Planned Parenthood Advocates Of Greater Washington and North Idaho Endorsements

Rep. Marcus Riccelli is running for re-election to Position 1 in the 3rd Legislative District. Prior to joining the House in 2013, Riccelli worked as a senior policy aide to Washington State Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown. Outside of the Legislature, he also works as the project manager for the Community Health Association of Spokane and as an advisory board member for the Northside YMCA.

In Olympia, Riccelli has sponsored key progressive legislation such as bills this session to ensure that all Washingtonians pay their share of taxes and to create more affordable housing options. Recently, he worked to pass the historic Move Ahead Washington transportation package that will benefit transit infrastructure, working families, and the environment.

Early in the pandemic, Riccelli spearheaded the efforts of the Spokane Food Fighters in donating hundreds of meals to those in need. In the Legislature, Riccelli also sponsored the Hunger-Free Schools Act, which provides a bridge of federal funding for free breakfast to schools where nearly half of students' families are using public assistance.

Challenging Riccelli is Republican Scotty Nicol, a musician and former assistant to Spokane mayor Nadine Woodward. Nicol is running on a vague, bullet point agenda that includes standard conservative talking points from the Legislature. His promise to create a pro-business environment echoes current Republican legislators' efforts to remove environmental regulations and refuse workers a fair return on their work. Similarly, his blanket promise of lowering taxes doesn't address the state's regressive tax code - specifically, that the wealthy have evaded paying their share into quality schools, roads, healthcare, and other resources we all use.

At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet, we can't afford another Republican candidate who caters to businesses and refuses to address the needs of working people. Rep. Riccelli has worked hard during his time in the Legislature to advocate for community-centered legislation and progressive values. Riccelli has earned your vote for state House.

Incumbent Democrat Rep. Timm Ormsby is running for re-election to Position 2 in Legislative District 3. He was first elected to the seat in 2003 and has worked on a wide range of progressive issues during his tenure in office. Outside of the Legislature, Ormsby is the president of the Spokane Regional Labor Council and has worked for a number of labor organizations previously.

In the House, Ormsby's policy goals include taking action on climate change that supports job growth and sustainable community development. Recently, he supported legislation to keep our communities safe from high-capacity firearms, as well as a bill to ensure cities and counties include affordable housing in their growth plans.

Ormsby is running against Republican Natalie Poulson, a special education teacher who was one of a handful of Finch Elementary School teachers and administrators who refused to wear masks in class last year. Poulson is a MAGA Republican who would promote misinformation in our schools, support militarized police forces in our communities, and offer tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy while working families continue to struggle to pay rent, afford medicine, and put food on the table.

Also in this race is Patrick Spurlock, a first-time candidate running with no party preference. Spurlock does not have a campaign platform as of mid-June but claims to value unity above greed and tyranny.

Rep. Ormsby has been a strong progressive leader and he deserves your vote for re-election to Legislative District 3, House Position 2.

Democratic Rep. Dave Paul is running for re-election to the 10th Legislative District, Position 2. The incumbent first joined the Legislature in 2019 after working for Skagit Valley College for more than a decade.

Paul has been an advocate for working families and improving our transportation system in office. He was a co-sponsor of last year’s Working Families Tax Credit that puts cash directly into the hands of working Washingtonians. This session, he supported the Move Ahead Washington package to improve public transportation infrastructure and access. Looking forward, Paul wants to invest in giving Washington’s youth the educational and mental health resources they need to succeed.

Republican Karen Lesetmoe is challenging Paul for state house. She is a real estate broker and Navy veteran. Lesetmoe does not have a detailed agenda but she pits her campaign against the state's economic recovery programs to keep working families afloat. Lesetmoe has echoed Republican talking points about crime while ignoring the investments our communities need to be safe.

Paul has been one of the most thoughtful leaders in Olympia during his first two terms, reaching across the aisle to get things done for the district. We enthusiastically recommend Paul to continue representing the 10th Legislative District with strong community-centered leadership in the House.

Rep. Debra Lekanoff is running unopposed for re-election to Legislative District 40, Position 1. Lekanoff is currently the only Native American woman in the Washington Legislature. She formerly worked for the Swinomish Tribe as the governmental affairs director and now serves as vice chair of the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee.

Lekanoff is running to keep fighting to protect our ecosystems for future generations while advocating for investments in public infrastructure and economic recovery. This session, she was the prime sponsor of historic legislation that created the country’s first alert system for missing Indigenous women. Lekanoff also supported the historic Move Ahead Washington transportation bill that will make public transit in Washington more accessible and environmentally friendly.

She is a strong progressive who will prioritize the environment, tribal representation, and community economic security. Lekanoff deserves re-election so she can continue building a future where all Washingtonians can prosper.

Rep. Alex Ramel is running for re-election to Position 2 in Legislative District 40. Ramel has been a strong progressive leader in the Legislature. The incumbent and environmental organizer previously served on the board of the Whatcom chapter Washington Conservation Voters and now works as a climate policy advisor for an environmental nonprofit.

Ramel’s top legislative priorities include fighting climate change, making housing more affordable, preventing gun violence, investing in community-first economic recovery, and making sure all Washingtonians can afford the health care they need. One of his environmental accomplishments this session was helping to pass the Move Ahead Washington transportation package that will invest in accessible and climate-friendly transit infrastructure like electric vehicle charging stations and zero-emissions ferry technology.

Beyond the transportation package, Ramel prioritized keeping our communities safe by restricting ghost guns, banning carrying guns in places like school board meetings, and creating an alert system for missing Indigenous people. He also sponsored important policies that we hope will move forward in the years to come, including a wealth tax on extraordinarily high earners and expanding housing options near transit.

Ramel faces a challenge from Trevor Smith, a moderate Democratic and the political director of a labor union whose workers install and manage natural gas infrastructure. Unfortunately, Smith's challenge represents a push by conservative corporations and fossil fuel interests to stop Ramel from fighting carbon pollution by promoting alternatives to natural gas like electrification. So far, corporate and conservative PACs and people have spent $150,000 backing Smith's campaign to oust Ramel.

Ramel has been a champion for fighting climate change and protecting our clean air and water. We hope the Legislature follows his lead and continues to fund training for workers to pivot to cleaner sources of fuel. But with a conservative Supreme Court hobbling the EPA's ability to regulate pollution, this is no time to stop climate action. 

Ramel has been an outstanding advocate for progressive causes and is the clear choice to continue serving the 40th Legislative District.

Rep. Sharon Shewmake, who currently serves the district in House Position 2, is running for state Senate. 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 MAGA Republican Sen. Simon Sefzik, who was appointed to take over Sen. Doug Ericksen’s seat when the late incumbent died of COVID-19 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. Though he lists living affordability as a top concern in this race, 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.

Whatcom County Councilmember Ben Elenbaas is a fellow Republican challenging Sefzik for this seat. Outside of the Legislature, he works in the agricultural industry. Even though working Washingtonians are struggling to pay bills and afford health care, Elenbaas wants to prioritize industry and corporations in the Senate, especially oil interests in the region. He also says he would throw our neighbors without stable housing into jails and prisons instead of investing in community programs so that we can all have our basic needs met.

Sharon Shewmake has spent the last three years working to make Legislative District 42 a place where everyone has the chance to thrive. She is the clear choice in this race for Washington’s state Senate.

Incumbent Alicia Rule is running for re-election to the 42nd Legislative District in House Position 1. Rule owns a therapy practice and previously served on the Blaine City Council and as president of the Blaine Downtown Development Association.

Rule brought her expertise in counseling to the Legislature in her first term by focusing on health care and youth services. Some of the bills she sponsored include increasing access to outdoor education, encouraging young people to participate in fishing and shellfishing, and ensuring that services like counseling are available to public employees. Rule also stepped up quickly to support her community by passing legislation to provide relief for farmers, ranchers, and communities affected by flooding in northwest Washington.

She is running for re-election to continue working to increase shelter options, create more living-wage jobs in Whatcom County, and keep our communities safe. In addition, Rule is passionate about preserving the environment of Whatcom County and has pursued local conservation efforts both as a volunteer and a city council member.

Rule faces two Republicans in this race. Her first opponent, Republican Kamal Bhachu, ran for Whatcom County Council last year and lost to Democrat Barry Buchanan. Bhachu's 2021 platform was on the thin side, stating that he would solve mental health and addiction issues in the community by bringing D.A.R.E. programs back to school, and he did not present detailed policy on his promises to address affordable housing and living-wage jobs. This year's platform is similarly undetailed. Bhachu's campaign site says education is an area of great concern. Unfortunately, he neglects to offer any policy proposals to address this. Like most Republicans this year, he states that he wants to unbind law enforcement from recent legislation set to make officers accountable to the community.

Tawsha Dykstra Thompson has served as a police officer for almost 25 years in Bellingham and is running to bring a conservative and regressive agenda to Olympia that emphasizes the role of law enforcement in the district. Thompson wants to criminalize homelessness, characterizing law enforcement as the "brakes" on mental health or addiction issues despite the fact that arrests don't address the root causes of these issues and often deepen them - to the cost of individuals and the community. She opposes balancing our state's upside-down tax code by making billionaires pay their share of the resources we all use.

Republican politicians keep stoking fears and promising that communities will be safer by jailing more and more people. We need leadership that aims to address the many places where our country lags behind - in education, health, food security, housing, and more.

Rep. Alicia Rule has embodied the ethos of fully supporting the community and has earned your vote in the 42nd District.