SEIU Healthcare 1199NW Endorsements

Incumbent Dave Upthegrove is running to bring his tri-part vision of King County to reality: health, jobs, and justice. He was the first openly gay state representative from outside Seattle in Washington history, and he went on to serve five terms in the Legislature before being elected to the King County Council in 2013.

Upthegrove has been a good council member and a solid advocate on several fronts in the county. He has been a leading voice on the council for environmental protections and climate action. As the chair of the King County Flood Control District Board of Supervisors, Upthegrove has worked to repair estuaries and has increased funding for repairing salmon habitats. 

If re-elected, Upthegrove hopes to continue making progress on police accountability by strengthening civilian oversight of the sheriff's office. Overall, Upthegrove has been a reliable vote on many issues but has not been as ambitious on some priorities as Olow plans to be. In particular, he frustrated housing and human service advocates with his opposition to a more ambitious Vets, Seniors, and Human Services Levy in 2017. During our interview, he said he has learned in recent years the value of year-round public engagement, instead of just before a major vote, and this community input has made him more willing to support tax increases if they fund valuable services. He has earned support from both labor and environmental groups in this race.

Sarah Moore is running for Burien City Council, Position 5. Moore serves as vice-chair of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and co-founded ACLU Burien People Power. Her work experience includes more than 20 years at the Pacific Science Center and managing a quarantine site with King County during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moore's platform includes ensuring affordable housing for everyone through partnerships with other cities, state and county agencies, and nonprofit organizations and addressing causes of crime through distributing much-needed resources to Burien's communities. She also wants to prioritize environmental issues, including reducing polluted stormwater that runs into Puget Sound and providing lots of outdoor, walkable spaces.

Moore is facing small business owner Alex Simkus. He's running for city council to ensure entities like the Port of Seattle, the Department of Transportation, and King County Metro are held accountable for what he perceives as poor taxing and spending decisions. While his platform mentions increasing access to affordable housing and making utilities more affordable, Simkus does not bring the same level of detail to the campaign as Moore.

Moore is the best choice for Burien City Council, Position 5.

Alicia Crank is running for Edmonds City Council, Position 1. Crank currently works as the chief development officer at a local nonprofit and serves as the vice-chair of the Edmonds Planning Board. She has extensive community leadership experience including working for the Edmonds Senior Center, Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, and the Edmonds Sister City Commission.

In this campaign, Crank is prioritizing housing affordability, transparent and responsive government, thoughtful growth, and public safety initiatives to reduce gun violence. She has proposed green building practices and constructing mixed-use developments to make sure that Edmonds can grow while remaining committed to environmental sustainability and economic diversity. Crank is running a strong campaign and has earned endorsements from progressive elected officials and organizations.

Crank is running against incumbent council member Kristiana Johnson. First elected in 2012, Johnson has made environmental protections a focus of her time on the council. Unfortunately, she sent a racially insensitive email last year regarding federal grants for white-owned and Asian-owned businesses that drew criticism from her fellow council members. She has since apologized, but the situation raises concerns about her ability to engage an equity lens and to serve all Edmonds residents.

Alicia Crank is the best choice in this race and deserves your vote for Position 1 on the Edmonds City Council.

Adrienne Fraley-Monillas is running for re-election to Edmonds City Council, Position 3. Fraley-Monillas serves as president of the Snohomish County Health District, volunteers at the Edmonds Senior Center, and works on the city’s Diversity Commission, of which she was a founding member.

In her three terms as a council member, she has proven her commitment to health care opportunities for everyone and protecting the environment. Fraley-Monillas has supported achieving sanctuary city status through Edmonds' Safe City Resolution, developing public green spaces, and investing in infrastructure to keep Edmonds safe. Going forward, updating Highway 99 and advancing diversity and equity in Edmonds remain her long-term priorities. She is endorsed by a wide range of progressive leaders and organizations in this race.

Challenging Fraley-Monillas is Neil Tibbott, the executive director of a Christian leadership organization. Tibbott’s campaign emphasizes an exclusionary housing policy that would make Edmonds less affordable. He claims he wants to bring “political climate change” to the city council, which would mean cutting community programs and slowing progress on issues facing Edmonds residents.

Fraley-Monillas is the clear choice in this race and deserves your vote for Edmonds City Council, Position 3.

Incumbent Liz Vogeli has been a dedicated and passionate advocate for the residents of Everett since her election to the council in 2018. She is one of the most progressive members of the council, and sometimes the sole vote on important proposals. She was the lone no-vote for the "no-sit, no-lie" ordinance that passed this February, which criminalizes sitting or laying on the sidewalk in a roughly 10-block area, a policy which national legal advocacy organizations called "cruel and unusual punishment" for those who will be fined or jailed because they can't afford shelter. She has also voted to provide supportive housing for homeless students.

If re-elected, Vogeli aims to incentivize more affordable and climate-friendly housing, support much-needed access to the library, advocate for de-escalation and mental health experts to work alongside law enforcement, and push for more sustainable transit. She enjoys strong support from a wide breadth of progressive advocacy organizations, including health care workers, environmental organizations, and labor unions.

Challenging Vogeli is Tommie Rubatino, a teacher and pastor. His top campaign priorities are addressing homelessness, neighborhood safety, and supporting businesses. However, as of mid-October he does not have detailed policy proposals available on his website, and there is nothing that particularly points to a progressive agenda. His endorsements by Republican elected officials imply that Rubatino would lead from a more conservative angle if elected.

Vogeli has served the people of Everett well with her progressive vision for the city. We strongly recommend a vote to re-elect Liz Vogeli for Everett City Council in District 4.

A note for Everett voters: this is the first election using the new redistricted map adopted last year. District 4 includes the neighborhoods of Westmont and Holly.

Gregory Baruso is running for re-election to Federal Way City Council, Position 2. Baruso is a firefighter and the president of the Citizens for Federal Way Schools. He also served on the city's Diversity Commission for 12 years.

Baruso was appointed to the city council in March 2020 and serves as the chair of the Land Use and Transportation Committee. He has worked to balance the city's budget, support local recovery from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and sponsored several initiatives to help end racial discrimination. Baruso is emphasizing helping both people and local businesses recover from the impacts of COVID-19 in his re-election campaign.

Baruso is facing Erica Norton, a local business owner. She previously served as chairperson for the Pierce County Corrections Committee as well as the Federal Way Homelessness Coalition. Her platform is not progressive and emphasizes funding for the police instead of looking at investing in community services that would be more effective at keeping our community safe. Norton's campaign website includes complaints about the state's COVID-19 safety measures, which were instrumental in saving countless lives.

Baruso is the best choice for Federal Way City Council, Position 2.

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.

Incumbent Jim Cooper is a veteran and the CEO of United Ways of the Pacific Northwest. He is also deeply involved in the community as president of the Olympia Metropolitan Parks District, chair of the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency Board, and chair of the Regional Housing Council.

Cooper and the city council have passed several significant pieces of legislation that benefit the community. Notably, he supported the Olympia Home Fund to build new supportive permanent housing, provided funding for struggling businesses and families during the pandemic, and created a regional climate plan with neighboring cities. If re-elected, Cooper states that he will focus on housing and economic recovery, twin crises that affect everyone in the community, as well as continuing conversations on criminal justice reform.

Cooper faces a challenge from conservative Spence Weigand, an Olympia-based realtor. His three listed campaign priorities include addressing homelessness, housing, and improving the business climate. While his site doesn't go into specifics on these as of mid-October, he repeats false and misleading claims about people experiencing homelessness in Thurston County. He also criticizes efforts to clean up and supply sanitation at encampments and wants to see increased law enforcement presence and new mental health facilities. On the matter of affordable housing, he is a supporter of zoning reform on single-family zoning, as well as projects like the 478-unit West Bay Yards project, while disclosing that his real estate firm is involved in the Hardel property.

Cooper is backed by a significant number of unions, including the Lacey and Olympia firefighters' unions and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367, as well as by Lt. Gov. Denny Heck and a large number of county and city elected officials. His track record on the council and strong support from our partners and local leaders make him the best choice in this race.

Julie Door is running unopposed for re-election to Position 2 in District 3 on the Puyallup City Council. Door first joined the council in 2014 and was then elected by her council colleagues to serve as mayor in 2020. Door is a local, small business owner, and she is a member of the South Sound 911 board and the former chair of the Puyallup Kiwanis Club’s community services committee. In this race, Door is endorsed by an impressive number of elected and community leaders and progressive organizations.

Since joining the council, Door has worked to expand public green space, strengthen community safety, and address the housing crisis with shelter solutions. She helped to implement the Safe Routes to Schools initiative and supported the Van Lierop farm purchase in order to create a new park. In this race, Door wants to focus on building an economy for all through strategic infrastructure investments that would benefit transportation and Puyallup’s livability. She also wants to keep working to reduce homelessness and finally achieve accessible, safe housing for all residents. Door would also work to keep Puyallup safe, especially from the continuing spread of coronavirus, and keep improving the public school system so that all students can thrive.

Julie Door deserves to be re-elected to Position 2 on the Puyallup City Council in District 3.

Catherine Ushka is running for re-election to Tacoma City Council, Position 4. Ushka was first elected to the council in 2017 and previously served on the Tacoma School Board for eight years. She chairs the Community Vitality and Safety Committee and is a member of groups including the Parks Policy Board and Opioid Prevention Taskforce.

In her time on the council, Ushka supported apprenticeship programs by changing labor codes to make these programs more accessible. If she's re-elected, Ushka wants to do more to fight racial inequalities in health, housing, education, employment, and law enforcement. She states that she will continue to work for more flexible federal funding for housing and shelters, including low-barrier shelters with fewer barriers to entry for the city's unhoused population. Ushka also feels the city needs to increase zoning density where suitable to address the housing deficit and provide additional resources for responding to mental health crises.

Also in this race is Israel James McKinney. McKinney has worked for Boeing and Xfinity and currently works for Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services. His platform includes prioritizing education, supporting police reform and accountability, and reducing the gap in affordable housing.

Our local council was disappointed with some of Ushka's interview answers, including her support for moving the migrant detention center to the Nalley Valley. However, Ushka’s support from local progressive groups and our partner organizations makes her the best choice in the race for Tacoma City Council, Position 4.

Janice Deccio is a communications coordinator who is running for the Yakima City Council's District 4 seat vacated by incumbent Kay Funk, who is not running for re-election. Deccio has served on several boards in the community, including Wellness House, an organization that supports cancer patients and their families, and the Yakima Symphony. Her platform includes supporting affordable housing and maintaining city infrastructure. However, Deccio's highlighting of "suppressing crime" with law enforcement does not speak to progressive values, and we hope that the candidate's position will evolve to address the many factors that contribute to and can decelerate gun violence, including expanding mental health support, providing outreach workers, and improving school dropout prevention.

Deccio is running against Mark Shervey, the owner of a local coffee roaster. Shervey's priorities include addressing infrastructure, gang violence, homelessness, the economy, and the city's image, but he lacks detailed proposals for what he would do about these issues. He is endorsed by at least one conservative group whose key issues include some of the worst and most divisive hallmarks of the right-wing agenda.

We appreciate Deccio's attention on social media to health inequalities and standing against racism, and hope that if elected she will follow the lead of more progressive council members. While Deccio is a fairly moderate candidate, she is the best choice in this race.