City of Tacoma

Two candidates are challenging Bryan Yambe for Pierce County Council from District 5. Kimber Starr is a former small business owner who served on the Pierce County Planning Commission. She holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington, which she believes will enhance her ability to analyze policy, manage budgets responsibly, and develop her leadership skills.

Starr is campaigning for responsible economic development, affordable housing, and public safety. If elected, she hopes to provide resources for entrepreneurs and create vibrant small business districts to attract small and local businesses. She also wants to prevent displacement through supporting homelessness programs and streamlining housing development. Additionally, Starr is a proponent of community-based policing and expanding mental health crisis response teams.

The other candidate in this race is Republican Terry Wise. He is a real estate broker and the owner of Terry Wise & Associates. While his campaign website does not detail any specific policies he would support, his statements indicate a more conservative platform. On his website, Wise echoes conservative talking points that blame people experiencing homelessness rather than seeking solutions. Wise is clearly out of step with the people of Pierce County's 5th District.

While we appreciate Kimber Starr's progressive-leaning campaign in this race, Yambe's strong track record and impressive list of endorsements from community leaders make him the clear choice in this race.

Former Gig Harbor city council member Tim Payne is also running for the Port of Tacoma, representing District 1. Payne was on the council for 12 years, according to his Twitter account.

Payne's campaign is prioritizing the expansion of job opportunities, supporting businesses, modernizing the port, and regional collaboration. Unfortunately, he does not suggest any specific strategies or policies he would advocate for if elected. Additionally, Payne's previous association with the conservative group, Opportunity for Washington, indicates a rightward lean in his priorities.

Former Republican state lawmaker JT Wilcox is running for the Port of Tacoma Commission, District 4 seat. Wilcox stepped down from his Legislative District 2 seat earlier this year, where he had served since 2010 as a ranking conservative. Professionally, he’s worked for a lumber company, in self-employed consulting, and as the director of operations for Wilcox Farms.

Wilcox is a staunch conservative who previously organized a ballot measure to eliminate Washington’s sexual health education, opposed legislation that keeps our community safe by instituting commonsense gun safety measures and environmental protections, and has been a consistent obstacle to rebalancing our tax code. In his bid for the port commission, Wilcox is demonstrating a similar set of values, including suggesting that Tacoma voters put him in power because his family’s farm business is a local employer. He brings a business lens to port leadership, but we know that our community thrives when leaders view this commission as an opportunity to strengthen workers’ rights, environmental protections, and community investment. Wilcox is not a progressive choice for the Port of Tacoma.

Deputy Mayor and Tacoma City Councilmember John Hines is also running for mayor. Hines ran and lost in 2015, but ultimately persevered in 2019 and has served on the city council since. He has worked as an instructional facilitator for Tacoma Public Schools. Hines has also served in other community leadership roles, including on the Tacoma Public Library Board of Trustees, the Pierce Transit Commission, and the YWCA Board.

Hines speaks of his accomplishments in helping hundreds of people connect with services and housing, supporting emergency shelters, and improving streets and sidewalks. If reelected, Hines would focus on public-private partnerships to revitalize downtown, expand affordable and permanent supportive housing through the city's Housing Trust Fund, and invest in core services, such as trash collection and road repair. While Hines has some positive accomplishments on the council, he's running a moderate campaign with substantial backing from corporate interests in Tacoma.

Small business owner Whitney Stevens is running for mayor to leverage her extensive community experience to help Tacoma residents thrive. Among her long resume of service are serving as chair of the 27th District Democrats, as a Pierce County Planning Commissioner, as an advisory board member for Sound Transit projects, and as the founder of the Viability Project, which helps women and underrepresented candidates learn how to run for office.

Stevens' top priorities are police accountability, childcare, and revenue growth. She wants to lead the city in a reconciliation process, bringing together the community and the police department to heal divides and build a more effective vision of community safety. As mayor, she states that she would commit to bringing stakeholders together to create safe and inclusive spaces with moderate investments, thereby expanding summer childcare options and providing parents with more choices. Stevens aims to further invest in pedestrian and transit infrastructure with Climate Commitment Act funds, explicitly supporting inclusive practices for the city, including connecting underrepresented residents to family-wage jobs.

Anthony "Tony" Ginn has served in several nonprofit leadership positions, including serving as the grants chairman for Rotary 8 and as board president of Tacoma Community House from 2006 to 2008. Unfortunately, he has no website detailing his platform as of mid-June, and his official candidate statement has no information, only stating that he will take an "Oath and Pledge" to uphold the Constitution.

Former U.S. Army Ranger and Tacoma Human Services Commissioner Jesus "Jesse" Carlos is running to improve economic development and public safety. Carlos works as a financial advisor and has served on the fifteen-person commission since 2024. He wants to expand what the city is already doing on the Violent Crime Reduction Plan, as well as grow the crisis response team for mental health professional responders, and expand youth programs to reduce gun violence. By aggressively recruiting high-growth sectors such as clean energy technology and advanced manufacturing, he aims to promote Tacoma as a business-friendly environment while supporting waterfront development and small businesses. To support a more climate-resilient Tacoma, Carlos would also promote clean energy usage through solar arrays on city property, support transit, such as the light rail extension to the Tacoma Dome, and expand park space.

Steve Haverly is running a second time for mayor of Tacoma, having lost to incumbent Mayor Woodards in 2021. Haverly, who formerly worked in construction, states that his background as a lifelong Tacoma resident gives him insight into what the city needs, although he does not specify any leadership experience in community or government service. He does have a detailed platform on his website, though it seems to focus on staffing more police, a goal that is at odds with his desire to reduce services and tighten the budget, as well as reducing "scandals."

Driver Brandon Vollmer is also in this race. He does not list any elected or community leadership experience, though his official voter's guide statement lists his involvement with the city of Lakewood's parks department.

Vollmer states that his low-income experience can serve as insight into solving the city's problems. He wants to enforce a daytime camping ordinance and connect people to services and housing. Vollmer wants to be a conservative leader who cuts funding for city services and designates groups with ANTIFA as domestic terrorists to empower law enforcement to prosecute them. He is not a serious candidate in this race and would be a step backward for the Tacoma City Council.

Several other candidates are running for Tacoma City Council, Position 6.

Jessica Johnston is running to bring "practical, compassionate leadership" to the council. Johnston currently serves as the vice president of Downtown Tacoma Partnership, chair of Tacoma's Events and Recognition Committee, the city-appointed leader of the Hilltop Business Improvement Area, and chamber ambassador for the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber.

Her site details a long list of priorities to address, with the top three being public safety, equitable economic development, and mental health and addiction services. Johnston says that she is "proudly pro-business" and would try and reduce red tape for businesses if elected, though she isn't specific about what this would entail. Like other candidates in the race, she supports investment in non-violent crisis response teams for calls pertaining to substance abuse or mental crises. She would also invest in mobile crisis units and treatment-first programs to help those struggling on the streets. Other policy points include expanding affordable housing through mixed-income developments, advocating for more reliable public transit, and supporting living wages.

Software engineer and database administrator Todd Briske's top priority in his candidacy is to reduce 911 call times. Briske states that current efforts to counter homelessness are ineffective, and that he would want the city to divert all earmarked funds into shelter capacity and mental health services, as well as building housing priced at two times the median income and sold at cost, though it's not clear how he would incentivize builders to do so.

Lindsay Wills is a small business owner who has served on the McKinley Hill Neighborhood Steering Committee for two years and was just elected to the Eastside Neighborhood Advisory Council of Tacoma (ENACT) board in 2025. Branding herself as a "regular person who cares about local government," Wills hopes to leverage her time attending council meetings into more direct involvement in city affairs. Much of her campaign addresses the way the city is run rather than specific issue priorities. Willis wants to collaborate with the Community and Economic Development Department to identify opportunities for attracting climate-friendly businesses to the city and to serve as an advocate for small business owners, helping them streamline the city's permitting processes.

Hunter Henderson has served in several leadership positions in the community, including as a recent board member of the Hilltop Action Coalition, as well as on the boards of College Success Foundation and the Parks Tacoma Nature and Environmental Council. He currently works for the Washington State Department of Transportation as a transportation planner.

As a lifelong Tacoma resident, Henderson aims to enhance the city's port and infrastructure while consulting with residents. He aims to bring chip production to the city, attract skilled labor, create a denser tree canopy, focus on building affordable homes, and construct more roundabouts to support Mission Zero's vision of zero traffic fatalities. Specifically, he calls out the Bridge Industrial Project as one that impacts resident health and a project he would not have supported were he serving on the council.

Keating has two challengers in this race. Pastor Caleb Fahey has struggled with addiction, housing insecurity, and incarceration in his life, but credits his faith with helping him achieve a more stable and safe life. Now, he works within his church to provide mentoring and community support. Unfortunately, in this low-information race, it appears that one of Fahey’s top priorities is the conservative dog-whistle issue of parental control, which is code for right-wing backlash against multicultural, scientific, and sexual health curriculum programming. Members of the Tacoma school district community deserve an elected leader with a deeper understanding of the issues that actually affect our students, such as equity gaps, aging infrastructure, and community safety concerns.

This race sees the unfortunate return of far-right candidate Brian Wolk, a software engineer also known as Brine Wolk and Brian’na Wolk. Wolk ran for a seat on the school board back in 2023 on a platform dedicated to “anti-woke” MAGA politics. Despite identifying publicly as a “trans lesbian two-spirit indigenous woman of color,” a 2023 interview with The News Tribune revealed this identification to be a deeply offensive stunt intended to make a mockery of marginalized identities. Wolk has supported an extremist school board agenda, including supporting conspiracy theories about and misinformation within our local schools. Recently, Wolk posted in support of “White Lives Matter,” a racist, reactionary movement to the multi-racial coalition behind Black Lives Matter. Our students, district families, and staff deserve leaders who have the best intentions to improve our local schools and community. There is no room for hateful, divisive voices like Wolk’s on the Tacoma School Board.