Asian Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Empowerment (APACE) Endorsements

Sen. Joe Nguyen was elected to the Washington state Senate in 2018 and has worked as a senior program manager at Microsoft since 2013. His parents were refugees from Vietnam who came to White Center, where Nguyen was born and raised.

During Nguyen's time in the Legislature, he has been an advocate for Washington's families and equality, including playing a leadership role in fully funding the Working Families Tax Credit. In addition, he co-sponsored legislation to require anti-racism and equity training in public schools.

Nguyen is running for county executive to implement sweeping actions on the affordable housing crisis, to reform the criminal justice system with deep changes and accountability, and to make the state's economy work for everyone, not just the wealthiest people. In particular, Nguyen has proposed to make all transit services free to improve access and increase ridership. He also wants to leverage the new Regional Homelessness Authority to significantly scale up the building of affordable housing.

Nguyen has the support of elected leaders including state Reps. Kirsten Harris-Talley and David Hackney as well as state Sen. Bob Hasegawa and Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti. Nguyen is a progressive choice if you're looking for new leadership in the executive's office who will prioritize racial justice and systemic change.

Incumbent Rod Dembowski is an attorney who has represented District 1 since 2013. He has served in county affairs in several capacities, including as a pro bono counsel for the King County Superior Court, policy analyst in the county executive's office, and special prosecuting attorney.

If re-elected, Dembowski will continue working on sustainable human services funding, protecting the wild areas of the Puget Sound region, and looking for sustainable transit funding that improves transportation options. He also wants to expand housing with an eye on reducing commute times and increasing affordability for workers and families. While on the council, Dembowski has sponsored several progressive reforms, including giving grocery workers hazard pay in the pandemic and moving to make the sheriff an appointed position through the council and an advisory committee.

Challenging Dembowski is Kenmore resident and first-time candidate Sally Caverzan. According to her LinkedIn, she has worked as a long-term care social worker and is passionate about the environment. Her official voters' guide statement says that she would support instituting term limits for politicians, expanding mental health and addiction care with the creation of a King County regional treatment facility, and increasing supportive and permanent housing.

Dembowski has earned broad support from elected officials, reproductive health and environmental organizations, labor unions, and many more. We recommend Dembowski for King County Council in District 1 because of his proven track record of progressive leadership.

Sarah Perry is a small business owner, nonprofit fundraiser, and Democratic activist who is challenging incumbent Kathy Lambert for King County Council in District 3. Perry has years of experience building financial support for nonprofits and universities in the Puget Sound area.

Perry is running on a platform of supporting small businesses, protecting farmlands and the environment, and improving transportation. In particular, she wants to provide more support for the 40% of the district in unincorporated King County that can't rely on city leadership for investments and infrastructure. In our interview with Perry, she presented a detailed overview of her campaign as a strong advocate for growth management. She wants to promote urban forests, preserve the district's natural areas, usher in alternative energy sources, and improve wastewater and storm runoff in open spaces. Perry also wants to see an equity lens brought to COVID recovery, ensuring that new modes of transit are brought to the district, supporting behavioral health, and assisting those struggling with affordable housing.

While the King County Council is officially non-partisan, Perry's opponent, longtime Republican Kathy Lambert, has lost touch with this diverse and rapidly changing district. Lambert has voted against transit access for years, including voting to end Seattle's downtown free-ride zone. She also voted against making the county sheriff an appointed position, which was proposed to give the council and county executive more oversight in the wake of protests against police brutality. Lambert was the only "no" vote on the 2019 bill to use state money to fund early learning, post-secondary education, and in-home care providers.

Lambert received broad criticism in early October for a mail piece from her campaign that singled out the only Black member of the King County Council with fear-mongering and divisive language. All six Democrats on the council, as well as King County Executive Dow Constantine, denounced the attack and said it has no place in our public discourse. 

We need to elect leaders who will bring people together to create meaningful change, not tear each other down and divide us with hateful rhetoric. Perry's extensive civic engagement and track record of collaboration has earned her overwhelming support from community leaders and progressive organizations. Vote for Perry for new progressive leadership on the King County Council from District 3.

Kim-Khanh Van is a current Renton City Council member who is running for King County Council in District 9 to bring her experience and dedication to the county. After her family escaped Vietnam as refugees and settled in King County, she went on to earn her doctorate and become an attorney. Van credits the community for her successes and wants to provide families and residents with healthy, livable communities that include child care access and infrastructure maintenance. Outside of her work on the city council, Van serves in a multitude of organizations, including as a PTA president, a volunteer attorney with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and the co-founder of AAPI Against Hate.

Van has demonstrated that she is willing to take tough public votes on behalf of the most vulnerable in the community. She was one of only two members of the Renton City Council who voted to maintain the Red Lion Hotel as a source of housing for residents experiencing homelessness. In our interview, we were impressed with her in-depth knowledge about the issue and her desire to lead as a consensus and coalition builder at the county level. She wants to do more to educate voters on the economic and social benefits of providing supportive, stable housing early, rather than jailing people experiencing homelessness.

Van has done much advocacy work for marginalized communities. She understands the struggles that the Black, Latino, and Asian-Pacific Islander communities have faced historically and in the present, and vows to continue to stand with residents to make the county a place of opportunity for all.

Her opponent is Republican incumbent Reagan Dunn, who has served on the council since he was appointed and later elected to the position in 2005. Before that, he worked as a federal prosecutor appointed by President George W. Bush and was the national coordinator of a Department of Justice program that increases policing in neighborhoods. Dunn challenged Bob Ferguson in the 2012 race for attorney general and lost.

On the council, Dunn has been a consistent voice opposing the progressive reforms proposed by the rest of the council. In March, Dunn was the lone vote against giving grocery store workers $4 per hour hazard pay for their service on the front lines of the pandemic. In addition, Dunn was a vocal opponent of streamlining homelessness services between Seattle and King County. Instead, he proposed spending $1 million of taxpayer money on bus tickets to send people experiencing homelessness to other states, another shortsighted proposal that failed to address the root causes of the issue. In this campaign, he has emphasized his prosecutorial background and longstanding support of law enforcement without talking about how to increase accountability for law enforcement.

Van's strong experience and progressive values make her the best choice for King County Council in District 9.

Hamdi Mohamed is running for Seattle Port Commissioner, Position 3 with a visionary agenda for the port that centers the needs of the workers, the environment, and the broader community. Mohamed's family fled Somalia and settled in the SeaTac region when she was 5 years old, with her mother working in the airport. Mohamed now works in the King County Office of Equity and Social Justice as a policy advisor and has helped manage the millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds that went to community-based organizations in King County.

As a resident of SeaTac, Mohamed lives in one of the communities most affected by airport pollution. Given that none of the current commissioners live in South King County, she seeks to bridge the gap between port policy and lived experience. She wants to expand the port's efforts to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy and restore habitats for salmon and orcas. Through greater direct partnership with workers, Mohamed wants to protect unions, provide pandemic relief, and prioritize workplace health.

In our interview with Mohamed, we were incredibly impressed by her drive to improve the lives of those who work and live near the port. One recent example of her accomplishment was her work with Beyoncé and Tina Knowles to provide free coronavirus testing and supplies to local organizations and working with the King County Immigrant and Refugee Commission to center language access in COVID-19 relief.

Mohamed is running against incumbent Stephanie Bowman, who has served on the commission since 2013. Bowman is proud of the port commission's progress on many fronts, including expanding youth job training opportunities in partnership with Seattle Public Schools, making stormwater improvements, and developing a noise insulation program for homes close to the airport. She states that one of her most important accomplishments was tripling the number of interns, many of which were youth of color from marginalized communities. If re-elected, Bowman would focus on improving economic opportunity at the port for all, including union members, women-owned businesses, lower-income workers, and more.

However, we were extremely disappointed when Bowman voted in 2015 to allow Shell Oil to base its arctic drilling operations in Seattle. In addition, she voted to use taxpayer money to file a legal challenge against SeaTac's $15 per hour minimum wage. In our interview with Bowman this year, she stated that she had been on the commission for less than six months before the wage increase vote, and believed that the council did not have the regulatory authority to make the change. On the Shell vote, she said that the commission was not transparent enough about it and that she would rather have ships come to Seattle ports where the environmental standards are the highest.

We believe Mohamed would be a stronger leader for progress at the port and would bring much-needed representation to the commission for South King County communities. We strongly support Hamdi Mohamed for her dedication to the community, her progressive agenda, and her backing by progressive organizations.

Small business owner and former renewable energy executive Dexter Borbe is running for Bellevue City Council, Position 2. Born in the Phillippines, he moved to the U.S. to earn his MBA at MIT before going on to work at several technology companies.

Borbe is a political newcomer who wants to bring an outside perspective to the Bellevue City Council. His campaign is focused on transportation, affordability, and economic development. He supports building more housing, particularly in Factoria and Crossroads, along with making the transit and transportation investments necessary to reduce traffic congestion. In addition, this would help alleviate a severe shortage of housing for low-income residents of Bellevue. If elected, Borbe would also push to improve transparency on the council by reducing voice votes so Bellevue residents have a record of how their representatives vote.

Borbe is challenging longtime incumbent Conrad Lee, who is running for re-election to the council position he has served in since 1994. Lee is a Republican who opposed the light rail expansion to the Eastside, which will begin service in 2023. More recently, Lee opposed efforts to expand shelter options for people experiencing homelessness in Bellevue. He is not a progressive choice.

Bellevue is a rapidly growing and changing city that deserves leaders who are ready to tackle a host of new challenges. Dexter Borbe is the best choice for Bellevue City Council, Position 2.

Mayor Jimmy Matta is running for re-election to Burien City Council, Position 3. Matta is the founder of Ahora Construction and serves on the Burien Airport Committee, Soundside Alliance Policy Committee, and Latino Civic Alliance Board. He was first elected in 2018 and has a deep understanding of the struggles that working families face. His family immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala, and by the time he was a teenager, Matta had dropped out of high school to support his family. He later started his construction business and went on to become a representative for the Carpenters Union for over 20 years.

As mayor, Matta worked during the early years of the Trump administration to pass a resolution making sure immigrant communities know they are welcome in Burien. Recently, Matta joined a majority of the council voting in favor of expanding affordable housing in downtown Burien. The new building will include units set aside for Burien residents and veterans.

Matta is facing a challenge from Mark Dorsey. Dorsey is running on a divisive and conservative platform that scapegoats homeless residents. He opposes the downtown affordable housing project and uses a campaign slogan of "Burien first," which echos the worst of our recent political leadership.

Matta is the clear choice for Burien City Council, Position 3.

Leandra Craft is running to retain her seat on Federal Way City Council in Position 5. She was appointed to the council in October 2020 and is a King County deputy prosecuting attorney. Craft focuses her work as an attorney on alternatives to incarceration and prosecuting hate crimes. In her time on the council, she has been a voice for all members of the community and worked to prioritize housing affordability as well as economic development and recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also in this race is Jack Walsh, a former newspaper reporter who currently owns a local ice cream business. Walsh led advisory vote campaigns to keep marijuana businesses out of Federal Way. His campaign platform includes a refusal to consider investing in community safety alternatives as well as damaging misinformation about people experiencing homelessness.

Craft is the obvious choice in the race for Federal Way City Council, Position 5.

Renae Seam is running for Federal Way City Council, Position 6. She works for Boeing Employees Credit Union utilizing her master's degree in business and data analytics. Seam wants to use her experience in risk management and analytics to ensure community members can remain financially stable or regain financial stability, disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, create a climate action plan to increase sustainability and minimize Federal Way's carbon footprint, and be a voice for the marginalized and disadvantaged communities.

Seam is facing Jack Dovey. Dovey is a former mayor and council member in Federal Way. He is currently a marketing manager for GPSLockbox whose campaign website is not functional as of mid-October. Dovey's campaign platform is thin and does not prioritize issues the community has been calling for, including reforms to the local approach to public safety.

Seam is the best choice in the race for Federal Way City Council, Position 6.

Jake Simpson is an organizer and cook who is running for SeaTac City Council, Position 2. He is running to make SeaTac a city that welcomes everyone and serves all people equally. Simpson is dedicated to working with employers to find outcomes that benefit both workers and businesses.

Simpson is running against incumbent Stan Tombs. Tombs is conservative and re-joined the council in June 2020 after Councilmember Amina Ahmed passed away. He previously served as vice-chair of the SeaTac Planning Commission. Tombs said upon rejoining that he would be a placeholder until the next election but is now running for re-election.

Tombs claims he has a commitment to affordable housing and robust community services, but his actions are divisive and he votes with the more conservative bloc of the council against funding these services. He voted in December 2020 to eliminate funding from immigrant and refugee services. He also voted to not fund children and family services, medical equipment and guardianship for adults with developmental disabilities, or YMCA programming, all while boasting of doubling the number of police. None of these actions speak to the compassionate service for all that Tombs advertises. 

Simpson will bring needed progressive change to the SeaTac City Council. We recommend Simpson for SeaTac for City Council, Position 2.

Iris Guzmán is a social worker with Highline Public Schools who is running for SeaTac City Council, Position 6. She has lived in SeaTac for nearly 15 years and has a master's in social work. Guzmán wants to bridge the gaps between housing, food, and other basic needs for communities in SeaTac, and she understands the experience of working families firsthand.

Guzmán is challenging incumbent Councilmember Pam Fernald. Fernald is a block watch captain who participated in the CItizen's Police Academy. She is conservative and, as of mid-October, her campaign website has not been updated since 2013.

Guzmán is the clear choice for SeaTac City Council, Position 6.

Teresa Mosqueda is running for re-election to Seattle City Council, Position 8. Previously, Mosqueda worked at the Washington State Labor Council as a political campaigns director and served on the board of Fuse Washington.

Mosqueda was first elected in 2017 and has distinguished herself as a progressive leader on the Seattle City Council. She sponsored the Jumpstart Seattle legislation that will fund affordable housing through a tax on high earners at large corporations. In addition, Mosqueda 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 campaign priorities include addressing our housing crisis with greater urgency, including re-zoning housing across Seattle, as well as providing assistance to renters and investing in health citywide.

Mosqueda is running against Kenneth Wilson, the manager of an engineering company. Wilson's platform is not progressive and does not reflect the community's priorities. His voter's guide statement includes comments about public safety and policing that indicate he would not support reinvestment in community safety alternatives. He is also dismissive of evidence-based solutions for our affordable housing crisis.

Mosqueda is a strong progressive and the clear choice for Seattle City Council, Position 8.

Lawyer and community activist Nikkita Oliver is running for Seattle City Council, Position 9. Oliver, who uses they/them pronouns, works with numerous local groups including Urban Impact, the Urban Youth Leadership Academy, and the Union Gospel Mission’s Youth Reach Out Center. Oliver is an exceptionally progressive advocate who is incredibly dedicated to creating systemic change focused on the needs of communities of color and low-income Seattleites. They also serve as executive director of Creative Justice and is a member of coalitions like Decriminalize Seattle, Free Them All WA, and No New Youth Jail.

Their forward-looking platform is centered around economic, social, racial, and environmental justice. Oliver's top priorities include expanding affordable housing, redirecting some police funding to make investments in communities, and bringing a Green New Deal to Seattle. If elected, Oliver would pursue policies to give everyone the opportunity to thrive, including preparing for extreme weather driven by climate change season that disproportionately impacts Black, brown, and Indigenous communities, and providing municipal broadband for all.

Oliver is running against Sara Nelson, who co-founded and owns Fremont Brewing. She wants to bring her experience as a small business owner to the council and refocus the city on delivering basic services. Nelson does not support increasing investments in homelessness services and affordable housing, despite clear evidence from outside studies that the city's funding has been inadequate. She also opposes redirecting funds from the police department into community-based alternatives for public safety.

The Seattle City Council has a track record of crafting innovative solutions to some of the most important issues facing our community. From groundbreaking minimum wage and sick leave requirements to empowering workers with predictable schedules and hazard pay to pushing for bold action on climate and making the wealthy pay their share, the city council has worked to build a stronger and more inclusive city.

As we tackle big challenges with homelessness, police violence, climate change, and pandemic recovery, it's not the time to elect a cautious, business-oriented candidate who doesn't appear to be a catalyst for progressive change. Oliver is the clear choice in this race for Seattle City Council, Position 9.

Joyce Shui is an attorney and founder of the Purple School who is running for the Bellevue School Board in District 3. Shui is currently the lead senior legal counsel for a software company and has previously served on the boards of the Washington Women Lawyers and the American Lung Association of Washington. She has also volunteered at a legal clinic in the International District providing legal services to community members with low incomes.

Her campaign is emphasizing equity and empathy, as well as increasing opportunities for all students. She wants the community to be involved in school board decision-making and pledges to be a transparent leader on the board. Shui is endorsed by progressive leaders including Rep. My-Linh Thai and groups including the 41st and 48th Legislative District Democrats.

Shui is facing Faye Yang, a dietician and nutrition service director. Yang's campaign is focused on criticizing the Bellevue School District's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She is also strongly opposed to the district's efforts to promote racial equity and reduce the opportunity gap.

Yang has faced extensive criticism during the campaign for racist remarks she made about Black and Latino students. In a shocking email to the Bellevue School Board in 2018, Yang said that the lower graduation rate of Black and Latino students was due to the "genetic disparity between the races when it comes to IQ scores." This extremely racist and factually inaccurate statement harkens back to the worst of the Jim Crow era and segregated schools.

One out of every six students in the Bellevue School District is Black or Latino. Yang has clearly demonstrated that she is unqualified and uninterested in providing them a quality education. Her racism has no place in our schools or any elected office.

Shui is the clear choice for Bellevue School Board in District 3.

Jane Aras is running for the Bellevue School District Board of Directors in District 5. She has experience teaching special education and has spent the past 19 years volunteering in Bellevue schools. She is active in the PTSA, created a math and reading club for students, and introduced before-school computer programming for 4th- and 5th-grade students.

Aras understands the toll COVID-19 has taken on students and staff. She wants to prioritize bringing students back with proper support while addressing pre-pandemic issues including closing academic gaps and encouraging everyone to consider a variety of options after graduating. Aras’ campaign also focuses on equitable access to high-quality education for all, giving every student the tools they need to thrive.

Aras is facing Gregg Smith. He owns a broadband business and has been a Parent Student Teacher Association vice president. Smith has two children who he pulled out of Bellevue public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic and enrolled in private schools to receive in-person education.

Smith has been active with a small group of conservative Bellevue parents who has been spreading divisive conspiracy theories about Bellevue schools. Classrooms should be a place where kids develop their understanding of the world, but some politicians like Smith are trying to make our kids’ classrooms into political battlegrounds. Part of Smith's campaign strategy is scaring parents by spreading lies about the lessons being taught instead of supporting a historically accurate education. Like Faye Yang, Smith has also been a vocal opponent of the district's efforts to promote racial equity and reduce the opportunity gap for students of color.

Smith's track record indicates he would be a divisive and inflammatory voice who would unnecessarily politicize the school board. Aras’ experience, strong platform, and endorsements make her the clear choice for Bellevue School District Board of Directors in District 5.