Past guides: Jayne's Voter Guide 2022!

 

Welcome to the 2022 General Election!

I research a lot when voting. Starting in 2016, I began compiling my research and thoughts for friends. 

If you're a left/liberal voter, you may agree with my recommendations. If you're conservative, you probably won't. Regardless, I include links so you can read sources for yourself.

As usual, I didn't bother with any uncontested elections.

 

You can find the official Thurston County Voters' Pamphlet here. 

Advisory Votes

There are two of them. And they are both pointless.

We’re only voting on these because Tim Eyman is an anti-tax corporate stooge. I tend to vote “maintained” on these both on principle and because they’re usually good decisions. 

But vote however you want on these or don't vote at all, because they have zero effect on actual governance!

Thurston County Proposition No. 1: Expanding the Board from Three to Five Commissioners

Vote YES

So here's the thing: when our county reaches 400,000 residents, we will be required by state law to have five commissioners. (Currently, we have three members.) Counties with 300,000-400,000 residents have the option to move to a 5-member commission. 

Thurston County has right around 300,000 residents and has created a plan to move to a larger board. We could put off moving to a 5-commissioner board (and save about $850k/year which is less than a quarter of one percent of the current budget), but having a larger board has benefits. 

Most importantly, the expansion will allow the commissioners to get more work done, which is essential for a county of our size. The Olympian sums it up:

"...As the county has grown, so has the number of councils, commissions, and organizations that need a county commissioner in attendance. The workload of these meetings — and the complexity of the issues they address — is now too much for three people."

I am concerned about the new districts that will be used to elect our officials. There are currently three options which, at a glance, seem like they might have very different effects in terms of progressive vs. conservative influence. However, my understanding is that currently these districts are only used for the first part of the election process (selecting candidates and advancing the top two via the primary). In the general election, the candidates are voted on countywide. 

The Olympian and The Progressive Voters Guide both support this proposition.

As a note, the County Commissioners and Port Commissioners (see next vote) have agreed to use the same districts for electing representatives if both options pass.

Port of Olympia Proposition No. 1: Expanding the Board from Three to Five Commissioners

Vote NO

The arguments for this expansion are: greater ability for the Port Commissioners to have committees and discussions; more candidates for voters to vote on (and, due to the district system, candidates from different areas in the county); it would be easier for individual commissioners to stand aside when they have a conflict of interest; and that the change won't cost very much (about $200,000/year).

However, I'm recommending a "no" vote for the following reasons:

• The Port is a mess and two additional part-time elected officials are unlikely to solve that.
• The Port continues to lose money and we don't need to increase funding for a non-solution.
• Unlike the County Commissioners expansion, there is no state law that will require this change in the future.
• The impression I got from some statements at the League of Women Voter's forum was that the Port wants to shore up its support in the more distant parts of the county by having them be more directly represented

The endorsements for this change are not inspiring. The Progressive Voter's Guide endorsement can be summed up as "Well, we don't really know about this but the people in charge seem to agree on it", while The Olympian's endorsement is so wishy-washy that it's barely an endorsement at all:

"The Port of Olympia Commission expansion from three to five is a harder call. Some voters are so fed up with the Port — over its decisions, priorities and management, and the festering discontent — they’d rather vote to disband it than expand it. But expanding it still might be a good idea: It would give voters a chance to add voices who are willing to think differently about the Port and push for the housecleaning and updating the Port needs."

 

Federal Partisan Offices

U.S. Senator

Vote PATTY MURRAY 

Is she my favorite politician? No. But she's a solid vote for important things like women's healthcare and abortion access, voting rights, and other legislative means of preventing the country from sliding back into the 1800s. 

Tiffany Smiley, on the other hand, is a Trump-supporting Republican who thinks we've defunded the police (we haven't!), wants to remove "Critical Race Theory" from K-12 schools (it isn't being taught), wants to ban the federal government from forgiving student loan debt, and wants to expand gas extraction and oil refineries. You can read all of her terrible ideas here.

Congressional District No. 10 U.S. Representative

Vote MARILYN STRICKLAND

Marilyn Strickland is a Democrat from Tacoma. The Progressive Voters' Guide says: 

In her years serving the public, Strickland has been a champion for working people in Washington and beyond. She has worked to lower the cost of prescription medicine, recover social security and veterans' benefits, and make corporations pay their share. Strickland also advocated for strong investments in public infrastructure like clean water, broadband, roadways, and parks.

Keith Swank is a Republican who works for the Seattle Police Department. Ballotpedia has a good overview of his campaign's top themes, which include: that children are being "taught to be racist" via CRT in schools, that schools are providing pornography to children, that the "roaring 20s" are a good model to follow in terms of economic policy, and that the 2nd amendment prohibits any gun control. 

State Partisan Office

Secretary of State

Vote JULIE ANDERSON

The good thing about this race is that both candidates are competent, reasonable civil servants so our elections should do well regardless of who wins.

Anderson is the better choice. Here's why:

• 12 years of real-world experience managing elections in Pierce County, which includes urban, suburban and rural voters, as well as diverse voters who speak multiple languages
• Supports ranked-choice voting
• Supports felons' right to vote after their time is served - but without waiting until every penny of their fines and fees are repaid (a process that is functionally impossible for some low earners)
• She's supported by the Tacoma Pierce County Black Collective. And the director of Washington Community Alliance, a network of groups representing people of color, said that "Anderson's policy platform is more progressive than Hobbs' in several areas"

The Chair of the Washington State Democrats (the embarassing Tina Podlodowski) claimed that Anderson's "true color is red". But Axios' fact-checking found that to be untrue and, furthermore, "since 2007, Anderson has given Democratic candidates at least $2,900, while contributing about $100 to Republican candidates and causes." 

Anderson has the endorsements of election officials across the state. But many progressive voter guides have endorsed Hobbs instead of her because of her support for making the Secretary of State a nonpartisan position. I agree with their analysis that running races as "nonpartisan" tends to increase the odds that a minority-party candidate will win (in this case, a very real concern given the current minority party's anti-democratic push to overturn elections.)

But this isn't a decision that the Secretary of State can make -  it's a state law that the Legislature would have to change. And since it is unlikely to happen, it seems foolish to vote against Anderson based on this one issue (even though that's exactly what The Stranger and PubliCola suggest.)

Anderson's opponent, Steve Hobbs, doesn't have much election experience. He's a former state senator who relies on his background with the Army National Guard to prove his organizational chops. He's focused his campaign on both election security (particularly cybersecurity) and increasing access to voting in underserved communities. 

Hobbs refers to himself as a "radical moderate". The Progressive Voters' Guide describes his voting record in the WA State Senate as "...consistently progressive on social issues and leaned more conservative on taxes and workers' rights." He's also against ranked-choice voting. 

Legislative District No. 22 Representative, Position No. 1

Vote BETH DOGLIO

Beth Doglio has been doing great work in the legislature! You can see her voting record here. She's endorsed by practically every union and liberal/left organization that offers endorsements. 

 

Loretta Byrnes, on the other hand, is a Republican who claims to be pro-children but is against public preschool, social-emotional learning, and age-appropriate sex education - all of which have significant bodies of evidence proving their positive long-term effects. Her other policy takes are similarly unfounded in reality.

Legislative District No. 22 Representative, Position No. 2

Vote JESSICA BATEMAN

Jessica Bateman was a smart, progressive voice on the Olympia City Council and has continued this work at the state level. Her voting record includes restoring voting rights to felons who completed their prison sentences, policing reform, and a lot of really good housing policy.

Her opponent, Katie Plager, is described by the Progressive Voters Guide as "running on a vague agenda, one that is both conservative and lacking any deeper knowledge of the district or policy details." In short, the opposite of everything admirable about Bateman. 

County Partisan Offices

Assessor

Vote STEVEN J. DREW

Steven Drew (D) has been our assessor since 2011 and he's doing fine. There's no reason to change it up.

His opponent, Dave Kolar, is an "independent" who favors cutting services and who has been endorsed by the Thurston County Republicans. Additionally, his website claims that "Since the 2018 year-end, Thurston County has raised your taxes by $102,448,917.39." Given that the county's 2018 budget includes $124,373,225 in total tax revenue and the 2022 budget includes $171,424,754 in total tax revenue, I question Mr. Kolar's math skills. 

Auditor

Vote MARY HALL

This is another case in which we have a Democratic incumbent who has been competently managing her office for nearly a decade, including overseeing the difficult, early-pandemic election of 2020. 

On the other hand, Salvatore Millitello is a Republican whose website is mostly copy-and-pasted from his LinkedIn page.

Clerk

Vote TONYA MOORE

Both Tonya Moore and her opponent, Linda Enlow, are Democrats. But Tonya Moore has an impressive lead in endorsements of every kind. 

In addition to endorsements from the Progressive Voters Guide, Olympia Indivisible, and The Olympian, Moore has endorsements from our fantastic state reps (Doglio and Bateman) and every City Council member except Mayor Shelby. 

Of Moore, The Olympian says,

Tonya Moore is the superior court’s operations manager, and has 25 years of court experience here and in Pierce County. Her primary goal in running is to make court processes more open and the office more hospitable to all people, including those who have experienced trauma or don’t speak English as their first language. She also wants to increase leadership development and advancement opportunities for staff, and create a feedback system for stakeholders. We endorse Moore for her passion and vision for improvements in customer service."

Linda Enlow, on the other hand, has zero organizational endorsements and only a handful of mostly former judges on her endorsement list. I'm not sure why this is the case, but as an incumbent who has served for seven years, that's a very bad sign. 

County Commissioner District No. 3

Vote TYE MENSER

Tye Menser joined the County Commissioners just in time to chair the county Board of Health during the COVID pandemic. During his time in office, he's also worked diligently on housing/addressing homelessness, environmental issues, and policing/corrections. As a former public defender and criminal defense lawyer, Menser is aware of the problems with our current systems and has worked on programs to divert low-level offenders. He is endorsed by a long list of local officials and organizations, including the Sierra Club, The Olympian, The Progressive Voters Guide, Olympia Indivisible, and various unions. 

Vivian Eason, his opponent, is a "fiscal conservative" who worked in corrections for 14 years. She wants to cut funding for social services while "supporting public safety". She is endorsed by "Stand for Health Freedom", a national anti-vaccine, anti-mask organization.

Sheriff

Vote DEREK SANDERS

Derek Sanders is a Thurston County deputy and former Lacey Community Service officer who wants to improve equity and community trust in the sheriff's office. He is endorsed by most progressive politicians and organizations, including 6 out of 7 Olympia City Council members, Olympia Indivisible, the Progressive Voter's Guide, and The Olympian.

Snaza is really bad news. There is compelling evidence that he rear-ended a car at full speed and covered it up. He opened an investigation into Derek Sanders right after Sanders filed to run against him. 

On the "War on Drugs", Snaza opined.

“I do not not believe that we ever had a war on drugs, because if we did, we are not losing,” Snaza said. “We are winning. And I do believe that if we were fighting the war on drugs, we would have won.”

Snaza also joined 36 other Washington sheriffs in signing a letter that referred to our constitution as "divinely inspired" and specifically stated that sheriffs would do everything within their power to support the 2nd amendment. Snaza was also criticized for allowing officers to display thin blue line flags on their patrol cars. 

The Olympian sums it up nicely:

"It’s time for a change in our Sheriff’s office. John Snaza, in office since 2010, has been resistant to state gun control and police reform legislation... We also need a sheriff willing to adapt and lead the department in accordance with all current laws, not just those he likes."

 

Treasurer

Vote JEFF GADMAN

Jeff Gadman has been our treasurer since 2017. As The Olympian said, "Gadman loves math and finance, and clearly loves his job. He’s worked for the county for 36 years; we are glad he’s willing to keep at it." He is endorsed by The Progressive Voters Guide and many elected officials.

Jeff "Cowboy" Curry has been a bus driver for 22 years, has no election website, and may have lied about his educational background.