2021 Endorsements

• Washington State Advisory Votes 36, 37, 38 - No Endorsement* see below
• King County Charter Amendment 1 – Yes
• King County Charter Amendment 2 - Yes
• King County Executive: No Endorsement, both candidates are strong, well-qualified Democrats
• King County Council, District 1: Rod Dembowski
• Port of Seattle, Position 1: Ryan Calkins
• Port of Seattle, Position 3: Hamdi Mohamed
• Port of Seattle, Position 4: Toshiko Hasegawa

Appearing on all Kenmore Ballots:

• Kenmore City Council Position 2: Joe Marshall
• Kenmore City Council Position 3: Angela Kugler
• Kenmore City Council Position 4: Nigel Herbig
• Kenmore City Council Position 6: Debra Srebnik
• Northshore School District: Amy Cast
• Northshore School District: Sandy Hayes
• Northshore School District: Jaqueline McGourty
• Northshore Fire District 16 - Lisa Wollum
• Northshore Utilities District - David Arthur

Appearing on all Lake Forest Park Ballots: 

• Lake Forest Park Levy - Yes
• Lake Forest Park City Council Position 1: Semra Riddle
• Lake Forest Park City Council Position 3: Stephanie Angelis
• Lake Forest Park City Council Position 5: Tracy Furutani
• Lake Forest Park City Council Position 7: Larry Goldman
• Shoreline Public Schools, Pos. 2 - Emily Williams
• Shoreline School District, Pos. 3: Sarah Cohen
• Northshore Fire District 16 - Lisa Wollum
• Northshore Utilities District - David Arthur

Appearing on all Seattle Ballots: 

• Seattle Mayor - M. Lorena González
• Seattle City Attorney - Nicole Thomas-Kennedy
• Seattle City Council District 8: Teresa Mosqueda
• Seattle City Council District 9: no endorsement made
• Seattle Public Schools, Pos. 4 - Vivian Song Maritz
• Seattle Public Schools, Pos. 5 - Michelle Sarju
• Seattle Public Schools, Pos. 7 - Brandon K. Hersey

*Explanation of Washington State Advisory Votes:

What’s an Advisory Vote?  Advisory votes are the result of Tim Eyman’s Initiative 960, approved by voters in 2007. Most of Initiative 960 was declared unconstitutional by the courts, but this small piece of Initiative 960 remains. The language of the measures is strictly directed by the requirements of Initiative 960, particularly the structure, “The legislature imposed/extended, without a vote of the people,…” which begins every advisory measure ballot title placed on the ballot under this initiative.

This language is deceiving. Nearly every action the Legislature takes is done without a vote of the people, not just these advisory measures. This is the way representative democracy correctly functions. Decision-makers in the form of state representatives and state senators are elected to study each issue and vote in the best interests of citizens. Different decision-makers can be elected in subsequent elections if citizens disagree with decisions.

Advisory votes are non-binding. The results will not change the law or the taxes you pay in any way, shape or form, even though the measures are phrased as if we, the public, are advising the Legislature to repeal or maintain a tax increase. We are not.

The action taken has already long since been implemented. At best, these are simply very expensive opinion polls paid for by the taxpayers taken long after the information would have been useful for the legislature’s consideration.

Join us in lobbying the Legislature to repeal the Advisory Votes requirement in state law in 2022!

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* Archived Endorsement Information below dotted line *

August 2021 Endorsed Measures and Candidates List:

Additional Endorsements from the August Meeting:

• King County Charter Amendment 1 – Yes
• King County Charter Amendment 2 - Yes
• Lake Forest Park Levy - Yes
• Seattle Mayor - M. Lorena González
• Seattle City Attorney - Nicole Thomas-Kennedy
• Seattle Public Schools, Pos. 4 - Vivian Song Maritz
• Seattle Public Schools, Pos. 5 - Michelle Sarju
• Seattle Public Schools, Pos. 7 - Brandon K. Hersey
• Shoreline Public Schools, Pos. 2 - Emily Williams
• Northshore Fire District 16 - Lisa Wollum

June 2021 update:  There were no additional candidates endorsed at the June 16, 2021 meeting.  The next meeting where endorsements will be considered is the August 18, 2021 Endorsement Meeting for the General Election.

May 2021 Endorsed Measures and Candidates List:

King County Proposition 1 – Best Starts for Kids

Best Starts for Kids will be up for renewal as a Special Election held concurrently with the Primary on August 3, 2021. 

The 46^th District Democrats endorses a “Yes” or “Approve” vote on Proposition 1.

Best Starts for Kids is a voter-approved initiative to help put every baby born and every child raised in King County on a path toward lifelong success.

It invests in prevention and early intervention strategies that promote healthier, more resilient children, youth, families and communities. It is considered the most comprehensive approach to early childhood development in the United States, starting with prenatal support, sustaining the gain through teenage years, and investing in safe, healthy communities that reinforce progress.

Best Starts for Kids is making research based on the latest neuroscience available to all parents and caregivers so that every child and youth in our region has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Candidates Endorsed in May who will be appearing on the Primary Ballot on August 3, 2021:

• Kenmore City Council Position 4: Nigel Herbig
• Kenmore City Council Position 6: Debra Srebnik
• Seattle City Council District 8: Teresa Mosqueda
• Seattle City Council Position 9: Brianna Thomas
• Northshore School District: Amy Cast
• Northshore School District: Sandy Hayes
• Northshore School District: Jaqueline McGourty

Candidates Endorsed in May who will not have a Primary, who will appear first on the General Election Ballot on November 2, 2021:

• King County Council, District 1: Rod Dembowski
• King County Superior Court, Position 47: Andrea Robertson
• Port of Seattle, Position 1: Ryan Calkins
• Port of Seattle, Position 3: Hamdi Mohamed
• Port of Seattle, Position 4: Toshiko Hasegawa
• Kenmore City Council Position 2: Joe Marshall
• Kenmore City Council Position 3: Angela Kugler
• Lake Forest Park City Council Position 1: Semra Riddle
• Lake Forest Park City Council Position 3: Stephanie Angelis
• Lake Forest Park City Council Position 5: Tracy Furutani
• Lake Forest Park City Council Position 7: Larry Goldman
• Shoreline School District: Sarah Cohen

Races considered in May which will appear in the Primary, on which the district membership took no action. 

This should not be construed negatively for any candidate involved in these races.  Often when there are multiple strong candidates in a race, support may be spread out over candidates, and no single candidate can reach the 60% voting threshold required by the 46^th District Democrats for an endorsement in the Primary.

We will automatically consider these races again at our endorsement meeting for the General Election in August.

The only candidates listed are those who met our requirements to be eligible for endorsement by our organization and were considered at the May endorsement meeting.  There may be other non-Democrats appearing on the ballot, as well.

King County Executive:

• Dow Constantine
• Joe Nguyen

Mayor of Seattle:

• Colleen Echohawk
• Jessyn Farrell
• Lorena González
• Bruce Harrell
• Andrew Grant Houston
• Lance Randall
• Don L. Rivers
• Casey Sixkiller

Seattle City Attorney:

• Pete Holmes
• Nicole Thomas-Kennedy

Information about procedures for Members of the 46th District Democrats:

1.  Candidate Forums:  We will be hosting two sets of candidate forums, one on April 21, 2021 and one on May 19, 2021, our regular monthly meeting dates of the third Wednesdays. The links will be available on the home page in the customary fashion, 10 days prior to the meeting.  We hope you will join us to hear from the candidates!

Candidate Questionnaires for candidates seeking our endorsement can be found at this link:

https://www.46dems.org/2021_candidate_questionnaires

2.  Our main Endorsement Meeting for 2021 will be a special meeting held on Sunday, May 23, 2021.  We will begin at 11:00am, with the zoom meeting opening at 10:00am for any needed same-day credentialing.

You are eligible to vote at the endorsement meeting if you are a current Precinct Committee Officer or 2021 dues-paid (or dues-waived) member of the 46th LD Democrats.  If you were a 2020 member, you can renew your membership at any time up to the start of the meeting.  If you are a new member, or were a member the last time prior to 2020, you may join the 46dems any time up to 21 days prior to the meeting, or May 2nd.  After May 2, 2021 new members will not be eligible to vote at the endorsements meeting.

We know the pandemic has been financially hard on some folks, and if you need a no-questions-asked dues waiver for 2021, please feel free to contact [email protected]

You can join the 46th LD Democrats here:  https://www.46dems.org/become_a_member_today

Please register early for the endorsement meeting, to avoid a credentials bottleneck the morning of the meeting, which could delay the start of the meeting for everyone.  You can sign up now at the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0sduGurj8jE9f48ga17glBn769VcO42fzU

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

3.  Information and Instructions for our online Ranked Choice Voting System can be found at this link. According to our Endorsement Rules passed in March 2021, we will use this system to winnow a candidate field with seven or more candidates down to six candidates, at which point, we switch back to single-choice voting.

Information about procedures for Candidates & Campaigns:

Thank you for your interest in receiving a 2021 endorsement from the 46th District Democrats!

Please take a moment to read our 2021 Endorsement Rules:

2021 46th District Democrats Endorsement Rules

For the 2021 endorsement process, we will be using the 2021 King County Democrats' (KCDCC) Endorsement Questionnaire, which may be found on the KCDCC endorsements page here:

• 2021 Questionnaire: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KCDQ2021

Note: The first few pages and final page are the same for all candidates. Questions starting on page #6 will differ based on position selected.  On the final page of the questionnaire, campaigns can request a PDF copy of their questionnaire for submission to other organizations.  Campaigns will want to do this to have a copy to submit to the 46th LD.

Completed questionnaires must be submitted via this link below to be considered.
You must submit your questionnaire directly to the 46th District Democrats at the link below to be considered. Questionnaires forwarded from the KCDCC, another LD Democratic organization, the King County Young Democrats, or a Democratic club will not be accepted.

Submit Questionnaire to the 46th LD Dems: Online endorsement questionnaire submission

Candidates must submit questionnaires at least 10 days in advance of the meeting at which they wish to be considered.  For the May endorsement meeting, the questionnaires must be submitted by 11:59pm on May 12, 2021 for the candidate to be considered without a suspension of the rules regarding the questionnaire deadline. 

When is the 46th's endorsement meeting?

Our endorsement meeting will be Sunday, May 23rd, starting at 11:00am.  The link to register is above in the members' message.  Both guests and members register at the same link.

What about that candidate questionnaire?

We are very happy that candidates will be able to just submit a copy of the KCDCC Questionnaire this year.  This should eliminate some work for candidates in 2021.  Please be aware, however, that we do post these questionnaires publicly.  Your answers should reflect the fact that anyone who reads our website will be able to see them.

In which races does the 46th endorse?

We endorse in races that are wholly or partly within the 46th Legislative District, which encompasses Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, and northeast Seattle, east of Aurora Ave N. Offices for which we consider endorsements include federal offices which overlap or encompass the 46th District, King County offices which overlap or encompass the 46th District, as well as all Washington statewide offices.  For 2021, this includes offices from King County Executive to a North City Water District Commissioner seat, and everything in-between, if the jurisdiction touches upon the 46th District.

Do candidates have to sit for an endorsements committee interview?

No interview.  We are a membership-led organization.  Unlike many districts who vet candidates by asking them to sit for an endorsement interview with the executive board or a specific committee, our membership prefers to directly endorse candidates. For the 2021 election cycle, you will simply need to fill out the correct 46th District Democrats' questionnaire when we have it available, and attend our endorsement meeting (or send a surrogate) on May 23rd.  It would be best if you participate in our candidate forums, as well, but it is not required for endorsement. 

Our membership reads your questionnaire, does their own research on you, and we make our endorsement choices as a body.

Are there any other bits and pieces candidates should know?

Yes.  This is an info sheet that has gone out to the offices featured in the April 21st forum, and will be going out to other candidates shortly.  It has many of our most frequently asked questions:

Pre-filing Candidate FAQ Sheet for 46th LD Democrats

Thank you for seeking an endorsement from the 46th District Democrats!

2021 Endorsement Rules Process Archive for Members of the 46th District: