Who transportation orgs are endorsing in the 2025 general election + WA Bikes snubs several bike champions?

Skip ahead to the endorsements:

1. State Legislature
2. Counties
3. Cities

Ballots are hitting mailboxes across Washington State, and Seattle has the opportunity to elect a mayor who is a people-powered champion for biking, walking, transit and affordability in Katie Wilson. While incumbent mayor Bruce Harrell is embroiled in a campaign finance scandal over apparent collusion with his big money independent" PAC that's spending huge amounts on attack ads, Wilson's campaign has volunteers knocking on doors all over Seattle. Join the Wilson canvassing effort to send a message to major funders (including wealthy Republican funders) that they cannot buy a Seattle mayor. Seattle Bike Blog has endorsed Wilson and even helped organize a bike rally for her campaign.

In all the years I've been doing these endorsement roundups, the transportation organizations have mostly aligned on candidate choices. But this year, that changed. Transportation 4 Washington and especially Washington Bikes have both taken turns toward centrist candidates in some key races even when there is an outspoken champion for biking and transit in the race. The biggest discrepancy is that both orgs endorsed Bruce Harrell for Seattle Mayor while the Urbanist, the Transit Riders Union and Seattle Bike Blog have all emphatically endorsed Katie Wilson. The WA Bikes PAC run by Washington Bikes even spent more than $57,000 on mailers to Seattle voters touting their endorsed city candidates, including Harrell, as pro-bike champions" who are pro-bike" and pro-safety." Secretly killing shovel-ready safety upgrades on Lake Washington Boulevard doesn't seem very pro-safety" to me.

It's not just Seattle Mayor, though. Washington Bikes also endorsed Jon Pascal for Kirkland City Council over his enthusiastically bike-loving challenger Kurt Dresner. I mean, you can read their transportation promises for yourself. Pascal wants to ease congestion" and balance" sidewalk and bike lane improvements while recognizing that vehicles remain an essential form of transportation." Dresner talks about working for Kirkland's large nondriving population" (he's clearly not only read Anna Zivarts' book, he's working her lessons into his platform!) and how owning and operating a car today is incredibly expensive, and traffic crashes injure and kill millions each year." He's not some outside candidate, either. Kirkland's Mayor Kelli Curtis and Kirkland City Councilmember Amy Falcone have endorsed Dresner, as have State Senator Vendana Slatter and King County Councilmember (and WA Bikes-endorsed candidate for Executive) Claudia Balducci. (UPDATE 10/20: Transportation for Washington has also endorsed Dresner). I don't understand how a bike org can snub a candidate who has put this much care into embracing the core mission of safe streets.

So we find ourselves in a situation where Seattle Bike Blog is telling you to vote against the candidate listed on the WA Bikes PAC mailer you received in your mailbox. It feels very odd.

An unhappy mailer recipient, via Bluesky.

I have gathered endorsements from several organizations working for safer streets and better transit in our area: The Urbanist (URB), Transportation for Washington (T4W), Washington Bikes (WAB), and the Transit Riders Union (TRU). Once again, the Urbanist did an exceptional job of explaining the reasoning behind their choices, so if you want more details on a specific race I highly recommend reading their write-up.

Note that Cascade Bicycle Club (CSC), Seattle Neighborhood Greenways (SNG) and Transportation Choices Coalition are 501(c)(3) non-profits that can accept tax-deductible donations, and U.S. law allows them to endorse ballot measures but not political candidates or parties. Cascade and TCC's respective sister organizations Washington Bikes and Transportation for Washington are separate 501(c)(4) non-profits that can endorse candidates. The TRU endorsements were not posted online at the time of writing so I received them via email, but I will add a link once it is live. I only included no endorsement" if an org specifically noted it, such as the Urbanist's snub of Lynn Robinson in Bellevue. (UPDATE 10/20: T4W has updated their endorsements list to include Kurt Dresner in Kirkland and a dual endorsement of John Hines and Anders Ibsen for Tacoma Mayor).

State Legislature

Legislative District 5 State Senate

• Victoria Hunt - WB, URB

Legislative District 26 State Senate

• Deb Krishnadasan - WB, T4W

Legislative District 33 State Representative Position 1

• Edwin Obras - URB

Legislative District 34 State Senate

• Emily Alvarado - WB

Legislative District 34 State Representative Position 1

• Brianna Thomas - T4W

Legislative District 41 State Representative Position 1

• Janice Zahn - WB, T4W, URB

Legislative District 48 State Senate

• Vandana Slatter - WB, T4W, URB

Legislative District 48 State Representative Position 1

• Osman Salahuddin - WB, T4W

Counties

King County Executive

• Claudia Balducci - WB, T4W, URB, TRU (dual)
• Girmay Zahilay - TRU (dual)

King County Council District 1

• Rod Dembowski - WB, T4W

King County Council District 3

• Sarah Perry - WB, T4W

King County Council District 5

• Peter Kwon - WB
• No Endorsement - URB

King County Council District 7

• Maya Vengadasalam - TRU

King County Council District 9

• Jude Anthony - TRU

Pierce County Council District 5

• Bryan Yambe - WB, T4W

Pierce County Charter Review Commission

• Devin Rydel Kelly - TRU

Snohomish County Council District 5

• Sam Low - WB

Whatcom County Council District 2

• Elizabeth Boyle - T4W

Whatcom County Council District 3

• Jessica Rienstra - T4W

Cities

Auburn Mayor

• Nancy Backus - T4W

Bainbridge Island City Council District 7 North Ward

• Joe Deets - WB

Bellevue City Council Position 1

• Vishal Bhargava - WB, URB

Bellevue City Council Position 2

• Naren Briar - WB

Bellevue City Council Position 4

• Pradnya Desh - WB

Bellevue City Council Position 5

• Claire Sumadiwirya - WB, URB

Bellevue City Council Position 6

• Lynne Robinson - WB, T4W
• No Endorsement - URB

Bellingham City Council At Large

• Jace Cotton - WB

Bellingham City Council Ward 2

• Hollie Huthman - WB
• Leah Wainman - T4W

Bellingham City Council Ward 4

• Skip Williams - WB

Bellingham City Council Ward 6

• Andrew Reding - WB, TRU

Bothell City Council Position 3

• Jenne Alderks - WB, T4W, URB

Bothell City Council Position 5

• Brittany Miles - T4W, URB, TRU

Bothell Proposition 1

• YES - URB

Bremerton Mayor

• Jeff Coughlin - WB
• Greg Wheeler - T4W

Bremerton City Council District 3

• Christy Cammarata - WB (dual)
• Michael Simonds - WB (dual)

Bremerton City Council District 7

• Matthew Baptiste-Cerra - WB, T4W

Burien City Council Position 1

• Hugo Garcia - URB, TRU

Burien City Council Position 3

• Sam Mendez - T4W, URB, TRU

Burien City Council Position 5

• Sarah Moore - WB, T4W, URB, TRU

Burien City Council Position 7

• Rocco DeVito - WB, T4W, URB, TRU

Edmonds City Council Position 1

• Chris Eck - WB

Edmonds City Council Position 3

• Alex Newman - WB

Ellensburg City Council Position 1

• Nancy Lillquist - T4W

Ellensburg Proposition 1

• YES - TCC

Everett Mayor

• Cassie Franklin - WB, T4W

Everett City Council District 1

• Sam Hem - T4W

Everett City Council District 2

• Paula Rhyne - WB

Federal Way City Council Position 2

• Martin A. Moore - T4W

Gig Harbor City Council Position 2

• Patrick Ammann - WB

Gig Harbor City Council Position 3

• Emily Stone - WB

Issaquah Mayor

• Lindsey Walsh - WB, T4W, URB

Issaquah City Council Position 1

• Kelly Jiang - WB, T4W, URB

Issaquah City Council Position 6

• Kevin Nichols - WB, T4W, URB

Kenmore City Council Position 2

• Tracy Banaszynski - WB

Kenmore City Council Position 4

• Nigel Herbig - WB, T4W, TRU

Kent City Council Position 2

• Satwinder Kaur - WB

Kent City Council Position 6

• Andy Song - URB

Kirkland City Council Position 1

• Jay Arnold - WB, T4W, URB

Kirkland City Council Position 3

• Shilpa Prem - URB

Kirkland City Council Position 5

• Neal Black - WB, T4W, URB

Kirkland City Council Position 7

• Kurt Dresner - URB, TRU, T4W
• Jon Pascal - WB

Lake Forest Park City Council Position 3

• Josh Rosenau - WB, T4W, TRU

Lakewood City Council Position 1

• Ellen Talbo - WB

Lynnwood City Council Position 2

• Isabel Mata - WB

Lynnwood City Council Position 3

• Josh Binda - TRU

Mount Vernon City Council Ward 2 Position 2

• Hannah Oliver - T4W

Newcastle City Council Position 6

• Paul Charbonneau - URB, TRU

Olympia City Council Position 6

• Robert Vanderpool - WB, T4W

Olympia City Council Position 7

• Paul Berendt - WB

Port Townsend City Council Position 1

• Dylan Quarles - WB

Poulsbo Mayor

• Ed Stern - WB

Pullman City Council Ward 1 Position 7

• John-Mark Mahnkey - T4W

Pullman City Council Ward 3 Position 5

• Tawny Szumlas - T4W

Redmond City Council Position 4

• Melissa Stuart - WB, T4W

Redmond City Council Position 6

• Menka Soni - WB, T4W, URB

Renton City Council Position 1

• Mike Westgaard - URB, TRU

Renton City Council Position 2

• Carmen Rivera - WB, TRU
• No Endorsement - URB

Renton City Council Position 6

• Paul Dutton - TRU

Richland City Council Position 6

• Kurt H Maier - WB

Sammamish City Council Position 3

• Sid Gupta - WB

Sammamish City Council Position 5

• Lin Yang - WB, TRU

Sammamish City Council Position 7

• Karen Howe - WB

SeaTac City Council Position 2

• Caitlin Konya - TRU

SeaTac City Council Position 4

• Mohamed Egal - T4W, TRU

Seattle Mayor

• Bruce Harrell - WB, T4W
• Katie Wilson - URB, TRU, Seattle Bike Blog

Seattle City Attorney

• Erika Evans - URB, TRU

Seattle City Council District 2

• Adonis Ducksworth - WB, T4W
• Eddie Lin - URB

Seattle City Council District 8

• Alexis Mercedes Rinck - WB, T4W, URB, TRU

Seattle City Council District 9

• Dionne Foster - WB, T4W, URB, TRU

Seattle Proposition 1

• YES - URB

Seattle Proposition 2

• YES - URB

Spokane City Council District 1, Position 2

• Sarah Dixit - WB, T4W

Spokane City Council District 2, Position 2

• Kate Telis - WB, T4W

Spokane City Council District 3, Position 2

• Zach Zappone - WB, T4W

Tacoma Mayor

• John Hines - WB, T4W (dual)
• Anders Ibsen - URB, T4W (dual)

Tacoma City Council District 2

• Sarah Rumbaugh - WB, T4W

Tacoma City Council District 4

• Silong Chhun - URB
• Sandesh Sadalge - WB, T4W

Tacoma City Council District 5

• Zev Rose Cook - URB

Tacoma City Council District 6

• Latasha Palmer - URB

Tukwila City Council Position 1

• Verna Seal - URB

Tukwila City Council Position 3

• Hannah Hedrick - TRU

Tukwila City Council Position 5

• Kate Kruller - WB

Vancouver City Council Position 1

• Kim D. Harless - T4W

Vancouver City Council Position 2

• Erik Paulsen - T4W

Woodinville City Council Position 1

• Michelle Evans - WB