Building better communities where all people --- from grandparents to kids --- can safely bike to where they want to go requires elected officials who champion better bikeways and more funding.
That’s why Cascade works so hard to elect candidates who share our values and push for better bicycling infrastructure.
In addition to the 15 candidates already endorsed prior to the primary election, Cascade now endorses another 27 candidates. Please join us in helping to elect:
| State Races | |
| State Senate District 26 | Nathan Schlicher |
| County Races | |
| King County Executive | Dow Constantine |
| King County Council, Pos. 1 | Rod Dembowski |
| Snohomish County Council, Pos. 1 | Bill Blake |
| Snohomish County Council, Pos. 5 | Dave Somers |
| Port Races | |
| Port of Seattle, Pos. 1 | John Creighton |
| Port of Seattle, Pos. 3 | Stephanie Bowman |
| City Races | |
| Auburn Mayor | Nancy Backus |
| Auburn City Council, Pos. 6 | Rich Wagner |
| Bainbridge Island City Council, North Ward | Val Tollefson |
| Bainbridge Island City Council, South Ward | Roger Townsend |
| Bellevue City Council, Pos. 4 | Steve Kasner |
| Bellevue City Council, Pos. 6 | Lynne Robinson & Vandana Slatter |
| Bremerton City Council, Pos. 4 | Greg Wheeler |
| Burien City Council, Pos. 1 | Lauren Berkowitz |
| Burien City Council, Pos. 5 | Nancy Tosta |
| Des Moines City Council, Pos. 7 | Dave Kaplan |
| Edmonds City Council, Pos. 3 | Adrienne Fraley-Monillas |
| Federal Way City Council, Pos. 6 | Martin Moore |
| Kenmore City Council, Pos. 4 | Nigel Herbig |
| Kirkland City Council, Pos. 1 | Jay Arnold |
| Kirkland City Council, Pos. 3 | Penny Sweet |
| Kirkland City Council, Pos. 5 | Amy Walen |
| Kirkland City Council, Pos. 7 | Doreen Marchione |
| Lake Forest Park City Council, Pos. 1 | Hilda Thompson |
| Lake Forest Park City Council, Pos. 3 | John Wright |
| Lake Forest Park City Council, Pos. 5 | Mark Phillips |
| Lake Forest Park City Council, Pos. 7 | John Resha |
| Issaquah Mayor | Fred Butler |
| Mercer Island City Council, Pos. 2 | Dan Grausz |
| Mercer Island City Council, Pos. 5 | Tana Senn |
| Mukilteo Mayor | Jennifer Gregorson |
| Mukilteo City Council, Pos. 3 | Randy Lord |
| Sammamish City Council, Pos. 1 | Kathleen Huckabay |
| Seattle Mayor | Mike McGinn |
| Seattle City Council, Pos. 2 | Richard Conlin |
| Seattle City Council, Pos. 4 | Sally Bagshaw |
| Seattle City Council, Pos. 6 | Nick Licata |
| Seattle City Council, Pos. 8 | Mike O’Brien |
| Shoreline City Council, Pos. 3 | Will Hall |
| Shoreline City Council, Pos: 7 | Chris Roberts |
| Tacoma City Council, Pos. 2 | Robert Thoms |
Cascade endorses candidates who will be leaders for creating better communities through bicycling, as expressed by their positions and values and by their past leadership. In addition, Cascade only engages in races where the candidates actively seek our endorsement.
Cascade is not partisan except insofar that we’re bike-partisan. We have endorsed both Democrats and Republicans, as we did this year.
Now that you know who Cascade believes are the most bike-friendly candidates in the region, we need to work to get them elected.
- Volunteer with Cascade by contact Emily Kathrein, Field Programs Manager (emily.kathrein@cascadebicycleclub.org)
- Donate to the Cascade Bike PAC.
Learn more about all the candidates after the jump.
State Races
State Senate District 26:
Nathan Schlicher
Senator Schlicher is both an acclaimed emergency physician and an attorney who seeks re-election to his senate seat to which he was appointed in January. He supports adding health as a state transportation goal and increasing state funding for bicycling, including the Complete Streets program and Safe Routes to School. Schlicher is now in a tough fight with Rep. Jan Angel, who has won the district in five consecutive elections and has been opponent to bicycle, pedestrian, and transit funding and policy reforms. Your volunteer and financial support could go a long ways.
County Races
King County Executive:
Dow Constantine
In his first term, Dow Constantine championed King County’s purchase of 20 miles of the BNSF rail corridor on the Eastside, to be converted into a trail route for pedestrians and bicyclists, with the possibility of commuter rail in the future. In addition, his administration has updated county plans to strengthen smart growth, safe routes to school, complete streets, and regional trail policies.
King County Council, Pos. 1:
Rod Dembowski
Rod Dembowski believes in creating better communities through bicycling. He understands the importance of designing our streets to be safer for all users so tragedies like that on NE 75th Street can be avoided. As a recent appointee to the King County Council, he will continue his leadership in support of better regional transportation policies.
Snohomish County Council, Pos. 1:
Bill Blake
Bill Blake is a third generation Snohomish County resident who, as City of Arlington employee, worked with developers to permit housing and other development. In his private life, he’s worked to find balanced solutions that protect natural resources will fostering vibrant downtown business districts and neighborhoods. As councilmember, Bill Blake will work to expand transportation alternatives to address congestion, including building out Snohomish County’s bicycle trail system.
http://www.voteforbillblake.com
Snohomish County Council, Pos. 5
Dave Somers
Dave Somers, a councilmember since 2005, is a well-respected regional leader in supporting compact development patterns that protect agricultural and natural resources lands while supporting compact, bicycle-friendly communities. He supports a multi-modal transportation system by expanding transit and making sure neighborhood streets are safe for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Port Races
Port of Seattle, Pos. 1:
John Creighton
A port commissioner since 2005, Creighton was a champion on the Commission to give its rights to 19.2 miles of the Eastside Rail Corridor to King County, enabling the potential creation of a multi-use trail through Renton, Bellevue, Kirkland, and Woodinville. Looking to the future, he supports increasing the safety of bicyclists along heavily trafficked freight routes.
Port of Seattle, Pos. 3:
Stephanie Bowman
Recently appointed to the commission, Bowman is the only commissioner who regularly rides her bicycle to commission meetings. She understands the need to increase the safety of bicyclists on heavily trafficked freight routes and is passionate to find common-sense solutions.
City Races
Auburn Mayor:
Nancy Backus
Nancy Backus is a current city councilmember who has worked in finance for Boeing for 17 years. She is a champion for making neighborhoods around schools safer by dedicating traffic camera revenues to neighborhood safety improvements. Backus is also interested in improving the local city policies to be more bike-friendly, including building-out a recently adopted bike route map.
Auburn City Council, Pos. 6:
Rich Wagner
Rich Wagner is an engineer by training, has championed the build out of the South Interurban Trail and other multi-use trails in Auburn, and supports the adoption of several bicycle-friendly city policies.
Bainbridge Island City Council, North Ward:
Val Tollefson
Val Tollefson is a retired attorney and long-time bicyclist who has ridden the STP, RSVP, and Chilly Hilly many times. His top concern is road safety and he’s ready to work with the local bicycle advocacy organization Squeaky Wheels on their key priorities, as well as increasing bicycle access to transit stops and enhancing the non-motorized transportation elements to the city’s comprehensive plan.
Bainbridge Island City Council, South Ward:
Roger Townsend
One of Roger Townsend’s top priorities is building out better bicycle infrastructure on Bainbridge Island. He’d like to complete the Sound to Olympics Trail, improve connections between the ferry terminal and downtown Winslow, fix potholes, and widen road shoulders around the island.
Bellevue City Council, Pos. 4:
Steve Kasner
Steve Kasner as the chair of the East Bellevue Community Council and several city committees where he’s been a champion for parks, trails, and livability issues. As a city councilmember, Kasner will be a champion for making sure downtown, arterial, and neighborhood streets are safe for all people to bicycle on.
Bellevue City Council, Pos. 6:
Dual Endorsement: Lynne Robinson and Vandana Slatter
Cascade’s top goal was to get both candidates through the primary election and defeat incumbent Don Davidson who has long frustrated improving transportation choices in Bellevue -- which we successfully did. Both Robinson and Slatter have been involved in recreational and competitive bicycling for decades and want to expand Bellevue’s trail systems while making streets safer for all users. We cannot go wrong with either candidate.
http://www.allinforlynne.com/
http://vandanaslatter.com/
Bremerton City Council, Pos. 4:
Greg Wheeler
Greg Wheeler is a real estate agent and current city councilmember. In 2011, Wheeler supported the city’s adoption of a “complete streets” ordinance to ensure all road users are considered when re-doing a roadway, and he is supportive of adding more traffic calming infrastructure like curb bulbs and speed humps to make streets safer.
Burien City Council, Pos. 1:
Lauren Berkowitz
Lauren Berkowitz is a former labor organizer, current law student, and a regular bicyclist who has done several benefit rides. She is taking on an incumbent who has opposed smart growth policies that protect Burien’s environment and livability, and she is a supporter of increasing funding and designing streets for bicyclists.
Burien City Council, Pos. 5:
Nancy Tosta
Nancy Tosta is a retired state and regional planner and currently serves on Burien’s planning commission. Tosta supports improving funding and planning for transit and bicycling.
http://www.electnancytosta.com/
Des Moines City Council, Pos. 7:
Dave Kaplan
Dave Kaplan is a current councilmember, executive director of the Washington Self-Insurers Association, former labor union shop steward, and former president of the state Log Cabin Republicans. Kaplan supports more multi-use trails, adding bike lanes to streets, and increasing transit funding.
Edmonds City Council, Pos. 3:
Adrienne Fraley-Monillas
Adrienne Fraley-Monillas is a current councilmember who has supported a “bicycle element” to the city’s comprehensive plan and transit-oriented development policies.
Federal Way City Council, Pos. 6:
Martin Moore
Martin Moore works as a legislative aide to Rep. Roger Freeman and volunteers for several organizations working to end homelessness. As a city parks commissioner, Moore has championed the construction of bike trails. As a city councilmember, Moore hopes to push even further by gradually increasing funding for bicycling and adopting street design standards supportive of bicyclists.
http://www.electmartinmoore.com
Kenmore City Council, Pos. 4:
Nigel Herbig
Nigel Herbig currently works as the legislative assistant to Rep. Jessyn Farrell and previously worked for the Washington Conservation Voters and SEIU. As a councilmember, Herbig is ready to champion making sure all Kenmore streets are safe for bicyclists and pedestrians and increasing funding for sidewalks, bikeways, and parks.
Kirkland City Council, Pos. 1:
Jay Arnold
A former Microsoft employee from 1990 to 2004, Jay Arnold is now the principal at Wintegrated Solutions and the technology director for Fuse Washington. Arnold has served on the Kirkland Planning Commission since 2009 where he has championed transit-oriented development policies, and he is ready to push for more bicycle lanes and neighborhood greenways, and the development of the Cross Kirkland Corridor into a multi-use trail.
Kirkland City Council, Pos. 3:
Penny Sweet
Penny Sweet, elected to the city council in 2010, recently retired after 30 years as a business director of the Group Health Cooperative, and is currently the owner of The Grape Choice (a retail wine shop), chair of the Market Neighborhood Association, and founder and president of Celebrate Kirkland that organizes Kirkland’s Fourth of July events. Penny Sweet has championed the Cross Kirkland Corridor; supported efforts to increase density, including development at transit centers; and supported increasing the number of complete street projects within the city’s Capital Improvement Plan budgeting process to move the city closer to the goal of 90% complete streets on arterials by 2018.
Kirkland City Council, Pos. 5:
Amy Walen
Amy Walen is a current city councilmember. She supported the successful 2011 Kirkland road levy and is now working to update to the city’s master transportation plan with a significant emphasis on bicyclists and pedestrians and is working to ensure there is easy access between the Cross Kirkland Corridor and the new South Kirkland transit center.
Kirkland City Council, Pos. 7:
Doreen Marchione
Doreene Machione has served on the Kirkland City Council since 2010. Before retiring in 2007, Marchione was the President and CEO of Hopelink, as well as the mayor of Redmond from 1984 to 1991. She is a champion for creating the Cross Kirkland Corridor, neighborhood greenways, and designing streets so all users have “equal and safe access.”
https://www.facebook.com/doreenmarchioneforcouncil
Lake Forest Park City Council, Pos. 1:
Hilda Thompson
Hilda Thompson has worked with U.S. Senator Patty Murray and Rep. Jessyn Farrell, and she is young, sharp, and articulate. In looking at bicycling in Lake Forest Park, Thompson supports connecting the Interurban Trail and Burke-Gilman Trail, incorporating adopting a bike plan in the upcoming comprehensive plan update, and seeking grant funding for bike infrastructure.
Lake Forest Park City Council, Pos. 3:
John Wright
John Wright has worked on transportation issues for 30 years in his professional career. When the Burke-Gilman Trail was recently reconstructed through Lake Forest Park, Wright championed the creation of a detour route for bicyclists. He is now championing the creation of two connector bikeways through the city to the Burke-Gilman.
Lake Forest Park City Council, Pos. 5:
Mark Phillips
Mark Phillips is a Cascade member and a retired Boeing administrator who has served on Lake Forest Park’s Environmental Quality Commission, Urban Forest Task Force, and Planning Commission. He supports building more protected bike lanes, increasing bike parking at transit stations, and adding traffic calming infrastructure to streets.
http://www.mark4lfpcouncil.org/
Lake Forest Park City Council, Pos. 7:
John Resha
John Resha, as a transportation policy analyst for the King County Council, is perhaps the most knowledgeable political candidate this fall on the region’s transportation issues. Resha commutes by all modes, but mostly by bus and bike, providing him a strong perspective for planning a transportation system for all users. He supports making the investments necessary to ensure more people can comfortably and safely bike around Lake Forest Park.
Issaquah Mayor:
Fred Butler
Fred Butler has served on the Issaquah City Council since 1999. Previously he served 27 years in the military and later as the chief engineer for Seattle City Light until his retirement in 1996. He also serves on the Sound Transit Board, King County Regional Transit Committee, and Eastside Transportation Partnership. Butler has been a strong champion for smart growth and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, including supporting Sound Transit’s recent adoption of a station access policy.
Mercer Island City Council, Pos. 2:
Dan Grausz
Dan Grausz is a current city councilmember and executive vice president of Holland America. Grausz has championed the creation of four new trails on Mercer Island and several improved road shoulders, as well as updating land use policies for the town center in order to catalyze development.
Mercer Island City Council, Pos. 5:
Tana Senn
Tana Senn was appointed to the city council in 2012. She supports funding the city’s bicycle and pedestrian plans, making sure all users are considered when designing streets, and ensuring bicycle access to the future light rail station.
Mukilteo Mayor:
Jennifer Gregorson
As a Mukilteo city councilmember, Jennifer Gregorson has shown strong leadership in making Mukilteo a safer place for families to bike. She has worked to build support for building more bicycle trails to connect with the region, to build new bicycle lanes to make streets safer, and to to slow neighborhood streets through quality design. She is literally a regional expert on creating great communities through bicycling, having graduated from the University of Washington with a Masters in Urban Planning & Design and having written the study on how to create a regional bike share program.
http://www.jennifergregerson.com/
Mukilteo City Council, Pos. 3:
Randy Lord
Randy Lord is a current city councilmember. Professionally, he has been a mechanical design engineer and a project manager for over 32 years and currently works at Boeing. Lord was instrumental in creating Mukilteo’s bike master plan and is championing the creation of a trail on the south side of SR 526 (Boeing Highway), linking Mukilteo to the east-west trails that stop at Airport Way and Casino Road. He regularly commutes by bike, has ridden STP and RSVP multiple times, and is a Cascade member.
Sammamish City Council, Pos. 1:
Kathleen Huckabay
Kathleen Huckabay is a CPA and financial planner who served on the city council from 1999 to 2009. Inspired by a recent trip to Copenhagen, she’s interested in making sure more streets are safe for bicyclists and is proactively working with local bicyclists to make it happen.
Seattle Mayor:
Mike McGinn
Mayor Mike McGinn has shown strong leadership in making Seattle a safer place for families to bike. He has pushed for more bike funding, championed a world-class Bike Master Plan Update ,and fought to complete the Missing Link of the Burke-Gilman Trail. And under Mayor McGinn’s leadership, Seattle is building new neighborhood greenways and separated, protected bicycle lanes across the city.
Seattle City Council, Pos. 2:
Richard Conlin
Richard Conlin has long championed transportation choices, including Seattle’s complete streets law, the Portage Bay Bridge bike lane as part of the 520 bridge replacement, Sound Transit’s investment of millions of dollars for bicycle infrastructure at Northgate (including a bicycle-pedestrian bridge across I-5), and Sound Transit’s adoption of new station access policies.
Seattle City Council, Pos. 4:
Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw has worked hard to make bicycling so safe that Seattle families will let their eight year olds ride their bikes to school, to parks, to libraries and through their neighborhoods; and grandparents will choose to ride their bikes to the local neighborhood business district for a morning cup of coffee and newspaper.
Seattle City Council, Pos. 6:
Nick Licata
Nick Licata is a current city councilmember and long-time voice for the public interest who has been a supporter and champion for bicycling for decades. He takes the tough stances for what he believes in and works to build a city that makes people passionate to live here.
Seattle City Council, Pos. 8:
Mike O’Brien
Councilmember Mike O’Brien has championed efforts to secure additional funding for bicycling infrastructure and the region’s early efforts to bring a bike share program to Seattle. He sees what other cities are doing to support building a better community through bicycling and wants to see Seattle not just keeping up, but leading the way.
http://www.obrienforseattle.com/
Shoreline City Council, Pos. 3:
Will Hall
Will Hall is a current city councilmember who works professionally as a legislative analyst for the Snohomish County Council. He has been an avid champion for transit-oriented development to spur Shoreline’s economy while protecting farms and forest and is inspired to make bicycling safer and more convenient.
Shoreline City Council, Pos: 7:
Chris Roberts
Chris Roberts is a current city councilmember. He wants to connect the Interurban Trail to the Burke-Gilman Trail, fund the projects identified in Shoreline’s bike master plan, and increase bicycle access to the future Link light rail stations.
Tacoma City Council, Pos. 2:
Robert Thoms
Robert Thoms is a public policy consultant who was appointed to the Tacoma City Council earlier this year. He shares the values of improving the infrastructure for bicycling and has the savvy to make it happen.
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