Voters shuffled the candidates around bringing some exciting people forward after the August primary election. The City of Lakewood will have some close races if the voters want to make some changes and turn out in force.
Ellen Talbo in position 1 ran away from the field with over 41% of the vote in Lakewood. Her Republican opponent received only 32%. Talbo has earned our support—please consider donating to her campaign: Elect Ellen Talbo
Talbo will now focus on securing votes from supporters of the other two candidates while also doing whatever she can to boost voter turnout.
Ellen Talbo is our choice for Lakewood City Council – Position 1.
New Endorsement: Cyrus Donato – Port of Tacoma Commission, Position 4
The August Primary Election provided interesting results that added to our list of candidates running for Port of Tacoma Cyrus Donato stepped forward running for Port of Tacoma Commissioner for District 4, came in to a close election to JT Wilcox: 51,538 votes (41.6%) Cyrus Donato won 40.7% of the vote or 50,434 votes. In the 6 weeks that remain he will have to convince the 21,829 votes (17.6%) that he has the qualities needed to represent them.
Donoto has a lot to like with an interesting background finding his way to Port of Tacoma. He graduated from the. Coast Guard Academy where his duties included counter-narcotics and humanitarian missions. Most interest was his involvement in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, where he oversaw the recovery of 1.5 million gallons of oil.
Cyrus Donato has a family connection to the Port of Tacoma, as his grandfather worked on the docks. Donato said this legacy drives his commitment to family-wage jobs, and fair labor. Donato proposes making these changes, when elected:
- Growing Cargo Volume and Union Jobs: He advocated for modernizing the Port’s infrastructure to attract new business and ensure that this growth would create living-wage union jobs for local workers.
- Infrastructure Modernization and Environmental Accountability: He called for investments in clean technology, such as shore power and emissions reduction, and stressed the importance of holding industrial polluters financially responsible for cleanup costs.
- Public Trust and Ethical Governance: Donato’s campaign emphasized the need for transparency, and he pledged to build stronger partnerships with labor and the Puyallup Tribe to ensure the Port serves the public interest.
New Endorsement: Jennifer Lamari – Lakewood City Council, Position 3
In Lakewood Jennifer Lamari emerged from the primary election race with a wide gap between her and the Republican candidate for Position 3. Lamari received 40.9% of the total. Her opponent in the primary election, Philip Lindholm, received 56%. If no one ran against Lindholm, the election would be just a confirmation, not a choice.
In many election races this gap may seem intimidating, but Lamari feels that the voters need a choice. She plans to combine resources with Ellen Talbo and turn our more Democratic voters.
The other reason Lamari might make a successful come-from-behind election is she feels: “This is a critical time in history.”
“This is not the time to be silent while our constitutional and human rights are being threatened by a lawless Presidential administration that has no consideration for the Constitution, or the rule of law.”
As a defense attorney and a prosecutor. I have served on both sides of the criminal justice system.
- Someone needs to speak up for the homeless people that are incarcerated or relocated.
- Someone needs to speak up for the environment, without which we cannot exist.
- Someone needs to speak out against bullies, corporate interests, and relentless environmental destruction.
- Our crime problem is caused by substance abuse and mental health.
We are facing some of the most difficult social issues and injustices of our time. People are afraid to run for office due to our government actually targeting individuals.
Education
Prior to attending law school, I received my undergraduate degree from Hawaii Pacific University and then worked abroad as a teacher in South Korea, Poland, and France. I had the opportunity to study and work with individuals from all over the world.
Tree Canopy Initiative
The City of Lakewood committed to increasing the tree canopy to 40% by 2050. As City Council member, I will ensure the tree canopy program continues to move forward by taking concrete steps based on best practices from other urban forestry efforts throughout the state.
Lamari is not afraid to face problems and look at their root causes. She advocates changing laws and policies that seek only to remove homeless people from the area. This is not sufficient or appropriate way to address the homelessness crisis.
Lamari is running for Lakewood City Council because she believes her legal expertise, environmental commitment, and dedication to justice can make a positive impact on her community and help protect the natural resources that make Washington such a special place to call home. Read more about Jennifer Lamari, her education and solutions to environmental problems, on her webpage HERE.