For questions about our endorsement process please reach out to our Campaign Director Jamielyn Wheeler at Jamielyn@FuseWashington.org
Fuse has released its endorsements for the 2021 primary election. You can also find our full list of recommended candidates across the state at www.ProgressiveVotersGuide.com. Fuse's criteria for endorsements include:
- Supporting candidates who have outstanding leadership qualities and will fight for working people, a healthy environment, and a better future for our children.
- Supporting women, people of color, young people, and LGBTQ+ candidates running for office.
- Supporting strong progressive candidates in competitive races against more conservative opponents.
- Supporting progressives in races where the balance of power in the elected body is at stake and where Fuse efforts could help gain or protect a progressive majority.
Our 2021 early endorsed candidates will be included in our Progressive Voters Guide. You can help us support all of these candidates by making a donation to the Progressive Voters Guide here!
King County
Hamdi Mohamed for Port of Seattle, Position 3
Hamdi Mohamed is a policy advisor for the King County Office of Equity and Social Justice and the former Deputy District Director for Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. If elected, Mohamed would be the first woman of color elected to the Port Commission, as well as the only commissioner from South King County. She is running for Port to advocate for working families and businesses most impacted by COVID-19.
Ruth Lipscomb for Bellevue City Council, Position 4
Ruth Lipscomb is a retired software engineer, investor, and philanthropist. She lives in Bellevue and volunteers with progressive nonprofit organizations, including previously serving on the board of Fuse.
Dawn Bennett for Mayor of Kent
Bennett is the executive director and co-founder of the Multicultural Education Rights Alliance. She has worked as a gang prevention specialist and caseworker for the city of Seattle, and the liaison for African American families for Seattle Public Schools.
Cliff Cawthon for Kent City Council, Position 4
Cawthon is a community activist and a staff member at Sightline Institute, a sustainability and urbanist think tank serving the Pacific Northwest.
Joe Todd for Renton City Council, Position 1
Todd is the King County Deputy Chief Technology Officer. He will bring new solutions and community perspectives to the challenges facing city hall.
Jake Simpson for SeaTac City Council, District 2
Simpson is a union organizer and former restaurant cook who wants to build a more equitable SeaTac for workers and their families. He will treat his seat in city hall as an organizing position, by uplifting the voices of people historically left out of decision-making in local government.
Mohamed Egal for SeaTac City Council, District 4
Egal is a job developer with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Service. He will bring much-needed representation and progressive values to the SeaTac city council.
Iris Guzman for SeaTac City Council, District 6
Guzman is a social worker with Highline Public Schools who is running for SeaTac City Council. Guzman wants to bridge the gaps between housing, food, and other basic needs for communities in SeaTac and understands the experience of working families firsthand.
Teresa Mosqueda for Seattle City Council, At-Large Position 8
Teresa Mosqueda was elected in 2017 and has distinguished herself as a progressive leader on the Seattle City Council. She sponsored the Jumpstart Seattle legislation that will fund affordable housing through a tax on high-earners at large corporations. In addition, Mosqueda supported efforts to expand paid sick leave and establish minimum wages for gig and other workers who have often been left behind in our economy. Previously, Mosqueda worked at the Washington State Labor Council as a political campaigns director and served on the board of Fuse Washington.
Pierce County
Victoria Woodards for Mayor of Tacoma
Woodards supports working families and is committed to maintaining safe and healthy neighborhoods across Tacoma. She also crucially understands the importance of addressing institutional racism and has a demonstrated history of working within communities of color and building diverse coalitions to address the problems facing Tacoma.
Anne Artman for Tacoma City Council, Position 5
Anne Artman is the founder and executive director of the Tacoma Recover Center and previously served as the program manager of the Multicultural Child and Family Hope Center.
Kiara Daniels for Tacoma City Council, Position 6
Daniels is a community advocate and the leader of the Hilltop Business Support, which aims to secure space and resources for Black businesses in the Hilltop business district.
Clark County
Diana Perez for Vancouver City Council, District 3
Diana Perez is the founder of the local League of United Latin American Citizens. Perez has worked tirelessly both professionally and on a volunteer basis to bring community-oriented solutions to Vancouver.
Snohomish County
Adrienne Fraley-Monillas for Edmonds City Council, District 3
Fraley-Monillas has been a progressive leader during her time on the Edmonds City Council. She has advocated for environmental conservation and to improve transportation and transit options.
Spokane County
Betsy Wilkerson for Spokane City Council
Betsy Wilkerson was appointed to the Spokane City Council in 2019 and has been a champion for progressive causes from the Spokane housing levy to police reform. Wilkerson brings to the council more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles at non-profits and as a business owner. Wilkerson is also the only Black woman serving on the council and is the first to do so in almost 20 years. The local Fuse Council unanimously recommended Wilkerson for an early endorsement.
Luc Jasmin and Naghmana Sherazi dual endorsement for Spokane City Council, District 1
Jasmin is the co-owner of Parkview Early Learning Center and recently served as president of the Washington Child Care Centers Association. Jasmin's top campaign priorities are expanding affordable child care, supporting small businesses, and expanding affordable housing.
Sherazi is a member of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, Refugee Connections of Spokane, and Greater Spokane Progress. She is running to increase representation and investment in Northeast Spokane and to push for stronger police reform.
Lacrecia "Lu" Hill and Zack Zappone dual endorsement for Spokane City Council, District 3
Hill serves as the board president of Spectrum LGBTQIA2+ Center and represents the center on the Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Coalition board. Hill's platform is focused on expanding affordable housing, improving public safety, and responsibly managing growth.
Zappone is a creator of after-school programs and a former teacher. Zappone's campaign priorities include ensuring everyone has the training they need to enter the workforce, a housing-first approach to homelessness, worker protections, and creating a more equitable tax system for lower-income residents.
Melissa Bedford for Spokane School Board Director, Position 3
Bedford currently works as an assistant professor at Eastern Washington University and has worked as a public school teacher as well as served in institutional leadership positions. Bedford is running to make education more accessible, equitable, and inclusive.
