Endorsements

At our most recent special member meeting on June 25th, Transit Riders Union members voted to endorse the following amazing candidates for the 2026 Primary elections coming up in August. Thank you to all of the candidates who participated and to our excellent endorsement committee for compiling questions and bringing their recommendations.

• 37th Legislative District (Washington State Senate): Tatiana Brown
• 43rd Legislative District (Washington State Senate): Hannah Sabio-Howell
• 32nd Legislative District (Washington State House): Imraan Siddiqi
• 37th Legislative District (Washington State House): Kelabe Tewolde

As a reminder, members have previously voted to endorse these candidates:

• 32nd Legislative District (Washington State House): Danica Noble
• King County Council District 2: Toshiko Grace Hasegawa and Rebecca Saldaña
• Seattle City Council District 5: Nilu Jenks

And TRU made an early endorsement in March for this candidate:

• 46th Legislative District (Washington State House): Ron Davis

At our May member meeting, Transit Riders Union members voted to endorse these candidates for the 2026 Primary elections coming up in August. Thank you to all of the candidates who participated and to our amazing endorsement committee for all of their hard work in compiling questions and bringing their recommendations.

• 32nd Legislative District (Washington State House): Danica Noble
• King County Council District 2: Toshiko Grace Hasegawa and Rebecca Saldaña
• Seattle City Council District 5: Nilu Jenks

Katie Wilson for Seattle Mayor

Alexis Mercedes Rinck for Seattle City Council Position 8

Dionne Foster for Seattle City Council Position 9

Erika Evans for Seattle City Attorney

Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay for King County Executive

Maya Vengadasalam for King County District 7

Jude Anthony King County Council District 9

Andrew Reding for Bellingham City Council Ward 6

Brittany Miles for Bothell City Council Position 5

Hugo Garcia for Burien City Council Position 1

Sam Mendez for Burien City Council Position 3

Sarah Moore for Burien City Council Position 5

Rocco DeVito for Burien City Council Position 7

Nigel Herbig for Kenmore City Council Position 4

Kurt Dresner for Kirkland City Council Position 7

Josh Rosenau for Lake Forest Park City Council Position 3

Josh Binda for Lynnwood City Council Position 3

Paul Charbonneau for Newcastle City Council Position 6

Michael Westgaard for Renton City Council Position 1

Carmen Rivera for Renton City Council Position 2

Paul Dutton for Renton City Council Position 6

Ling Yang for Sammamnish City Council Position 5

Caitlin Konya for SeaTac City Council Position 2

Mohamed Egal for SeaTac City Council Position 4

Hannah Hedrick for Tukwila City Council Position 3

Devin Rydel Kelly for Pierce County Charter Review Commission

TRU’s membership has made the following endorsements for the August 5, 2025 primary election. If we make further endorsements we will add them to this page.

Katie Wilson for Seattle Mayor

Alexis Mercedes Rinck for Seattle City Council Position 8

Dionne Foster for Seattle City Council Position 9

Jamie Fackler for Seattle City Council Position 2

Rory O’Sullivan for Seattle City Attorney

Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay for King County Executive

Andrew Reding for Bellingham City Council Ward 6

Brittany Miles for Bothell City Council Position 5

Hugo Garcia for Burien City Council Position 1

Sam Mendez and Rashell Lisowski for Burien City Council Position 3

Sarah Moore for Burien City Council Position 5

Rocco DeVito for Burien City Council Position 7

Nigel Herbig for Kenmore City Council Position 4

Kurt Dresner for Kirkland City Council Position 7

Josh Rosenau for Lake Forest Park City Council Position 3

Josh Binda for Lynnwood City Council Position 3

Paul Charbonneau for Newcastle City Council Position 6

Michael Westgaard for Renton City Council Position 1

Carmen Rivera for Renton City Council Position 2

Paul Dutton for Renton City Council Position 6

Caitlin Konya for SeaTac City Council Position 2

Mohamed Egal for SeaTac City Council Position 4

Hannah Hedrick for Tukwila City Council Position 3

Krysteena Mann for Tukwila City Council Position 7

Devin Rydel Kelly for Pierce County Charter Review Commission

At our September Membership Meeting, TRU reaffirmed or made the following endorsements:

Seattle

• Alexis Mercedes Rinck for Seattle City Council Position 8
• YES on Seattle Prop 1 (Keep Seattle Moving): TRU urges Seattle voters to vote YES on the 2024 Seattle Transportation Levy. This is not the levy of our dreams. We are disappointed that the council voted down Councilmember Morales’ proposal to increase the levy’s size to $1.7 billion to invest more in multimodal infrastructure, and we are disappointed that it represents a reduced annual investment in public transit infrastructure compared to the expiring levy. We also wish the City would work harder to seek more progressive revenue sources than the property tax. However, the package has been significantly improved from its initial version thanks to the collective efforts of transportation advocates. Additional funding was won for sidewalk construction and repair, bike safety, neighborhood-initiated safety projects, Vision Zero improvements to Seattle’s most dangerous streets, and a new “people streets and public spaces” program. We believe that on balance this levy should be approved so that the City can move forward with these urgent investments, while we continue to push for more rapid expansion of public transit and a shift away from a car-centered transportation system.

Washington Statewide Initiatives

• NO on I-2066: Let’s keep moving forward on clean energy!
• NO on I-2109: Retain the capital gains tax on wealthy households and better fund our schools
• NO on I-2117: Save the Climate Commitment Act & its funds for public transit, including free transit for youth!
• NO on I-2124: Reject this attempt to repeal the Washington Cares Fund and cut off access to long-term care.

Congressional and State Legislative Races

• Shaun Scott for 43rd Legislative District Position 2
• Melissa Demyan for 45th Legislative District Position 2
• Devin Rydel Kelly for 27th Legislative District Position 2
• Melissa Chaudhry for Congressional District 9

At TRU’s September Membership Meeting, we voted on candidate endorsements for the upcoming general election. Election day is Tuesday, November 7th, but ballots will arrive in the mail a couple weeks before that. We encourage you to support and vote for the following candidates. If you want a voice and a vote in future endorsements, join TRU today!

King County Council:
District 2: Girmay Zahilay
District 4: Sarah Reyneveld
District 8: Teresa Mosqueda

Seattle City Council:
District 1: Maren Costa
District 2: Tammy Morales
District 3: Alex Hudson
District 4: Ron Davis
District 5: ChrisTiana ObeySumner

Bellevue:
Position 3: Mo Malakoutian
Position 5: Janice Zahn

Bothell:
Position 2: Mason Thompson
Position 4: Carston Curd
Position 6: Amanda Dodd

Burien:
Position 2: Cydney Moore
Position 4: Patricia Hudson
Position 6: Krystal Marx

Issaquah:
Position 6: Victoria Hunt

Kenmore:
Position 1: Melanie O’Cain
Position 7: Corina Pfeil

Kent:
Position 3: John Boyd

Kirkland:
Position 2: Kelli Curtis

Position 4: John Tymczyszyn
Position 6: Amy Falcone

Redmond:
Mayor: Jeralee Anderson
Position 1: Osman Salahuddin
Position 3: Jessica Forsythe
Position 5: Vanessa Kritzer –
Position 7: Angie Nuevacamina

Renton:
Mayor: Kim Monroe

SeaTac:
Position 1: Senayet Negusse
Position 3: Elizabeth Greninger
Position 7: Joe Vinson

Shoreline:
Position 6: Betsy Robertson

Tukwila:
Mayor: Kate Kruller
Position 2: Armen Papyan

Northshore School District:
Position 3: Han Tran

At TRU’s June Membership Meeting last week, we voted on candidate endorsements for the upcoming primary elections. Election day is Tuesday, August 1st, but ballots will arrive in the mail a couple weeks before that. Races appear on the primary ballot only if there are at least three contenders. We did not weigh in on all primary races, and (apart from three early endorsements) we only considered candidates who returned a completed questionnaire. TRU will do a second round of endorsements in September for the general election. We encourage you to support and vote for the following candidates:

King County Council:
District 2: Girmay Zahilay
District 4: Sarah Reyneveld
District 8: Teresa Mosqueda

Seattle City Council:
District 1: Maren Costa
District 2: Tammy Morales
District 3: Andrew Ashiofu
District 4: Ron Davis
District 5: Tye Reed

Other Cities:
Burien Position 2: Cydney Moore
Issaquah Position 6: Victoria Hunt
Kenmore Position 7: Corina Pfeil
Kirkland Position 2: Kelli Curtis

The Transit Riders Union made the following endorsements at our September Membership Meeting. Ballots are mailed on October 19th. Remember to Vote by November 8th!

City of Tukwila Initiative Measure #1: Yes

King County Charter Amendment #1: Yes

Seattle Measure 1B (Rank Choice Voting): Yes

11th LD, Pos. 1: David Hackney

30th LD, Senate: Claire Wilson

34th LD, Senate: Joe Nguyen

34th LD, Pos. 1: Leah Griffin

36th LD, Senate: Noel Frame

36th LD, Pos. 1: Julia Reed

37th LD, Senate: Rebecca Saldaña

37th LD, Pos. 2: Emijah Smith

42nd LD, Senate: Sharon Shewmake

43rd LD, Pos. 1: Nicole Macri

43rd LD, Pos. 2: Frank Chopp

46th LD, Pos. 2: Darya Farivar

47th LD, Pos. 2: Shukri Olow

48th LD, Senate: Patty Kuderer

King County Prosecutor: Leesa Manion

Seattle Municipal Court Judge: Pooja Vaddadi

The Transit Riders Union made the following endorsements at our June Membership Meeting. Remember to Vote by August 2nd, 2022!

11th LD, Pos. 1: David Hackney

30th LD, Senate: Claire Wilson

34th LD, Senate: Joe Nguyen

34th LD, Pos. 1: Leah Griffin

36th LD, Senate: Noel Frame

36th LD, Pos. 1: Julia Reed & Nicole Gomez

37th LD, Senate: Rebecca Saldana

37th LD, Pos. 2: Andrew Ashiofu

43rd LD, Pos. 1: Nicole Macri

43rd LD, Pos. 2: Frank Chopp

46th LD, Pos. 1: Hadeel Jeanne

46th LD, Pos. 2: Darya Farivar & Melissa Taylor

47th LD, Pos. 2: Shukri Olow

48th LD, Senate: Patty Kuderer

Congress WA-09: Stephanie Gallardo

Here is who we recommend voting for in the 2021 General Election:

King County

• Executive – Joe Nguyen
• District 3 – Sarah Perry
• District 5 – Shukri Olow

Seattle

• Mayor – Lorena González
• Position 8 – Teresa Mosqueda
• Position 9 – Nikkita Oliver
• City Attorney – Nicole Thomas-Kennedy

Port of Seattle

• Position 1 – Ryan Calkins
• Position 3 – Hamdi Mohamed
• Position 5 – Toshiko Grace Hasegawa

Bellevue

• Position 4 – Ruth Lipscomb

Bothell

• Position 1 – Han Tran

Burien

• Position 1 – Hugo Garcia
• Position 5 – Sarah Moore
• Position 7 – Krystal Marx

Kenmore

• Position 4 – Nigel Herbig

Kent

• Mayor – Dawn Bennett
• Position 2 – Satwinder Kaur
• Position 4 – Cliff Cawthon
• Position 6 – Brenda Fincher

Kirkland

• Kirkland City Council Position 5 – Neal Black

Issaquah

• Position 3 – Barbara de Michele

Renton

• Position 1 – Joe Todd
• Position 2 – Carmen Rivera

Tukwila

• Position 1 – Tosh Sharp

Federal Way

• Position 4 – Katherine Festa

Lake Forest Park

• Position 3 – Stephanie Angelis

SeaTac

• Position 2 – Jake Simpson
• Position 4 – Mohamed Egal
• Position 6 – Iris Guzmán

Port of Edmonds

• Commissioner-at-Large Position 5 – Scott Marshall