City of Bremerton

Deborah "Deb" Krishnadasan is running to retain her seat as the state Senator representing the 26th Legislative District. Krishnadasan was appointed in 2024 to replace Emily Randall, who was elected to Congress. Prior to her appointment, Krishnadasan was an active member of the Peninsula School Board, first serving as a full-time public school volunteer. She was later elected to the Peninsula School District Board of Directors and eventually served as the president. While on the board, Krishnadasan led efforts to increase school funding, including forming an advocacy group and campaigning for school levies and bonds. For her work in public service, Krishnadasan has received many awards, including Citizen of the Year and the Hugh McMillan and Community Leadership awards.

In our interview, Krishnadasan's commitment to improving public education was evident. Since assuming her Senate position, she has remained true to her progressive values, such as voting to establish anti-discrimination protections for students. She also voted to increase education funding and expand access to special education across the state.

Additionally, Krishnadasan has supported other progressive bills addressing health care and workers' rights. In 2025, she introduced legislation that required hospitals to perform abortions when necessary to protect the safety or health of a pregnant patient.

During her tenure, there have been some votes on which we have disagreed with the senator. For example, Krishnadasan was among only two Democrats who voted against a new excise tax on short-term rental properties that would have funded affordable housing. We also disagreed with her vote against creating a uniform recycling system for the state and solutions to reduce waste going into landfills. Nevertheless, she has been supportive of most progressive priorities in Olympia.

Deborah Krishnadasan has long been involved in her community and is a strong advocate for education and other progressive values. She is the clear choice for Senate from the 26th Legislative District.

Incumbent and Navy veteran Greg Wheeler is running for his third term as Bremerton Mayor. He previously served for eight years on the city council and is also on the boards of Kitsap Public Health, Kitsap Economic Development Alliance, and Kitsap Transit.

Wheeler's re-election campaign is focused on a variety of issues, primarily aimed at tackling affordable housing, public safety, and environmental protections. Wheeler is supportive of some progressive measures to address affordable housing, such as a down payment assistance program and streamlining development to encourage the production of more housing units. In his approach to public safety, we would like to see less reliance on surveillance technology and more efforts to encourage social support programs that address crime at its root cause. Additionally, Wheeler supports various environmental protections, including improving local water quality and increasing public electric vehicle charging stations.

Earlier this year, Wheeler faced criticism from the Bremerton community for his decision to halt the hiring process for the city's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager. In explaining the decision, Wheeler said he feared the loss of funding in the wake of President Trump's targeting of DEI initiatives. Council members felt the decision was made hastily and preemptively, without legal advice. Additionally, locals have expressed frustration with Wheeler's lack of action on issues such as safety and housing.

While Wheeler is an established leader with deep ties to the community, we lean toward Coughlin in this race for new leadership for Bremerton.