Campaign Phone Number
3602184612
Biography (max 750 char)
Jenne Alderks has lived in Bothell for 15 years with spouse Peter and three teenagers. Alderks serves on the Bothell City Council and has worked on initiatives related to education, homelessness, equity, and inclusion. With a background in public administration, Alderks is a candidate for Washington's 1st Legislative District.
Washington is still 49th in the nation for regressive taxation, so we need to redistribute where the bulk of our revenue comes. We need to move towards a taxation system where lower and middle income taxpayers are not inequitably unburdened so we can fund the state's basic needs, particularly school, which is our paramount duty.
I believe it is time to move local elections to even years to increase voter turnout and participation in local races. Ranked choice voting is a proven way to strengthen public confidence in elections and civic participation. Our state leaders also need to be proactive in taking on the federal government in court when overreach unjustly interferes with our elections and postal service.
Access to universal health care is a public safety issue. In our communities, the number one driver of crime is drug seeking behavior. If we want to be serious about preventing crime and improving public safety, we need to divert people struggling with addicts to treatment pathways, which needs to be covered by comprehensive behavioral health care services including SUD recovery and mental health treatment.
I am uncomfortable with taxpayer dollars going to independent journalism organizations, even though I strongly believe in the value of reliable local news and information. I support public access channels that provide timely updates and content relating to local policy making, like WA TV.
To avoid the criticisms of the last redistricting process, the state needs to require releasing draft maps to the public several days before any final vote so that the public can benefit opportunities to offer feedback and constructive criticism. Redistricting commissions are also obligated to comply with open meeting and public records laws so that deliberations can be transparent to the public.
The biggest challenge facing the 1st LD is access frequent and reliable public transit options and multimodal improvements to roads and highways. Our district has faced a series of cuts and reduced service which negatively impacts our access to job centers throughout the region. Poverty, medical bankruptcy and the opioid epidemic are all deeply rooted in inaccessible comprehensive healthcare, which is why universal healthcare is a high priority in my race.
Campaign Phone Number
4258239732
Biography (max 750 char)
Rep. Kloba brings over 20 years of experience as a healthcare provider to her role as legislator, but it was her advocacy experience with various non-profit and community organizations that led her to seek elected office. As vice-chair of the Technology, Economic Development, and Veterans Committee, she centers consumers over Big Tech in her work to regulate data privacy and artificial intelligence. Whether protecting consumers from the surveillance economy, ensuring that autonomous vehicles prioritize public safety, advocating for cost-of-living adjustments for retired state employees, or the prevention and treatment of gambling addiction, Rep. Kloba works to amplify the voices of those who often don't feel heard.
My main priorities are:
- to make sure that our expenditures reflect the revenue forecast
- to continue to backfill lost federal funding for food, shelter, healthcare, and infrastructure programs
- to increase our K-12 education funding to be more ample and fair
Most folks are unaware that the amount of revenue that we forego thru tax breaks is greater than the amount of taxes we actually collect. We need to evaluate these exemptions to see if they still serve a public purpose, and if not, repeal them. This can increase our revenue. Without a decrease in inflation and fuel costs driven up by war, cuts are likely to be necessary. I want to protect education, housing a, environment, infrastructure, and public safety spending while finding cuts elsewhere.
Our state is a shining example of trustworthy elections processes, and we should be telling that story at every opportunity to our voting public. We should keep up the messaging about how the public are allowed to view the entire vote counting process, including the logic and accuracy tests at their local county elections offices. In order to ensure participation and remove as many barriers as possible, one important law change was to allow voters to return their ballot with no need for a stamp. In order to encourage participation, we can make sure to avoid adding further complications to our current voting process by refraining from making the ballot more complicated. I talk to a lot of younger voters who are overwhelmed by the number of races on our ballots in even years.
One strategy used in my district is the formation of a Regional Crisis Response (RCR) agency. This reduces the reliance on police as responders when a resident is experiencing a behavioral health crisis that results in unlawful or dangerous behaviors. When police and mental health professionals co-respond, it increases the chances of the person in crisis getting connected to care and resources that address the root of the behavior. It is an effective and compassionate response that frees police to respond to other calls. Treatment is the next step, and the person in crisis can be taken to one of 2 crisis stabilization clinics in our region These provide walk-in mental health urgent care to anyone who needs continued stabilization of behavioral health issues. We must expand RCRs statewide.
A core principle of democracy is a free press and local media sources are crucial to build community and keep people informed and safe. Large media conglomerates are beholden to their investors, and this is a disincentivizes paying for high quality, unbiased journalism and instead has caused a race to the bottom with social media posts passing as "news" and editorial decisions that present the most sensational and inflammatory information in the competition for views and clicks. In the past, the American people spread the funding broadly through our tax dollars so the burden on any individual was small. Now that the federal funding has been cut, it is up to us in Washington to fill the local gap. Whether we do that through tax dollars or charitable giving remains to be seen.
Our states’ current redistricting process was designed to be a good faith effort to ensure fairness in the representation we send to Olympia and Washington DC. But this spring, the Supreme Court affirmed that any state can gerrymander for any reason at any time, outside of the decennial census. Most people recognize the fundamental inequity of this new reality. If no one else "plays fair" at some point we need to realize that the rules of the game have changed, and it warrants a response. We can no longer operate under the rules of the past. I don’t know the specific details of a change, but I support the right of the people to make a temporary change to redistricting, like they did in California. Extreme gerrymandering has no place in a just society. Sadly, we no longer live in one.
A big concern I hear from constituents is affordability.
Everyone wants to cover their basic needs, take care of their family, and have an opportunity to get ahead. Coordinated efforts in the public and private sectors to build more types of housing in more places while maintaining environmental protections is an important way to increase affordability. Health care is a human right and no one should go bankrupt due to an unexpected or chronic illness. Requiring health insurers to remove the layers of paperwork and barriers to access will allow for higher quality care at a lower cost. Education unlocks the door to opportunity, and we can increase funding from pre-K to higher ed and apprenticeships. We must ensure that tech innovation benefits individuals and enhances human work activity.
Campaign Phone Number
4256813143
Biography (max 750 char)
Jeff Lyon is a husband, father, disabled U.S. Navy veteran, former Deputy Sheriff, and cybersecurity engineering leader with 26+ years of experience, protected global supply chains as a Navy First Class Petty Officer and led Civil Affairs reconstruction in Afghanistan. In the AI industrial revolution’s mix of uncertainty and opportunity, he proposes taxing AI to fund tax elimination for individuals, lower university tuition, and fully funded schools with career pipelines into high-demand fields, powering the economy and attracting investment through a highly educated workforce. He champions local control, accountable safety, environmental protections like closed-loop cooling and clean energy, community stewardship, and civil liberties.
My top budget priorities are eliminating taxes for most middle-class families, cutting university tuition in half for high-demand fields, increasing public school funding by 14%, and dedicating $2B annually for local priorities within seven years. These create career pipelines into AI, robotics, and tech.
To fund this, I propose a 2% tax on AI compute power, data center electricity, and AI services. AI growth at current and anticipated rates will bring more than $10B in new revenue. This eases the tax burden and mitigates disruption. Washingtons budget has outpaced inflation and population. Fiscal discipline paired with smart AI revenue serves people first.
Washington has an extremely trustworthy election system and mail-in ballots remove barriers to democratic participation. I support maintaining high standards for ballot security and chain of custody. Looking forward, I advocate transitioning to digital voting backed by cryptographic verification, with immediate, easily verifiable results finalized to a public blockchain. The technology exists today to do this safely. It cuts costs, expands access, and eliminates any doubt of malfeasance.
Strong civic education, transparent processes, and open data will further build trust. We must protect direct democracy tools like initiatives and reject measures that erode citizen voice. Secure, modern elections empower voters and restore faith in government.
Effective public safety is rooted in the community policing principles I practiced as a law enforcement officer. Strong funding for police, fire, and emergency services must be paired with expanded mental health treatment and permanent housing pathways. We eliminate wasteful enforcement of victimless crimes while holding those who violate others rights accountable with swift, proportionate consequences.
I strongly support local media as an essential check on government, shining light on low-level corruption and empowering informed communities. I will pursue protections for residents political speech and activism, making it illegal for public officials to intimidate or disparage citizens exercising their rights. Every opportunity will be taken to remove regulatory barriers and defend free speech.
Transparent public records, open meetings, and viewpoint-neutral policies help local journalism thrive without government dependency or favoritism. A free press and active citizenry are the best defenses against abuse of power.
I strongly support elimination of gerrymandering and engineered political outcomes. Districts should be compact and geometric, following city and county boundaries wherever practical to respect communities of interest and natural political lines.
For 2031, I would back independent commissions with strict criteria: clear mathematical compactness scores, mandatory public input with recorded decisions, prohibition on considering incumbent addresses or voting data during drawing, and judicial review for compliance. Open-source mapping tools and citizen oversight would further depoliticize the process and ensure fair maps that reflect voters, not politicians.
The greatest challenges facing LD1 are the cost of housing and rapid technological change that creates uncertainty for the future of our careers.
I will put Washington ahead by ensuring our residents are the most employed and highly compensated in the nation. This means eliminating tax burdens on working families, cutting university tuition in half, fully funding public schools with direct pipelines into AI, robotics, and high-paying careers, and reforming zoning to increase affordable supply through local control. State government must partner with communities to balance growth, protect quality of life, and turn technological disruption into broad opportunity for every Washingtonian.
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