, both as a way to curb spending on fare enforcement and encourage more riders. Poppe is a good choice If you're looking for a candidate with experience managing large budgets who will prioritize environmental issues.

Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda is now running for King County Council from District 8. She was first elected to the Seattle City Council in 2017. Mosqueda previously worked at the Washington State Department of Health, Children’s Alliance, Community Health Plan of Washington, and the Washington State Labor Council, with a focus on worker's rights and children's healthcare. Among other community roles, she also served on the board of Fuse Washington, which publishes this guide.

Mosqueda has distinguished herself as a progressive leader on the Seattle City Council. She sponsored the Jumpstart Seattle legislation, which funds affordable housing through a tax on high earners at large corporations. In addition, she supported efforts to expand paid sick leave and establish minimum wages for gig and other workers who have often been left behind in our economy. Her current goal is passing the 2023 Housing Levy, which will be on the ballot for Seattle voters this November and would provide funding for crucial affordable housing, childcare services, and communal and cultural spaces that are disappearing from the city.

If elected to the county council, Mosqueda hopes to use her experience to address new and pressing issues in the county. Some of her priorities include finding locations for the six new county behavioral health centers, building workforce housing outside of Seattle, increasing apprenticeship programs, and more. 

Mosqueda is the clear choice for King County Council from District 8.

Robyn Mulenga is running for re-election to Auburn City Council, Position 5. Before her election to the council, she was the District 2 director of the Auburn School Board for four years. During her time on the school board, Mulenga helped increased funding for two new elementary schools and six replacement schools. She also helped introduce racial equity policies to close the opportunity gap and ensure all students can thrive. 

Mulenga’s city council platform is focusing on reducing homelessness and its impacts. During her first term in office, Mulenga voted against an ordinance that would have criminalized homelessness by subjecting people experiencing homelessness to a citation instead of a fine. This would have resulted in people getting up to 90 days in jail rather than the commonsense solutions of mental health services and affordable housing that Auburn needs. By voting to raise revenues through the business and occupation tax (B&O), Mulenga worked to ensure Auburn will have extra resources to tackle these underlying causes of homelessness. Finally, Mulenga sought to lower permit and development fees for lower-income households to improve housing affordability in Auburn. 

Mulenga faces two opponents: Adeeb Altallal and Clinton Taylor. Altallal is a real estate agent with a bachelor's degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering. He also holds a position as a utilities engineer in the city of Tukwila. He states he is running for council to advocate for change and to make sure everyone’s voice is heard.

Altallal’s campaign priorities are prioritizing small businesses downtown instead of residential units, increasing the size of the city’s pool, and funding the construction of a new community center. Altallal’s platform still lacks detail on how he is going to accomplish any of his priorities, or what his solutions would be to any other issues facing Auburn.

Clinton Taylor is the third candidate running for Auburn City Council, Position 5. Taylor is the CEO and founder of Your Money Matters, a financial mentorship program. He is also a board member of the Auburn Public School Foundation. As of early July, Taylor is not running an active campaign. Taylor has no campaign website, raised no funds, and his campaign has no social media presence.

Mulenga is the best choice in this race because of her progressive record in the city council and her public service and experience.

Hanan Amer is running for Auburn City Council, Position 7, seeking to replace retiring Council member Bob Baggett. With a background as a chemist at Boeing, Amer has demonstrated a strong commitment to community service by volunteering at various local organizations such as the food bank, libraries, and Girl Scouts of Western Washington. Amer's involvement also extends to assisting with tax preparation through United Way of King County.

Endorsed by progressive former state senator Mona Das and the 47th Legislative District Democrats, Amer is dedicated to empowering and engaging community members. Her progressive platform centers around key issues such as reducing homelessness, addressing climate change, and tackling the drug epidemic.

Amer advocates for the creation of more affordable housing in Auburn to provide safe and permanent shelter for the over 300 people experiencing homelessness in the area. She also supports increased access to mental health services to meet the needs of the community. In her efforts to combat climate change, Amer emphasizes investing in expanded public transportation to reduce carbon emissions and pollution.

Taking a comprehensive approach to the drug epidemic, Amer proposes the establishment of a safe injection site, offering a medically supervised environment for individuals struggling with addiction to seek help. Additionally, she aims to increase assistance for those suffering from opioid addiction, aiming to reduce overdose deaths.

Amer faces two opponents in this race: Brian Lott and Ofa Langi. Lott is running on a conservative platform, with a main priority of prioritizing law enforcement and conducting sweeps of homeless encampments - an expensive and harmful policy that doesn't address the root causes of homelessness. We know what keeps us safe: living in communities where people of every color and background have fair wages, great schools, and affordable healthcare. Instead, Lott wants to label everyone without a home a criminal by making homelessness itself a crime, and telling them that they are "no longer welcome in Auburn" if they don't accept services - all without strengthening the social safety net, addressing affordable housing, or any of the long term efforts that are actually needed to prevent or solve the issue.

The third candidate in this race is Ofa Langi, who recently moved to Auburn in 2020 and serves as a pastor at the local Adventist Church. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Langi played a role in organizing COVID testing and food distribution efforts from the church parking lot. 

As of early July, Langi's campaign appears to be inactive. He does not have a campaign website, a presence on social media platforms, an official King County voters guide statement, or any reported funds raised.

Hanan Amer brings a progressive vision and a strong record of community service, she is the best choice for Auburn City Council, Position 7.

Carston Curd is a natural resources planner and licensed geologist running to bring a progressive and sustainable vision to Bothell City Council, Position 4. He currently serves on the Sound Transit Community Oversight Panel, as vice chair of the Bothell Planning Commission, and as third vice chair for the 1st Legislative District Democrats. Curd is also a volunteer for a number of grassroots and community initiatives within the Northshore area.

Curd is an advocate for green spaces and educates the community on complex topics that impact the solutions to the lack of affordable homes. As a progressive environmental advocate, his platform priorities include increasing the number of affordable homes, making transit accessible, and building resilience to urban flooding. As a current public servant in Snohomish County, Curd brings valuable experience and has garnered the support of many local Democrats including Bothell Mayor Mason Thompson.

Also running is Ann Aagaard, who brings a long list of accolades as an environmental advocate at the state and federal levels. In the late 1970s, she founded the grassroots environmental organization Save Our Valuable Environment, which worked on zoning and wetland protection measures. Her most notable achievement is the three-decade North Creek Valley wetland restoration project that now serves as a core teaching function at the University of Washington Bothell and Cascadia Community College. While we appreciate Aagaard's long record on environmental protection, her platform and policies are thin on the other pressing issues facing Bothell like housing, transit, policing, and homelessness services.

Mark Swanson has stated in local interviews that he's "not actively campaigning," though he made it through the primary election. Though he has no website available with a comprehensive look at his policy proposals, he states that there is no affordable housing crisis in Bothell, despite much evidence to the contrary. Much of his platform seems to be anti-growth, and in a League of Women Voters forum he states that he will curb growth in the city, preventing the building of affordable and family apartments to keep only single family neighborhoods in the area.

Carston Curd will work to fight climate change, improve housing affordability, and expand transit access in Bothell. He is the best choice for Bothell City Council, Position 4.

Patricia Hudson is a human resources professional with SEIU 775, a home care workers' union. She states that her experience as a working single mother has shaped her view of what it takes to make Burien a more affordable and livable place for all. She is running to represent working people, advocate for living wages, secure more affordable housing, and invest in public infrastructure. In particular, she wants to add more electric charging stations and bike lanes so that Burien continues to become a greener community. After the recent controversies between the city council and various volunteer boards, Hudson will work to bring people back together and rebuild trust across the community. 

Hudson faces two opponents in this race: incumbent Kevin Schilling and Daniel Reed Martin. Schilling has served as a council member since 2020 and as deputy mayor since 2022. Schilling is a third-generation King County resident, and has worked as a legislative aide to the governor and a political director to Congressman Derek Kilmer. During his time on council, Schilling implemented a co-responder model in downtown policing, allowing mental health professionals to accompany first responders when addressing mental health crises. He passed policies that helped working families access broadband and get rebates on utility taxes. He also served on the airport committee, encouraging regulations to minimize environmental and health impacts from air traffic.

Unfortunately, Schilling played a lead role in removing the Burien Planning Commission chair, Charles Schaefer, for his outreach to people experiencing homelessness in the community. He was visibly angry during the hearing, raising his voice and berating Schaefer in a way that was completely unprofessional and inappropriate. This event generated significant backlash, including the resignation of 11 other members of boards and commissions. At the time of the vote, the city council had failed to act on King County's offer of $1 million and 35 pallet shelters to create a sanctioned encampment. Schilling's behavior in his official capacity should be a red flag for progressive voters in Burien. 

Daniel Reed Martin is highly involved in bettering Burien, and serves on the city’s Human Services Commission, with the Burien Severe Weather Shelter, and on the King County Community Advisory Commission for Law Enforcement Oversight. He identifies as a queer white man and has strong progressive values, campaigning for a housing-first approach, innovative alternatives to our policing model, and community safety based on everyone having their basic needs met. 

Hudson is the best choice for new progressive leadership in Burien.

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. This conservation effort will enable the development of a trail connecting the Talus development and Tibbetts Valley Park, and facilitate the expansion of Harvey Manning Park.

Hunt has been involved in advocating for ambitious climate action at the state level as well, supporting House Bill 1589 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. Hunt has also said she would like to study and expand housing options so that people with lower or moderate incomes can find and keep their homes.

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

Jon Culver is running for election to Kenmore City Council, Position 5. As a small business owner with a background in civic technology, Culver is driven to create a more connected, engaged, and responsive city council. Culver was part of a group that encouraged the council to install Pride-themed art on city hall property.

Culver's progressive campaign focuses on crucial issues such as addressing climate change, prioritizing affordable housing, and advocating for proactive representation to propel Kenmore forward. He points to his efforts to allow citizen ballot measures in Kenmore as evidence of his commitment to increasing civic engagement and public input. Culver also signed on to a national campaign pledging not to take any campaign contributions of more than $200 from fossil fuel interests.

Culver is the most progressive candidate in the race for Kenmore City Council, Position 5. 
 

John Boyd is running for Kent City Council, Position 3. Boyd is a retired quality assurance inspector for Boeing and a Navy veteran. He has lived in Kent for 27 years with his family.

Boyd's campaign priorities include developing a comprehensive plan to address homelessness that includes wrap-around services, sustainable development, improving public safety, and investing in the community. He highlights his certification in chemical dependency and experience as a volunteer at Therapeutic Health Services as important for addressing some of the root causes of the substance abuse epidemic. Boyd also supports increasing access to mental health services and job training programs.

The other candidates in this race range from moderate to conservative. Boyd as the best choice for Kent City Council, Position 3. 

Incumbent Kelli Curtis is running for re-election to Kirkland City Council, Position 2, to which she was first elected in 2019. Before joining the council she worked for most of her career in the technology industry as a product manager for area companies such as Aldus and Starwave.

Curtis' campaign platform prioritizes close collaboration with neighbors, implementing sustainable planning strategies, cultivating inclusivity and belonging, building affordable homes, and expanding parks and natural spaces. During her time on the council, Curtis has supported the conversion of hotels into housing with on-site services, achieving success in these projects by bringing people together.

As chair of the Parks Exploratory Funding Committee, Curtis has spearheaded a ballot measure to build community enhancements including the creation of indoor aquatics and recreation facilities, with pools, gymnasiums, fitness classes, and a community gathering space. Additional plans involve adding restrooms to selected parks, constructing new sports courts, expanding youth recreation programs, and acquiring green space for the development of Green Loop trail segments in northwest Kirkland.

Curtis faces challenges from Catie Malik and Zoltan Szilagyi. Malik is a health care operations professional and a longtime resident of the Greater Seattle area. Rather than addressing the root causes of homelessness, she tries to divide us and make us fear our neighbors. She also opposes rapid transit service to Kirkland's core, which would only make traffic worse and contribute toward climate change. 

Zoltan Szilagyi is a longtime Kirkland resident running for Kirkland City Council, Position 2. Szilagyi has a PhD in physics and currently works as a research physicist for an electron microscope company. He has no political experience, and has no campaign website or funds raised as of ealy July.

Kirkland has benefitted from Curtis's commitment to bringing community-minded leadership to the core of some of its most challenging issues. Kelli Curtis is the clear choice for Kirkland City Council, Position 2.

Sun Burford, a Bellevue school district teacher, is running for Position 1 on the Newcastle City Council. Burford is very active in bringing the Newcastle community together; she helped to organize the city’s first official Lunar New Year celebration, serves on the Newcastle Arts Council, and works with Friends of Newcastle Library.

Burford, an immigrant and working mom, is running a hopeful and inclusive campaign to bring a brighter future to Newcastle. If elected, she wants to uplift residents and the local economy while building community safety. Burford wants to protect our senior neighbors from rising property taxes so that Newcastle residents can retire with security and dignity. Her commitment to working hard on behalf of Newcastle residents has earned her a long list of progressive endorsements in this race, including from progressive elected leaders, community organizations, and the local Democrats.

Burford faces two opponents also vying for retiring Councilmember Linda Newing’s seat. Len Trautman is a retired contractor and electrician running on a platform that is not progressive. His vision of safety excludes community investments that bring all residents the resources they need to thrive, and instead, he wants to funnel more money into policing. Trautman has refused to accept endorsements in this race.

Also in this race is Kevin Turner, an IT management professional and former chair of the Bellevue Planning Commission. Turner is running on a nearly identical platform to Trautman, emphasizing cutting funding for community services and improving public infrastructure without offering specific policy suggestions.

Sun Burford is the clear choice in this race and deserves your vote for Newcastle City Council, Position 1.
 

Osman Salahuddin is running for Position 1 on the Redmond City Council after Councilmember Varisha Khan declined to run for re-election. Salahuddin works as the Communications and Community Engagement Manager for King County Councilmember Sarah Perry. He is currently on the board of directors for the Muslim Association of Puget Sound and previously served as student body president at the University of Washington. 

Salahuddin is running to reduce the cost of housing in Redmond and ensure everyone feels safe in their community. If elected, he would improve neighborhood walkability and invest more in affordable housing solutions like the Together Center. In addition, he would work to modernize Redmond's building codes to encourage green construction and promote energy efficiency. 

Salahuddin is facing two conservative opponents in this race: Paul Stepanov and Nate Niederhausern. Stepanov has founded several technology startups including Virtudesk, which helps businesses outsource customer service and administrative jobs. In 2020, Stepanov supported MAGA Republican Loren Culp for governor. Culp compared gun safety laws to the Holocaust and joined President Trump in seeking to overthrow the will of the people after the 2020 election. 

Niederhausern works in digital streaming and online learning for corporations. He is active with the Redmond LDS Boy Scout troops, particularly on environmental conservation. Niederhausern appears to be newer to politics. While he will be on the primary ballot himself this year, he has not voted in a primary election in 15 years. In addition, he supported Republican Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign against President Obama. 

Salahuddin is the clear choice for Redmond City Council, Position 1.

U.S. Navy Veteran and insurance agent Angie Nuevacamina is running for Redmond City Council, Position 7. She serves on the Redmond Planning Commission and has been a committee member with the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County for the last 5 years. 

Nuevacamina is running to make housing more affordable, keep our communities safe, and improve transparency in local government. As a proponent of the "Nothing About Us Without Us" principle, she would ensure decisions in Redmond are made more equitably and every voice is heard. As Redmond continues to grow, she also wants to make the city more welcoming for all residents. 

Nuevacamina is facing Amit Gupta and incumbent David Carson. Carson, a software test lead, is a business-oriented candidate running to push for the completion of infrastructure projects in Redmond. Carson has an antagonistic approach to homelessness, stating that he wants to prosecute people found with shopping carts off-premises. He has been cited in the Washington Post and elsewhere stating that those suffering from addiction must hit "rock bottom" before seeking treatment.

Amit Gupta is running for Redmond City Council, Position 7 with a focus on economic growth and sustainability. He works as a Principal Group Engineering Manager at Microsoft and serves on the Computer Science Advisory Board of Kansas State University, where he earned a graduate degree. While he supports some good policies, he lacks Angie's depth of community leadership experience and detailed knowledge of local policies.

Nuevacamina's lived experience and deep experience in the community makes her the clear choice for Redmond City Council, Position 7.

Michael Westgaard, a waste treatment operator, is running a progressive and optimistic campaign to make Renton a better place for everyone. Westgaard proudly comes from a union background and wants to represent the needs of working people on the council. He has struggled with substance abuse in his own life, and unlike some of his opponents, he does not believe that the solution to addiction in our community is a return to War-on-Drugs era policies of criminalization. 

Westgaard is running to create a strong implementation plan for the Raise the Wage Renton ballot measure (if approved by voters first), secure public broadband, create affordable childcare, and invest in public transit to reduce carbon emissions and increase affordable transportation options. On the issue of policing, Westgaard believes that our police force can be stronger if some responsibilities are shifted to other crisis responders, freeing up officers for response availability. He also wants to establish a community council with real power to provide oversight in cases of police violence. 

Westgaard has strong community ties and has earned Democratic and progressive support in this race. He is a great choice for voters looking for new progressive leadership in Renton.

Progressive candidate Elizabeth Greninger is running for SeaTac City Council, Position 3. With more than 15 years of social work experience, Greninger has helped people who have faced domestic violence, sexual assault, and housing instability. 

Greninger has a comprehensive plan to deliver safe, affordable, and accessible housing to all SeaTac residents. For example, she would make it easier for homeowners to convert or build accessory dwelling units on their properties. Along with advocating for higher minimum wages, Greninger also wants to ensure SeaTac uses union contracts whenever possible. If elected, she would expand local initiatives helping women, queer people, and people of color start their own businesses.

Greninger also has the most complete vision for protecting the environment and residents’ well-being. She advocates for preventing the North SeaTac Park from being developed by the Port of Seattle. Moreover, she would expand farmers markets and leverage the recently-passed Crisis Care Levy to build behavioral health resources in the city. Finally, Greninger is focused on reducing air traffic noise pollution and aviation emissions, although her platform lacks a strong focus on reducing SeaTac’s own carbon footprint by expanding transit. Overall, her policies would lead to a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future for SeaTac.

If you are looking for a progressive candidate with a solid record of community service, Elizabeth Greninger is the best choice for SeaTac City Council, Position 3.

Maren Costa is the leading progressive candidate running to replace Lisa Herbold on the Seattle City Council from District 1. A former Amazon principal designer, Costa advocated for a climate action plan at Amazon that eventually became their official Climate Pledge. In 2020, Costa was illegally fired from the company after sending out an email to rally her coworkers around poor warehouse conditions for workers. With the backing of an open letter from nine U.S. senators, including Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, Costa won her case against Amazon and continued advocating for workers and her community.

Costa is now running to bring her tenacity and experience in management to city hall. In our interview with Costa, she spoke about the importance of raising more money to maintain services as the city faces a $100 million budget shortfall. Her proposals, including a vacancy tax, were squarely aimed at making the wealthiest pay what they owe to our communities. 

Costa wants to look out for working people and make Seattle more livable for all. She spoke to a desire to improve affordability by allowing more mixed-use developments and “four floors and corner stores” in neighborhoods. She believes well-designed, denser neighborhoods are critical as the state faces a severe housing shortage, making living here hard for teachers, nurses, and other working professionals. On homelessness, Costa wants the city to take a housing-first approach, working on getting people into secure housing instead of criminalizing them for sleeping outside. On public safety, Costa offers a vision that funds gun violence prevention, community policing, and alternative response models. 

Costa's experience managing million-dollar budgets and successfully advocating for corporate climate action makes her stand out as a progressive among the top candidates in the district. That experience plus an impressive set of endorsements make her the best choice for Seattle City Council in District 1.

Community organizer and incumbent Councilmember Tammy Morales is running for her second term serving District 2 on the Seattle City Council. Morales was first elected in 2019 and has been a vocal progressive advocate for this diverse district. Previously, she worked with the Rainier Beach Action Coalition to advocate for affordable housing, food security, and other pressing community needs. Beyond the city council, Morales has also served as a legislative director and city budget analyst.

In her current role, Morales has pushed for safe and walkable streets, corporate accountability, social and other affordable housing measures, and climate crisis emergency responses such as extreme heat and smoke shelters. She is running to build on her previous term to advocate for Green New Deal funding and environmental protections that will keep Seattle a healthy place to live for generations to come. If re-elected, Morales will continue to champion affordable housing policies, neighborhood revitalization investments, and tenant rights. She has received an extensive and diverse list of endorsements in this race including from fellow city council members and other local progressives.

Morales has the practical track record and the progressive vision necessary to advocate for District 2 on the Seattle City Council. She has earned your vote for re-election.

Joy Hollingsworth is running to put a spotlight on improving the lives of all residents of District 3. She is a small business owner, former assistant women's basketball coach at Seattle University, and former Girls Program Director at Seattle’s A PLUS Youth Program. Hollingsworth is currently part of the Food Access Network at Northwest Harvest. She has invested much of her time in community and agriculture. Her family owns and operates one of the few Black-owned cannabis production farms in the state.

In our interview with Hollingsworth, she pointed to her lifelong history and knowledge of the district as a strength. Though she does not have extensive policy experience, she would bring a wealth of community knowledge and priorities to the seat. For example, she spoke about how Black-owned businesses in the Central District had long been overlooked. She would push for greater investments from Seattle’s Business Improvement Areas and Office of Economic Development. She pointed out that the 98118 zip code in Rainier Valley only had one food bank, which hampered residents' ability to put food on the table in difficult times. She would also seek more youth enrichment programs and equitable placement of parks and green spaces by looking for opportunities for both in the district.

Compared to Hudson's campaign, Hollingsworth's is more locally focused, with a desire to improve youth activities and parks specifically in the district. When it comes to policing, she stated that police should make more of an effort to meet the community, a stance we feel could use more detail.  She also supports Mayor Harrell's plan to hire 400 more cops, which will likely prove challenging during a nationwide shortage of officers and would do little to address the root causes of crime. 

Hollingsworth would be an excellent choice for voters looking for a candidate with strong community ties who would be a powerful advocate for District 3 at city hall.

Ron Davis is running for Seattle City Council, District 4 as an outspoken progressive advocate for affordable housing, community safety, and more. Davis served on the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association and has been a board member at Futurewise, which advocates for sustainability and livable communities. In our interview with Davis, he emphasized that he's running to be the opposite of retiring incumbent council member Alex Pedersen, who stood in the way of many progressive policies, including efforts to build more "missing middle" housing.

Davis would focus on housing supply, subsidizing housing so that everyone has more affordable access, and increasing stability for renters. Many policies are on the table for Davis to achieve this, including prohibiting rent price gouging, funding social housing, expanding mid-rise housing, ensuring the "right to return" for people displaced by developers, and offering square footage and height bonuses. Davis is also rigorously pro-science when it comes to treating homelessness as a housing problem. He points out that many challenging and displacing life events like domestic abuse, addiction, and job loss are less catastrophic when people can afford rent and stay off the streets. Aside from the many housing policies above, Davis would push to build 3,500 permanent supportive housing units. 

Davis is one of the few candidates - not just in the district, but citywide - to acknowledge that even Seattle's own police don't think they can hire 400 more officers during a nationwide shortage. Rather than lowering standards on hires and pouring more money into bonuses, he wants to see aggressive expansion into alternatives to policing for people in crisis. Other top priorities for Davis are worker's rights, including subsidized childcare, closing minimum wage loopholes, and more.

Vote for Ron Davis for progressive change on the Seattle City Council from District 4.

Incumbent Dan Strauss is seeking re-election to the District 6 seat on the Seattle City Council. Strauss was first elected in 2019, and he previously served as a senior policy advisor to Councilmember Sally Bagshaw and worked for the Alliance for Gun Responsibility. Now, he is running for a second term to continue bringing community-focused leadership to District 6.

On the council, Strauss has prioritized creating more affordable housing options and strengthening tenant rights. With investments of $250 million in 2022, permanent supportive housing was purchased in Green Lake, Ballard, and Greenwood. As the land use chair, he also points to how he has cleared encampments without sweeps by connecting people to services. Unfortunately, Strauss recently voted in favor of allowing Republican City Attorney Ann Davison to prosecute people for drug use. In addition, Strauss disappointed many advocates by pushing for larger police budgets, which would increase the presence of militarized police in our communities instead of making us safer. 

If re-elected, Strauss will continue to develop Ballard Commons Park as a community green space, support the local small business economy, and ensure corporations and the wealthy pay what they owe. While he has not been the progressive leader some had hoped for, all of his viable opponents would be a step backward for the district and the city overall. Strauss has earned the majority of endorsements from progressive leaders and organizations and is the clear choice for city council from District 6.

Councilmember Andrew Lewis is running for re-election to the Seattle City Council from District 7. Lewis was first elected to the seat in 2019 and previously served as an assistant city attorney, where he worked on the Seattle Human Rights Commission. He also serves as the president of the Seattle Metropolitan Park District where he has worked to create jobs, ensure the cleanliness of public green space, and advance environmental goals for the city.

In his first term on the council, Lewis prioritized funding affordable housing programs, ensuring community safety, and achieving greater climate protections to make Seattle a healthier place for all of us. He secured funding to fully renovate the Queen Anne Community Center and expanded the JustCARE program, which offers outreach, shelter, and wrap-around services to Seattleites without housing. In this race, he is running on a progressive platform to expand crisis support services, invest in social and transitional housing options, and improve the city’s public transit infrastructure to reduce both traffic and greenhouse gas emissions.

Lewis has earned an impressive list of endorsements from elected officials and key community leaders and is the most progressive choice in this race. Vote Andrew Lewis for Seattle City Council from District 7.

Incumbent school board director Carolyn Watson is running for re-election to the District 2 seat. Watson has been volunteering with Bellevue schools since 2004 and has served on the school board since 2015. She is a member of the city’s PTSA Board and has previously worked as a tutor and teacher. In all of these roles, Watson has fought to improve Bellevue schools so all students are prepared for vibrant futures.

Watson’s campaign platform emphasizes investing in an equitable, world-class education. She believes that in order for students to thrive, schools need the resources to care for the physical and mental health of the student body while also empowering teachers. Watson has a strong sense of transparency and community engagement, and she wants all voices to be heard where decisions are made. In this race, she earned endorsements from a host of elected officials, educators, and community organizations.

Watson faces two challengers: James vanRosmalen and Ryan Sugden. VanRosmalen works for Microsoft and is running to bring a progressive vision to the school board, including investments in accessibility and special education, multicultural learning, and support for teachers. He has less experience with the school district than Watson and he has not earned the same level of community support in this race. 

Sugden, a certified public accountant specializing in the restaurant industry, has a very vague platform and no campaign website as of early July. He wants to represent diverse voices, but his definition of “equity” in the school district context lacks understanding.

Carolyn Watson is the clear choice for Bellevue School Board from District 2.

Han Tran, an electrical engineer, 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, participating on the school district’s Ethnic Studies Work Team, and serving as a Washington Human Rights Commissioner.

As an immigrant and a working mother to 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 wants to work to close opportunity gaps by implementing targeted academic support, culturally responsive teaching, and accountability metrics. The rest of her campaign priorities are equally detailed and community-centric, and she has received an impressive list of progressive endorsements in this race.

Tran faces two challengers, Chris Cazares and Myriam Juritz, for the school district director seat. Chris Cazares is a member of the US Air Force and a lawyer who is running on a vague and thin platform based on the values of communication and representation. His campaign website lacks campaign information as of mid-July.

Myriam Juritz is a substitute teacher in the Northshore school district and she serves on the board of the Northshore Schools Foundation. Juritz has shared a campaign platform that emphasizes improving academic excellence and student health, both mental and physical. She is an immigrant and credits her upbringing in political unrest as motivating her to run for local government to ensure that community needs are met. However, her platform is not as detailed nor as progressive Tran’s.

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

Ph.D. Christie Robertson is running to bring inclusive and effective education standards to the district. When her oldest child was diagnosed with a disability, Robertson decided to become a member of the Seattle Special Education PTSA and has served on its executive board for two years. She also has a Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Behavior. 

Like the other two candidates, Robertson is running to bring a renewed sense of accountability, oversight, and engagement to the school board. Because of her experience in special education advocacy, she has focused on promoting "restorative practices" and supporting the Universal Design for Learning initiative, which aims to use scientific insight into how people learn to create better educational outcomes. She wants to see students with disabilities spend more time in general education classrooms, which she believes will help reduce disparate outcomes for those students. Robertson is also aiming to reduce teacher turnover and improve students' mental health.

She has the strongest endorsements of any candidate in the race thus far, including the MLK Labor Council and the sole endorsements of the 46th and 43rd Legislative District Democrats. We recommend Robertson because of her endorsements and specific goals for inclusive teaching for all students.

Gina Topp is running for the open seat vacated by incumbent Leslie Harris, who isn't running for re-election. She is the chief legal counsel and policy advisor to King County Executive Dow Constantine and served on the boards of the 34th Legislative District Democrats and the Seattle Sports Complex Foundation. 

Like other candidates for school board this year, Topp's platform listed on her website is somewhat vague. If elected, she aims to cultivate a safe and welcoming environment for all students, empower educators, and engage parents. In her interview with The Seattle Times, Topp stated that her plan for the budget crisis is to advocate for more money from the Legislature - an idea that incumbent Liza Rankin has said was unlikely to succeed because of the recent increase in funding already coming from the state.

Despite this, we believe that Topp has the strongest experience of the available candidates for this seat. She has two opponents on the primary ballot. Rosie McCarter describes herself as a neurodivergent, two-spirit mom of three, and a proud Cherokee and Joseph's band of Nez Perce. She states that as a parent ambassador and peer educator, she wants to tackle the district's budget crisis without making cuts to vital programs, though she does not say where cuts would be made or where additional revenue will come from. She also states that all students, regardless of income, should receive free meals, that systemic racism in schools must be addressed, and that the highly capable program needs fixes. However, she offers no additional information on her website about how she would accomplish this. 

The other candidate is Maryanne Wood, who does not appear to have education advocacy experience. She states that her childhood on a dairy farm made her value hard work, and she has six grandchildren in the district. Wood's top message is "no to school closures," and she also says that she will "dial back the mega schools that are already planned at Alki, Rogers, and Montlake."

Topp's experience and progressive endorsements make her the best choice in District 1 for Seattle School Board Director.