The Washington Bus Endorsements

John Zingale is a first-time candidate running for the 18th Legislative District, Position 1 to bring a progressive voice to the seat vacated by Rep. Brandon Vick. Zingale is a middle school social studies teacher in the public school system. He has earned state and local awards as an educator who focuses on civic engagement and he serves on educational boards.

Zingale’s campaign priorities are based on the everyday conversations he has with students and families in the district. He is running to bring municipal broadband to the region, invest in our schools to prepare all our kids to succeed, and help local businesses thrive. Zingale also believes we need to build more affordable housing options, create more living-wage jobs, and break the cycle of generational poverty by addressing the high cost of living with community services.

Stephanie McClintock, a member of the Battle Ground School Board and chair of the Clark County Republican Party, is also vying for the 18th Legislative District seat. McClintock is running on a typically conservative platform to cut public funding that helps improve schools, transit, parks, and community services while spending more further militarizing and expanding police forces. McClintock is also campaigning on divisive rhetoric about school curriculums and wants to erase some of our communities from the history books.

Zingale is the best choice in this race and deserves your vote to bring progressive leadership to House Position 1 representing the 18th Legislative District.

Emily Randall is one of the Legislature's strongest advocates for expanding access to health care and protecting reproductive freedom. Prior to running for public office in 2018, Randall worked at Planned Parenthood, where she advocated for improving health outcomes for local underserved populations.

Randall has been a productive legislator responsible for writing and passing a host of bills during her four years in office. Her accomplishments include raising the minimum wage for people with disabilities, eliminating disparities in medical training, and extending postpartum health care coverage. She also sponsored legislation that would have protected health care access for families in rural areas.

Randall is running for re-election to reduce the cost of higher education and expand job training programs for graduating high school seniors. She also wants to expand access to affordable health care for Washington families.

In stark contrast to Randall's record of building consensus to pass legislation, her opponent, Rep. Jesse Young, is one of the most extreme MAGA Republicans in Olympia. Young sponsored several bills aimed at eliminating abortion access long before the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. After the 2020 election, Young traveled to Arizona to promote Trump's election conspiracy that sought to overturn the will of the people. During the height of the pandemic, he promoted dangerous, anti-science lies that put lives at risk.

Beyond his radical policy positions, Young also displayed serious lapses in judgment and character while in office. In 2017, Young was banned from managing legislative staff because of "a pattern of hostile and intimidating behavior" in his office. If elected to the Senate, Young can be expected to continue pushing a radical agenda that's far out of step with the people of the 26th Legislative District.

As abortion and health care come under attack by conservatives both federally and at the state level, it is imperative that senators continue to expand coverage and make sure that health care is accessible for all. We strongly recommend a vote for Sen. Emily Randall in the 26th Legislative District.

Sen. Yasmin Trudeau was unanimously selected by the Pierce County Council in late 2021 to replace Sen. Jeannie Darneille when she resigned to take a role in the state Department of Corrections. Trudeau is now running to complete the remainder of the Senate term representing the 27th Legislative District.

In her brief time in office so far, Trudeau has sponsored a large and ambitious slate of bills aimed at supporting youth, expanding health care access, and keeping people in stable housing. Some of the legislation she passed includes allowing unaccompanied, homeless youth to provide their own consent for health care, requiring landlords to accept both electronic and non-electronic payment for rent, and requiring insurance to cover donor breast milk. If re-elected, Trudeau has pledged to continue working hard to make life more secure for working families. She believes the Senate should continue making investments in behavioral health, housing, climate, and transportation policies, and she hopes to lead the charge.

Trudeau faces a challenge from Republican precinct committee officer and administrative manager Ashley Ray. She has only a bullet-point list of priorities on her website that outlines her conservative agenda while offering little information about her actual policy goals. She also repeats common talking points from Trump Republicans this year who want to deny students an honest and accurate education. Overall, her agenda falls short of what the district needs to recover from the pandemic and be a safe and thriving place for all.

Trudeau is the clear choice in this race for her experience and strong leadership in the Senate.

Sharlett Mena is running for the open 29th Legislative District, House Position 2 seat. Though she lost after a formidable run in the 2020 election to the current representative, Steve Kirby, his retirement after 21 years in the Legislature brings a new opportunity for her impressive candidacy.

Mena has a deep background in both public service and community organizing. She currently serves as Special Assistant to the Director of the Washington State Department of Ecology and has also worked in the governor's office. She co-created Voter Turnup in 2021, an organization led by people of color to spur voter turnout and civic engagement. Notably, she also serves on the boards of Progreso, Planned Parenthood, and Fuse Washington, which produces this guide.

Mena wants to take bold action to combat the climate crisis equitably, reduce homelessness, invest in transportation, and increase affordable housing. She sees reforming our upside-down tax code to finally make the wealthy pay their share as a key to our state's future.

Running against Mena is nurse practitioner David Figuracion. He does not have elected or community leadership experience and is running on a standard conservative agenda. His campaign materials focus on stoking fears of lawlessness, repealing age-appropriate sexual health education, and opposing making the wealthy finally pay their share with legislation like the wealth tax. His only endorsement is one from an anti-choice PAC fighting against reproductive freedom for all Washingtonians.

Sharlett Mena has strong progressive credentials and is ready to hit the ground running in Olympia. She is the best choice in the 29th Legislative District.

Sen. Claire Wilson was elected to the Senate in 2018 and serves as the assistant majority whip. Prior to her election, she spent 25 years as an administrator of early childhood education at the Puget Sound Educational Services District and has served in many community leadership roles, including on the PTA, Citizens for Federal Way Schools, and the Building Better Futures Board, among others.

This year, Wilson sponsored bills to invest in transportation, including ferry upgrades and free rides for kids on transit, as well as the successful gun safety measure of limiting high-capacity magazines. She also sponsored legislation to make Washington's extraordinarily wealthy residents finally pay their share for resources we all use. As an expert in education and youth, Wilson also sponsored a bill that will expand accessible and affordable child care and early education programs.

Wilson faces a challenge from former state representative and Federal Way Council President Linda Kochmar. Her 40-word, bullet-point agenda provides little detail on what she plans to do if elected. In the few words offered she alludes to revoking police accountability measures passed in the Legislature. Her record shows her opposition to making the wealthy pay what they owe our communities, and her legislative record received a "D" grade from Pro-Choice Washington. Kochmar is one of the more conservative members of the Federal Way City Council, going so far as to oppose hazard pay for grocery workers at the height of the pandemic.

Wilson has been a solid legislator and a mover of progressive policies in the Senate, especially for kids and families. She deserves your vote in the 30th Legislative District.

Former House representative Kristine Reeves is running for the vacant seat left open by the retirement of Rep. Jesse Johnson this year. She currently serves on the Washington State Gambling Commission and is the former director of Economic Development for the Military and Defense sector for Washington state.

In the Legislature, Reeves was a champion for paid family and medical leave, gun safety, linking students with apprenticeships, and making child care more affordable. She is motivated to address affordable housing and homelessness by using her experience growing up as a foster child and being homeless herself at times. Reeves also wants to see child care workers compensated more fairly, advocate for military families and veterans, achieve greater climate action, and protect abortion rights by closing fake "crisis pregnancy centers" that pretend to offer abortion services.

Reeves is running against Ashli Tagoai, a lawyer and former communications director for the Washington State Republican Party. Like many MAGA Republicans running this year, Tagoai is trying to divide and scare us about crime instead of providing our communities the care, security, and support we need. Rather than supporting proven strategies to reduce gun violence and address homelessness, Tagoai wants us to believe that the solution is just to put even more people in jail. She also has no desire to balance our state's upside-down tax code and would allow corporations and the wealthy to avoid paying what they owe our communities.

While Reeves has been progressive on several issues, she's taken a more cautious approach to others, including voting against taxing polluters. She was also one of only three Democrats to vote no on eviction protections in 2019, especially notable in this district because eviction disproportionately affects Black and Latino residents. While we hope that Reeves will vote differently on these issues, Tagoai's far-right agenda would drag the 30th Legislative District backward. Reeves is by far the best choice in this race.

Incumbent Sen. Joe Nguyen is running to continue bringing strong progressive leadership to the state Senate from the 34th Legislative District, where he has served since 2018. Outside of the Legislature, he has spent almost a decade at Microsoft as a senior program manager. He is running to put people over politics and keep helping Washingtonians access the resources they need to thrive.

This year, Nguyen sponsored a bill to prohibit the sale of high-capacity firearm magazines and keep our communities safe from gun violence. He also supported Move Ahead Washington, a historic policy package that will upgrade the state’s public transportation while making it more accessible for all and reducing our environmental impact. Throughout his first term, Nguyen’s priorities have included working toward environmental justice, balancing our state’s upside-down tax code, reforming our broken criminal legal system, and making sure all Washingtonians have equitable opportunities.

Nguyen faces a challenge from Republican John Potter, a paraeducator with the Highline School District and a member of the Teamsters Local 763. Potter would bring extremely conservative views to office if elected. He has a transphobic opinion of gender-affirming health services and wants to revoke our freedom to decide whether and when to grow our families by trying to ban safe, legal abortion. Potter’s approach to the housing crisis is to vilify our neighbors struggling to secure stable housing while cutting funding for the community services so many of us rely on.

Joe Nguyen has fought to make our state a place where all families and communities can thrive. He deserves to be re-elected and is the clear choice in this race.

School librarian Leah Griffin is an advocate for survivors of sexual assault. After police refused to test her rape kit, she worked with state officials on legislation that led to testing all 11,000 of the state's backlogged rape kits, passed a survivor's bill of rights, and more. Griffin also worked with Sen. Patty Murray on the federal Survivors’ Access to Supportive Care Act, founded the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) Task Force, and organized for the R-90 campaign for age-appropriate sexual health education.

Griffin is now running for the Legislature to advocate for more access to behavioral health care, public safety reform, and affordable housing. In our interview with Griffin, she elaborated on the immense need for more behavioral and mental health care across the population - for frontline workers with PTSD, youth, teachers, people experiencing homelessness, and many others. She wants to see counselors embedded in union halls and wraparound services at shelters, giving care at the point of need where people can access it. As a victim of violent crime, Griffin states that a lack of behavioral health care, housing, and education are the undercurrents for crime, and putting people in prison without resources is morally bankrupt. Griffin also wants to see an increase in green energy like tidal power, community-centered child care programs, and greater unionization of workers.

Both Griffin and Alvarado are progressive and support bills like the capital gains tax, which aim to flip Washington's deeply regressive tax code to stop favoring the ultra-wealthy. Griffin in particular is a good choice if you are looking for a candidate with a long record of grassroots advocacy who will focus on expanding health care access.

Rep. Noel Frame is running for the state Senate on a strong and progressive record of action in the state House. First elected as a representative in 2016, she previously served as the Washington state director of Progressive Majority, where she worked to recruit and elect progressive candidates from underrepresented communities. She has spent her time in Olympia advocating for working families, funding our public schools, and rebalancing our state's upside-down tax code.

Frame had a particularly productive legislative session this year. She sponsored many of the progressive bills that passed into law, including limiting ghost guns, restricting guns in certain public areas, creating a system to locate missing Indigenous people, and creating middle housing near transit. Though the bill didn't pass this year, Frame also sponsored the wealth tax bill that would make the extraordinarily wealthy finally pay their share for the resources we all use. She has supported juvenile justice reform, expanded the number of families who qualify for child care assistance, and protected us from surprise medical billing by continuing to push for a progressive Washington.

Frame faces planning and design consultant Kate Martin, who ran for Seattle City Council last year against Teresa Mosqueda, in 2019 against Councilmember Dan Strauss, and in 2013 for Seattle mayor.

While Martin filed for office as a Democrat, her values and public statements make it clear that she's not progressive. In December of 2020, Martin stated that "I joined the GOP today" and claims to have re-joined the Democratic Party only recently. However, her Facebook page is an endless stream of Republican conspiracy theories and disinformation about unions, the LGBTQ community, homelessness, and people struggling with addiction.

This race offers a clear contrast between a hard-working, proven leader in Olympia and a candidate who would block the kind of bold progressive reforms our communities need. While Martin filed for office as a Democrat, voters should know that her public statements reveal the truth about her far-right beliefs on a wide range of topics.

Rep. Frame has been a strong advocate for the district and deserves your vote.

Sen. Rebecca Saldaña is running unopposed for re-election to continue representing the 37th Legislative District in the state Senate. Previously, Saldaña worked as an organizer with several unions and served as the executive director of a progressive nonprofit. As a Chicana legislator, she co-chairs the Senate Members of Color Caucus in addition to serving as the vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.

Saldaña’s legislative priorities include working towards social equity and racial justice, strengthening workers’ rights, and making sure everyone can access their right to vote. She also wants to invest in public infrastructure like improved transit options and sustainable community development. This past session, she voted for a progressive slate of bills including legislation to prohibit the sale of high-capacity firearm magazines and bills to update our state’s climate goals.

Saldaña has earned your support for state Senate.

Rep. Sharon Shewmake, who currently serves the district in House Position 2, is now running for state Senate representing the 42nd Legislative District. She is a professor at Western Washington University, a member of Bellingham’s Lettered Streets Neighborhood Association, and an active union member. Her background in agricultural economics paired with her progressive values have made her an effective representative for residents of the 42nd Legislative District.

Shewmake’s top priorities for the Senate include investing in good schools, living-wage jobs, clean air and water, a productive local farm industry, and safe communities. This year, she sponsored a number of commonsense bills focused on protecting marine habitats, promoting cleaner business standards, and working towards greater social equity in our state. Shewmake also wants to make sure that all residents can access prescription medication and health care services, including the freedom to make personal reproductive health decisions.

Shewmake is challenging Trump Republican Sen. Simon Sefzik, who was appointed to take over Sen. Doug Ericksen’s seat when the late incumbent passed away last December. Prior to being appointed to the state Senate at age 22, Sefzik served as an intern at the White House during the last year of the Trump administration.

Since joining the Senate, Sefzik has minimized the real issues facing our communities and used his platform to promote divisive and extreme positions. Recently, Sefzik reaffirmed that he opposes reproductive freedom at a time when abortion access is under attack nationwide. In the state Senate, Sefzik and his Republican colleagues oppose funding services that help working Washingtonians afford groceries, gas, rent, and prescription medication. He also sponsored short-sighted legislation that would have cut funding for badly needed transportation projects in Whatcom County and across the state.

Sharon Shewmake has spent the last three years working to make the 42nd Legislative District a place where everyone has the chance to thrive. She is the clear choice for Senate.

Rep. Frank Chopp is running unopposed for Position 2 in the 43rd Legislative District. Chopp is the former speaker of the House, where he led on increasing the minimum wage, ensuring paid family and medical leave, achieving marriage equality, and more. Since his election in 2020, Chopp has supported a wide slate of progressive bills, including making child care more affordable through the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, enacting the Clean Fuels Standard, increasing funding for supportive housing and rental assistance, and creating an alert system for missing Indigenous people.

Chopp has earned your vote for another term in the House.

Claudia Kauffman is a former state senator from the 47th Legislative District. She is running for the Legislature again to uplift the need for early learning, affordable housing, climate action, and more. Kauffman currently serves as the Intergovernmental Affairs Liaison for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe where she oversees the tribe's legislative agenda on a local, state, and federal level, and she is the founder of Native Action Network. A member of the Nez Perce Tribe, if elected again to the Legislature, Kauffman would be one of a very small number of Indigenous lawmakers, alongside incumbent Rep. Lekanoff and potentially candidate Chris Stearns.

In our interview with Kauffman, she pointed out how the district's history of swinging between red and blue is an open opportunity for someone with her experience to win the seat. She wants to see the Housing Trust Fund increased, and would help teachers earn higher pay alongside opening more slots for early learning. Removing salmon culverts and cleaning up superfund sites on the Duwamish River are high on her environmental agenda and Kauffman wants to see more transit-oriented housing. On public safety, she believes that there should be more communication between police and the community.

Kauffman's opponent in this race is Kent City Council member and Republican Bill Boyce. He has just a few points on his agenda available on his site, including repealing the state's long-term care program. Boyce's desire to cut back on health care is unfortunate. According to NPR, about 70 percent of those over the age of 65 will need long-term care for everyday needs like bathing and dressing, not to mention people of any age who require a caregiver.

Despite his campaign's promise that he will fight regressive taxes, Boyce makes no mention of making the wealthy finally pay their share. The Republicans in Olympia he hopes to join have voted against a capital gains tax and other measures aimed at making corporations and extraordinarily wealthy individuals pay what they owe our communities, and Boyce would likely vote similarly if elected.

As the district recovers from the pandemic, our communities need greater investments in transit, housing, and the environment. Kauffman is by far the best choice in this race.

Rep. Debra Entenman is running for re-election to Position 1 in the 47th Legislative District. Before running for office, she served as the district director for U.S. Rep. Adam Smith. Entenman currently serves on the Renton Technical College Board of Trustees and previously served on the boards of Neighborhood House and Kent Youth and Family Services.

Entenman has had a consistent record of working to improve the lives of her constituents throughout her time in Olympia. This year, she was the prime sponsor of a bill to increase police accountability by creating an independent civilian office to investigate law enforcement incidents involving the use of force. In previous years she sponsored bills to provide youth with access to attorneys if contacted by law enforcement, limit facial recognition technology, and expand access to assistance for vulnerable families in need.

As part of her commitment to the wellbeing of all in the district, Entenman's campaign platform focuses on education, technology, public health, and the economy. She wants to increase food security for students, improve the availability of broadband internet, and make sure consumer data is safe and private. Entenman also wants to reimagine public safety using proven methods like violence reduction programs, housing, and mental health care.

Entenman faces a challenge from far-right Republican Kyle Lyebyedyev, who states that he will be "pro-Christianity," pro-guns, and anti-abortion. He challenged Entenman in 2020 on a platform that made false accusations about immigrants and refused to balance the state's upside-down code. Since 2020, his platform has remained staunchly conservative - against environmental protections, against public transit, and notably silent on making the wealthy pay their share for the resources we all use.

Entenman has been a stalwart and principled leader during her time in Olympia. As the district navigates pandemic recovery and building healthy, safe communities, it needs a serious legislator to tackle these issues. Rep. Entenman is the best choice in this race.

Leesa Manion has worked as the chief of staff of the King County prosecuting attorney’s office for the last 15 years. She is now running for King County prosecutor to provide consistent leadership to the office and support important reforms to the criminal legal system. If elected, she would be the first woman and the first person of color in this role. Outside of the prosecutor's office, Manion has served several leadership roles, including on the boards of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, and as co-founding partner of Choose 180, which offers coaching and diversion programs to keep youth out of the juvenile justice system.

Manion's top priorities include tackling the backlog of 4,500 cases filed during the pandemic's work halt, increasing funding for reforms like mental health court, and intervening in gun violence before people become victims or offenders. High on her agenda is continuing to prosecute violent crimes while addressing racial disparities and providing culturally responsive care to victims.

In our interview with Manion, she offered compelling insights about the prosecuting attorney's office and how she would manage it if elected. She spoke of her experience building a well-functioning team and solid working relationships throughout the legal system, as evidenced by the fact that she earned the endorsement of SEIU 925, the union that includes public defenders. She also spoke about the need to apply racial justice principles to better reflect the values of the community, and invite the community to public listening sessions or possibly convene community advisory boards. Finally, Manion committed to spending more time going to monthly police and sheriff meetings to build relationships throughout the county.

We recommend Manion for her impressive platform and extensive track record of results, as well as the broad support of many progressive and Democratic organizations.