Washington State Senate: Congratulations to Emily Randall who was recently sworn in as our new Congresswoman in the 6th District. Her vacated State Senate seat in LD-26 was recently filled by Deb Krishnadasan, who was appointed by a combination of Pierce and Kitsap County officials. Krishnadasan is a former President of the Peninsula School Board, and founded an advocacy organization called Stand Up for Peninsula Schools. Krishnadasan grew up on a farm in Puyallup, and worked in communications and human resources with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Microsoft. She will work to defend this critical swing seat in the general election this fall, and (hopefully) again in 2026. Veteran GOP Representative Michelle Caldier has entered the race as a well-funded and experienced opponent. The Coalition is proud to endorse DEB KRISHNADASAN for State Senate in the 26th Legislative District.

Parks Tacoma: Three positions will be on the ballot this year, as the Board is currently in process of appointing new members to fill three vacancies. Rosie Ayala was elected to the Pierce County Council, Aaron Pointer retired after many years of service, and longtime board member Tim Reid passed away in December. The first appointment was given to Alisa Lee, who is now running to retain Position 1. The second appointment was given to Carla Santorno, and the third appointment to Pete Reyes. On this year’s ballot, Positions 1 and 2 will be a full 6-year term while Position 3 will be a short 2-year term before resetting the cycle in 2027. We are enthused to endorse three environmentally-minded candidates who are running great campaigns for Parks Board:  ALISA LEE, MALACHI CABERA & BRONWYN CLARKE.

University Place:  We are pleased to endorse ALECIA CUNNINGHAM for U.P. City Council Position 3. Alecia has worked tirelessly to support many great causes and candidates in our region, and she will be a solid advocate for the environment on this council. She’s Vice Chair of the U.P. Parks Advisory Commission, a mother of four, and an outstanding organizer. University Place is actually the fourth largest incorporated city in Pierce County.

Steilacoom:  In the race for Mayor of Steilacoom, we are proud to endorse ELIZABETH GRASHER. She will face longtime GOP politician Dick Muri. She has worked hard to raise funds and is constantly out in the community making connections and pitching in to make things happen. Liz is also a big supporter of environmental protection. We’re also pleased to endorse CINDY HAVERKAMP for Steilacoom Town Council Position 2. Cindy has done great things working on the Pierce County Parks & Recreation team and on the Pierce Conservation District Board. She’ll be another strong voice for the environment in the south. Time for new leadership in Steilacoom!

The following races will take more time to sort out, likely involving interviews:

Port of Tacoma Commission: Incumbents John McCarthy and Dick Marzano are again running for reelection. Randy Wilson and Tim Payne will challenge McCarthy for Position 1 in the August primary, while Morgan Alexander will face Marzano for Position 2 in the general election. In the race for Position 4, incumbent Don Meyer has decided to retire, creating a rare open seat. Former Washington State House Minority Leader JT Wilcox is running, and has the resources for a countywide campaign. Dan Knox and Cyrus Donato have also entered the race for Position 4 in the August primary.

There are several races for city council positions in Lakewood, Puyallup, DuPont, University Place, and elsewhere. In Lakewood there will be two August primary races: Chas Ames, Mark Herr, Alice Fong, and Ellen Talbo are all running for position 1, while Philip Lindholm, Taylor Whitt and Jennifer Lamari will compete to replace outgoing Mayor Jason Whalen in position 3. Mike Brandstetter will defend his seat in position 2 versus Amelia Escobedo in November, and Patti Belle is unopposed for position 5. In the fall general election, Jeff Bennett will face Jim Kastama in District 1, while Heather Schiller will challenge Dennis King Jr. in District 2. Longtime councilmember Julie Door is term-limited, and stepping down in District 3. Mark Crosby and Lindsay Smolko have filed to compete for this open seat this fall. In DuPont, Jugal Thakor, Mike Winkler and Beth Elliott are all running unopposed. Susan Walton is defending her Position 7 seat against Chris Castignanie in the general election. In University Place, Ed Wood, Javier Figueroa, and Denise McCluskey are all running unopposed for reelection. We will continue to work with environmentally-minded candidates in these jurisdictions, as it continues to be important to “build the bench” of candidates outside of Tacoma.

City of Tacoma: Tacoma will elect a new mayor this year, as Victoria Woodards is completing here second and final term. A 4-way race seems to be emerging between current City Councilmember John Hines, former City Councilmember Anders Ibsen, previous mayoral candidate Steve Haverly, and 27th District Democrats Chair Whitney Stevens. Jesse Carlos and Tony Ginn also filed to run. This looks to be a highly competitive primary election in August, after which the top two candidates will face off in November. Four city council seats are also on the ballot this year. District 2 incumbent Sarah Rumbaugh will face Ben Lackey in the general election, while Zev Cook and Brandon Vollmer are challenging incumbent Joe Bushnell in the District 5 primary election. In District 4, Silong Chhun and Israel McKinney will challenge recent appointee Sandesh Sadalge in the primary. For At-Large Position 6, Deputy Mayor Kiara Daniels has decided not to run for reelection. Krista Perez and Latasha Palmer have both secured several endorsements as early frontrunners for this seat. Perez and Palmer join Hunter Henderson, Lindsay Wills, Jessica Johnston, and Todd Briske to compete for this open seat in the August primary. The Coalition has chosen to postpone these endorsement decisions until after the August primary.