November 2026 General Election Endorsements

Summary

This year, we reached out to most candidates contesting most elections that touch King County. We issued endorsements based on responses to our endorsement survey as well as public track records of supporting mass transit. Most races where we received no responses are not listed.

Long Version (For select contests)

Pierce County and Seattle Transit Measures

While Seattle Subway’s primary focus is rail transit, our region needs well-connected local bus service in order to truly serve today’s mobility needs of real people.  While the regressive sales-tax funding source on both measures is unfortunate, it is the only option currently afforded by state law*.  

But, while the state legislature and judiciary figure out how to make our tax code more progressive, local transit agencies cannot wait.  Without the funding from this measure, Pierce Transit will immediately enter a death spiral.

Meanwhile, Seattle’s transit measure (STM) has been providing supplemental transit service since 2014.  King County Metro is depending on this funding to continue and expand things like late-night bus service, off-peak frequency improvements, Streetcar operations, and Trailhead Direct.  A small chunk is also going to fund permitting and design support for Sound Transit 3, hopefully accelerating Link service to West Seattle, Ballard, and Graham St.

If you live in Seattle or in Pierce County, emphatically vote Yes on your transit measure.

*There is an additional option to raise a comparatively small amount of money through a supplemental vehicle licensing fee.  We are disappointed but understanding that this was not pursued over fears of Tim Eyman-esque pushback.

Seattle City Council District 5

In Seattle’s City Council District 5, the choice is clear. While Nilu Jenks may not have been as focused on Sound Transit beyond the now-open Pinehurst Station, she has been focused on other progressive urbanist priorities, like fixing Aurora Ave N.  She is a policy wonk who loves to get into the details of improving quality of life in North Seattle, including improving and expanding transit. Meanwhile, her Chamber of Commerce-backed opponent, Julie Kang, appears to have been prioritizing putting her picture up at the newly opened Link station. Vote Jenks.

Metropolitan King County Council District 2

Finding daylight between the stated positions of State Senator Rebecca Saldaña and Port Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa was nearly impossible.  The September 22 meeting of the Port Commission gave us concerns about Hasegawa’s grasp on the responsibilities of her current role, as she seemed confused about how public meetings work under state law.  Throughout her career, Saldaña has invariably impressed us with her technical knowledge, support for transit, and political prowess.  Vote Saldaña.

King County Assessor

Most people don’t get out of bed and wonder who the King County Assessor is, but make no mistake: assessing property values is crucial for financing Sound Transit’s plans, so having someone dedicated to fairly measuring property values and to the mission of equitable transit access for the county is important. Rob Foxcurran shares our values, especially when it comes to encouraging more effective land use.  While the Assessor’s office has limited power to change policy, any elected official willing to soapbox about how golf courses should be taxed more has our vote. Vote Foxcurran.

Legislative District 32 Representative Pos. 1

Keith Scully’s questionnaire responses stood out for their sophistication. We liked Scully pointing to a track record delivering non-motorized infrastructure in Shoreline. While other candidates leaned on general talk of traffic reduction or fare enforcement, Scully lays out a clear vision for a multi-tiered transit network: fast regional rail, paired with local jurisdictions aggressively funding frequent neighborhood connections in place of infrequent all-bus service. He also offers sharp critiques of the state’s grant restrictions on Sound Transit, and he backs a directly elected, full-time Sound Transit board to keep the agency accountable and focused on delivering its $100+ billion capital program. His opponent, Danica Noble, did not return our survey. Vote Scully.

Legislative District 32 Representative Pos. 2

For LD-32 Pos. 2, only Imraan Siddiqi returned our endorsement survey. We like that self-identified transit rider Imraan Siddiqi’s responses focus on ways that he can help through the legislature: expanding progressive revenue streams and reforming the Sound Transit board structure. His sole opponent, incumbent Rep. Lauren Davis, did not fill out our survey, and has no readily available policy positions on Seattle-area transit. Vote Siddiqi.

Legislative District 32 Senator

We really wanted to be able to make an endorsement in this race.  However, incumbent Jesse Salomon — who has a generally pro-urbanist record in the state Senate — declined to return our survey.  Challenger Cindy Ryu did return our survey, and although she is eager for Sound Transit governance reform, her apparent confusion about how our state funds transportation prevents us from endorsing her.

Legislative District 34 Representative Pos. 2

House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon’s work on rapid transit in our region since 2010 has been extraordinary. Seattle’s Democrats hold key leadership positions, which benefits rapid transit—most recently, the successful passage of permitting reform for Sound Transit projects, which Fitzgibbon prime-sponsored in the House, is a great step. Fitzgibbon is one of our state’s smartest, most talented Representatives, and like Seattle’s other legislative leaders, he has the power to help fix Sound Transit’s underlying problems: chiefly, that its federated, part-time Board keeps learning after the fact about billions in cost overruns, and the agency still lacks the in-house technical expertise to deliver billions in capital projects within the budget it has–instead relying on expensive consultants. We think the current federated, part-time board is a big part of the problem. Yet questionnaire responses suggest senior legislators aren’t interested in governance reform—at this rate, the federated, part-time Sound Transit Board may be stuck in budget “realignment” forever. Representative Fitzgibbon isn’t so sure, but we’re eager to see him go to bat to fix an agency that must deliver not just ST3, but ST4 to Burien and beyond.

Fitzgibbon’s opponent answered our questionnaire too, and while their tone was supportive, their responses didn’t meet the high bar that would be needed to gain our support against Representative Fitzgibbon. Vote Fitzgibbon.

Legislative District 41 Representative Pos. 1

Incumbent Janice Zahn’s remaining opponent in this race is a Republican, so we especially appreciate that she took the time to provide substantive responses to our survey.  While we did not endorse her in this cycle, we look forward to working with her.

Legislative District 43 Senator

Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen received our Subway Rider of the Year award in 2022 for creating a funding mechanism that lets the Sound Transit Board expand rapid transit within individual cities like Seattle, without a region-wide vote. Pedersen wants to give Sound Transit the funding tools it needs to complete ST3. When he decides something matters, he gets it done, which is why we’re asking more of him.

What we didn’t fully realize in 2022 is that one of Sound Transit’s problems is governance. The Sound Transit Board keeps learning about billions in cost overruns after the fact. The agency still hasn’t brought needed technical expertise in-house, and it hasn’t made use of the additional funding authority Pedersen secured for it. A part-time board may simply not be capable of delivering a capital program this large, even with the resources Sound Transit already has.

Pedersen has the power to fix Sound Transit’s problems, but his questionnaire responses showed disinterest in governance reform. Pedersen is a powerful advocate when he chooses to be and has shown he can deliver progress for rapid transit. We call on Senator Pedersen to not compromise when it comes to mandating Sound Transit deliver every station approved in ST3. Our leaders in the Legislature must mandate a solution to the problems Sound Transit has not seemed equipped to solve thus far, even if it means mandating Sound Transit develop a detailed cost comparison of elevated trains in downtown Seattle, which work just fine for Chicago, Vancouver BC, and countless other global cities.

Hannah Sabio-Howell is a progressive organizer whose affordability agenda we strongly share. Affordability is why we want a comprehensive rapid transit network throughout our region. Her proposals for tax increment financing and progressive revenue options for mass transit that don’t rely on regressive sales taxes both deserve attention. Sabio-Howell’s fresh energy and openness to thinking about how to empower Sound Transit for future success, even well beyond ST3, is exactly what we need from our state legislators from Seattle. What Senator Pedersen has that Sabio-Howell lacks is the track record of passing much needed rapid transit-focused legislation through both houses of the Legislature. It will take the experience and political capital of Senate Majority Leader Pedersen to solve the problems we face. Vote Pedersen.

Legislative District 46 Representative Pos. 1

Will Dreher at least talks the talk. Representative Gerry Pollet, the incumbent, has had ample time to talk the talk, walk the walk, and support a bike lane or two. He has done none of that. 

Dreher’s past connections with Brett Kavanaugh gave us concern; however, Dreher withdrew support for Kavanaugh and supported an FBI investigation into the eventual Supreme Court Justice.We also hope that Dreher’s focus on “regulating AI” is not reactionary, but strategic.  So even while Dreher’s history leaves room for him to build greater trust with the electorate, we already know Pollet’s history and his failure to earn the trust of urbanists and those who want legislative support for building world class cities and public transit in the Puget Sound (it’s us, we want that!)

We extended an equal opportunity to Representative Pollet, but only Dreher responded to our survey; Pollet did not. Dreher’s responses showed a candidate who wants the right things: aggressive funding to quickly break ground on ST3 projects, WSDOT ownership of 2nd and 4th avenues to rebuild the viaduct and facilitate optimal station placement of one of the most important forthcoming DSTT2 stations, Sound Transit Board reform, expanding funding mechanisms for Sound Transit to deliver on ST3, and some form of permitting reform to address our housing crisis. We’d compare Dreher’s responses to Pollet’s, but again, Pollet didn’t respond, and his 15-year record is not inspiring.

Those of us with doubts about Dreher are willing to take a risk, and think you should too. Pollet has proven he’s out of step on most urbanist issues.

To Will Dreher: this is your chance. Prove us right!  Vote Dreher.

Legislative District 46 Representative Pos. 2

Incumbent Rep. Darya Farivar’s responses to our endorsement survey note how intersectional public transit is with other important progressive priorities and she supports Sound Transit Board reform (noting in her response that she co-sponsored a similar bill for an Amtrak Cascades oversight board). We wholeheartedly endorse her over independent Rodney Thornely. Vote Farivar.

State Senator, Legislative District 47

Claudia Kauffman is our choice, she should be yours too. We look forward to working with her on board reform, and expanding her views to being a champion for the entirety of ST3. Vote Kauffman.

Legislative District 48 Representative Pos. 2

Jessica Forsythe is a current Redmond City Councilmember, challenging the incumbent in this seat, and wow are we excited about her candidacy. She is committed to actually delivering the ST3 package voters approved, and is open to all conversations about how we do better. Her opponent did not return our survey. Vote Forsythe.

U.S. House WA-9

Washington’s 9th Congressional District (in the US House of Representatives) deserves better.  None of the candidates in this race’s primary election returned our endorsement survey, and narrowing the field from four odious candidates to two has done nothing to improve the situation.

Useless war hawk DINO Adam Smith has held the seat for THIRTY YEARS, and seems clear to hold it for another two.  Since the last millennium, the district has morphed from spanning rural King, Pierce, and Thurston counties to covering mostly-urban areas around southeast Seattle, so we’re long overdue for someone who represents the district’s current form.

Before knocking her out in the primary, Smith’s opponent — wacko Republican Doug Basler — displayed his weird obsession with Kshama Sawant on an entire section of his website dedicated to an AI-generated caricature of “the evils of socialism.”  For the general election, Basler has simply updated the AI-generated cartoon to — bafflingly — paint Adam Smith as a scary socialist.

We could go on at length about why we dislike these candidates, but what really matters to us is that neither of them is going to be the transit champion we need in our nation’s capital.

As in the primary, we suggest you write-in your dog, your cat, your ferret, or your snake.  We’re confident your pet cares more about building trains than either registered candidate — even if you don’t have one.