Tuesday, August 2nd is an important primary election for Washington state legislative and congressional races. If you’re registered to vote in WA, you should be receiving your ballot soon: please take a minute to send it in! Our work to dismantle racism, anti-Blackness, and economic exploitation; to ensure that struggling students and workers receive critical support and protections regardless of citizenship; to pass housing affordability and progressive taxation legislation; to prioritize climate justice; to fight back against right wing attacks that strip our fundamental human rights: will all be heavily influenced by who is making decisions in Olympia and Washington D.C. Primary elections are an especially important way to influence the outcome: your vote makes a difference! You can join fellow UAW members in getting out the vote by signing up here.
The deadline to register to vote or update your address (and still receive a mail-in ballot) is July 25th. After July 25th, register in person through August 2nd (check out this page for more information). Ballots will start arriving on July 15, and ballot drop boxes close promptly at 8 pm on the 2nd of August.
Through our Political Work Group, UAW 4121 members assembled questionnaires, reviewed candidate responses and their records on our core issues, and conducted several candidate interviews. The result is a strong slate of recommendations that, if elected, will fight for issues most important to us. Below are our UAW recommendations! Click on the hyperlinked names to jump to more information and feel free to email political@uaw4121.org if you have any questions, would like additional information on any of these candidates, or would like to get involved.
US Senate
Patty Murray
US Congress
District 7: Pramila Jayapal
District 8: Dr. Kim Schrier
District 9: Stephanie Gallardo
WA State Legislature
Legislative District 46, State Representative Pos. 2: Melissa Taylor
Legislative District 29, State Representative Pos. 2: Sharlett Mena
Additional information:
Congressional District 9: Stephanie Gallardo
Union leader and activist Stephanie Gallardo is running a grassroots campaign on a platform of fully funding education and social services, taxing corporations and the wealthy, canceling student debt, and many other issues that we’ve been excited about in 4121. We appreciated Stephanie’s commitment to getting big money out of politics and fighting for change using direct action and mass mobilization. Stephanie is challenging long time incumbent Adam Smith, who has supported progressive causes, but also takes PAC contributions from (union-busting) defense contractors and other corporate donors and does not agree with repurposing a portion of the military budget. Vote Gallardo!
Legislative District 46 Representative: Melissa Taylor
The race for the open seat in th LD 46 for Representative is a crowded field, but Melissa Taylor is the candidate that has walked picket lines, taken action to fix our upside down tax code, fought for funding for higher education, and will prioritize community-driven solutions to our pressing issues. Melissa is incredibly knowledgeable about our priority issues and we are impressed with her knowledge and commitment to our bargaining demand for an International Solidarity Fund to support our international scholars. Melissa is ready to take our fights to Olympia, including: investing and building green, social, affordable housing, expanding transit, taxing the wealthy, fighting for climate justice, equitable higher education, expanding health care and protecting access to reproductive care, and more. Melissa is the candidate that will work in solidarity with us to build power and hold our institutions accountable. Vote Melissa Taylor!
Legislative District 29 Representative: Sharlett Mena
Environmental justice leader and advocate Sharlett Mena is running to inject new leadership and accessibility into our state legislature. Mena has a strong record of being a labor ally, and believes in building power from the ground up with grassroots activism. She has a strong grasp of policy, and on the intersectionality of problems facing us. For instance, her policy proposals reflect her understanding of how the current criminal justice system interacts with classism and racism, and she stands for housing first and bold, urgent action on climate legislation. Mena will further push for institutions to be held accountable, including on sexual harassment issues, and has an impressive record of fighting for immigrant communities and students. In Mena’s previous race against an incumbent, the margin was so tight there was a recount where ballot chasing could change the election outcome. Now she is running for the same seat where the incumbent retired, and the Political work group is just as excited to see her in office. Vote for Mena!