2021 Endorsements

Re-Elect King County Executive Dow Constantine

King County Executive Dow Constantine has stood strong with healthcare workers at the bargaining table and throughout COVID, holding employers accountable to provide quality care and good jobs in our community. He took steps early in the pandemic to ensure people living homeless had safe accommodations by renting hotels for shelter space, and has doubled down on that commitment by buying underutilized hotels around the county to convert to supportive housing.

Under his leadership, King County has expanded Metro transit service, improved oil safety rules, and created one of the best urban forestry programs in the nation. Constantine also led efforts to pass Best Starts for Kids, a model initiative that increases access to healthy food, affordable housing, and public health services for many of King County’s most vulnerable children.

Constantine is now running for a fourth term as King County Executive to build on a pandemic recovery that puts people first and creates inclusive communities. If he is re-elected, one of Constantine’s priorities will be to reform the King County Sheriff’s Office. In addition, Constantine hopes to continue and expand his efforts to open more hotels to house homeless residents of King County.

Vote Dustin and Monique for an Accountable Valley Medical Center

Elect Dustin Lambro – King County Hospital District 1, Commissioner Position 2

Dustin Lambro is president of the King County Labor Council and political director for Teamsters Local 117, and has extensive community leadership experience and is a staunch workers’ rights advocate. He is running to restore final decision authority to the hospital commissioners elected by voters instead of trustees selected by the University of Washington. Lambro wants to make sure that the community has a voice in the governance of its hospital system and health care.

Elect Monique Taylor-Swan – King County Hospital District 1, Commissioner Position 4

Monique Taylor-Swan is a community leader who serves as a board member of SEIU 775 and a member of the Renton Inclusion Task Force. She currently works as a home care aid with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.

Taylor-Swan is running for commissioner to work towards more accessible, quality care in Renton. She wants to focus on proper staffing and making pay more equitable between the highest-paid executives and underpaid nurses and staff. If elected, Taylor-Swan will use an inclusion and equity lens to make sure that everyone who needs it can access culturally competent care at Valley Medical Center.

Vote YES to renew Best Starts for Kids- King County Proposition 1

Renewing the Best Starts for Kids levy will maintain and expand effective programs that put our children and youth on a path toward lifelong success.

Renewing Best Starts for Kids will maintain critical funding for homelessness prevention, prenatal resources, social and emotional youth development programs, and more. Research has shown that the kind of prevention and early engagement funded by Best Starts is the most effective, and least expensive, way to ensure positive outcomes for our kids and community.

Proposed by King County Executive Dow Constantine, the Best Starts for Kids program generates millions of dollars to provide children and youth in King County the chance to be healthy, happy, and safe. Proposition 1 would renew and expand services, allowing the county to build on the program’s proven successes like Prenatal-5 family support, youth and family homelessness services, and community-driven partnerships through Communities of Opportunity that address emotional growth. It will also help families access affordable childcare and begin to ensure childcare workers earn a living wage.