FOR THE 27th DISTRICT, PIERCE COUNTY, WASHINGTON
For Republicans Only: (Don’t tell the left whom to vote against!)
Here are our lists of the recommended Republican candidates, positions on initiatives, and City of Tacoma charter amendments.
Some of you may be disappointed that your preferred candidate didn't make it to the General Election. But we try to keep in mind conservative stalwart William F. Buckley Jr.'s maxim that we should vote for the most conservative candidate who can win. The idea is to keep tilting to the right, even little by little, until we get where we need to be. We ask all of our brother and sister conservatives to stick together and join us in this work.
Please note that not all of the candidates below have requested or received an official party endorsement, but we owe it to you to give you the best information we have.
In this article:
Quick List of Picks
State Initiatives
Initiative Measure 2066: Vote YES, Pay Less!
Initiative Measure 2109: Vote YES, Pay Less!
Initiative Measure 2117: Vote YES, Pay Less!
Initiative Measure 2124: Vote YES, Pay Less!
City of Tacoma
Propositions
Proposition No. 1 - Property Tax Levy Increase, Levy Lift Lid [TFD] NO
Charter Amendments
Please see digital voter's pamphlet here for additional information.
Amendment No. 1 – Providing for Equitable Access NO
Amendment No. 2 – Required Meetings of the City Council -
Amendment No. 3 – Limitations Upon Sale or Transfer of Waterfront Property NO
Amendment No. 4 – Duties and Authority of Council Members YES
Amendment No. 5 – Composition of the Planning Commission NO
Amendment No. 6 – Changing Term Limits for Future Elected Council Members NO
Candidates
President of the United States Donald J. Trump
Vice President of the United States J. D. Vance
US Senator Dr. Raul Garcia
Congressional District 6 - U.S. Representative Drew C. MacEwen
Lt. Governor Dan Matthews
Secretary of State Dale Whitaker
State Treasurer Sharon Hanek
State Auditor Matt Hawkins
Attorney General Pete Serrano
Commissioner of Public Lands Jaime Herrera Beutler
Superintendent of Public Instruction David Olson
Insurance Commissioner Phil Fortunato
State Representative Pos. 1 Ken Paulson
State Senator Carole Sue Braaten
State Representative Pos. 2 <Please see notes>
State Supreme Court - Justice Position 2 Dave Larson
Pierce County Sherriff Keith Swank
Pierce Superior Court - Judge Position 1 Paul Robson
Pierce Superior Court - Judge Position 4 Rebecca Reeder
Pierce Superior Court - Judge Position 9 Scott Peters
Pierce Superior Court - Judge Position 10 Philip Thornton
Pierce Superior Court - Judge Position 15 Brian Wasankari
Executive Kelly Chambers
Assessor - Treasurer Kent Keel
Please note that this is not intended to be complete information; just our summary. Please see the candidate’s website and additional resources listed elsewhere in this bulletin.
27th Legislative District Election Picks: Additional Detail
State Rep. Pos. 1: Ken Paulson
and
State Senator: Carole Sue Braaten
Notable Endorsements: Pierce County Republican Party (PCRP)
These two picks are related. We have a shortage of willing conservative candidates in the 27th. To be fair we are – for now – a pretty blue district, and it can be discouraging to run against tough odds. But these two non-politician, grass-roots individuals did not want the leftist incumbents – one the powerful Speaker of the House – to go unchallenged. Carole Sue Braaten is active in our local 27th District Virginia Taylor Republican club. Ken Paulson was unfamiliar with our local party structure, but had the guts to jump in on his own.
So you won’t find fancy, expensive websites, campaigns and big donor fundraisers for these folks. But that is a good reason among others to give them your vote.
State Representative Pos. 2: <No endorsement; please see notes.>
There are two candidates from the left in this race. The first is incumbent Jake Fey, a standard left-wing Democrat and the typical bad news. His only opponent, Devin Rydel Kelly, is far worse. Kelly supported the extremely leftist and destructive Tacoma Measure 1, which will actually reduce the amount of low-cost housing available in Tacoma and punish affordable housing providers.
Normally with this situation, we would recommend leaving the ballot blank; an “undervote”, saying “none of the above”. The Democrat machine would support the incumbent, and we’d get the lesser of the two evils.
The concern with this race is that the far left will be fighting hard for Kelly, and they have a foothold in our district – that’s why Measure 1 passed.
We will not endorse or even recommend a Democrat, period. But we might at least consider tipping the scales on this one… your call.
Judicial Picks:
Additional Detail
Judge Position 4: Rebecca Reeder
Candidate Website: www.rebeccaforjudge.com
Notable Recommendations: Recommended by PCRP[2].
Notes:
· Experience as a court commissioner and as a judge pro tempore.
· In private practice current firm 24 years, but the court asks to attorneys to volunteer or support on behalf of the government.
· President elect of the Tacoma Family Bar Association.
· Volunteers to support victims of sexual assault whose accused shows up with private counsel.
· Tacoma pro bono community lawyers.
· Volunteers at the University Place library; the public can come in and ask legal questions.
· Focused on children.
Special notes on this race: A couple of us first met Ms. Reeder at a Tacoma North End Neighborhood Council meeting; which we took as a good sign of interest in the community. From our purely personal point of view, she maintained the very professional neutral stance required of a judge, yet the discussion with her assured us that her application of the law would favor neither the left nor the right as is appropriate. She spoke at the April meeting of our 27th District Republicans, where that impression was reinforced. Some of the above notes come from that meeting.
We note that her opponent is a man who has a habit of wearing rather flamboyant ladies' clothing in the courtroom; an action we believe is disrespectful of the court... Voting for Rebecca Reeder is a double win.
Judge Position 15: Brian Wasankari
The candidates are Ingrid McLeod, and Brian Wasankari.
We had eliminated Ingrid McLeod from consideration back in the primary; her list of endorsements by elected officials starts off with the very far-left Laurie Jinkins (who apparently does not support the initiative process). The list includes Ryan Mello and practically speaking consists of all Democrats. We have to go down to # 14 on that list to find an endorsement from a Republican Mayor, and he may indeed be the only one on the list. There are also endorsements from many of our state supreme court justices, and that is not a positive given that court’s history.
Brian Wasankari has been a Pierce County Deputy Prosecutor and experience as an Army Reserve Judge Advocate. Again, someone with a military background in matters of law and justice seems to make sense – soldiers and vets tend to take those things seriously.
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Disclaimer: The research and opinions presented here are solely the work of the 27th District Republicans Website Staff, and do not necessarily represent any other individual or group including the greater Republican Party. This publication was created at the sole expense of the 27th District Republicans.
If you would like to discuss your views on the issues presented here or on other issues and concerns, or learn more about the real values of the Republican Party, please contact us here.
[1] A paraphrase of William F. Buckley Jr.’s quotes “I’d be for the most right, viable candidate who could win.”, and “Support the most conservative candidate who is electable”.
[2] In judicial races, it is considered correct to qualify or recommend rather than endorse.