On the issues

Strong public schools are one of the foundations of the 45th. Families here and across the state care deeply about education, as they should.

Still, many parents and educators feel our schools are under strain. Staffing shortages, special education gaps, mental health needs, and enrollment challenges create real pressure in classrooms every day. 

At the same time, Washington has significantly increased education funding over the past decade. A critical investment. But the conversation can’t stop at funding levels alone. Families deserve both strong investment and strong results.

Washington should be a national leader in academic performance. When other states are making measurable gains in early literacy or math recovery, we should look at what’s working and adopt successful strategies. Our educators are working incredibly hard, so we need to make sure the system around them supports them.

That means focusing on early literacy, targeted math support, sufficient special education funding, stable staffing, and predictable budgets during changing enrollment trends so schools aren’t constantly subject to volatility.

Our goal should be clear: stable classrooms and extracurriculars, obsessively high standards, and students who are prepared for whatever path they choose. When we match meaningful investment with a relentless focus on results, our students and educators can lead the nation.

Even in a strong economy, too many folks feel stretched thin. Childcare costs rival college tuition. Housing prices and rents remain out of reach for many first-time buyers and young people. Everyday expenses, like groceries and electricity, have climbed to points that strain even careful budgets.

Affordability isn’t an abstract policy debate. It shows up in whether parents can both work, whether someone can stay in the community they love, and whether the weekly grocery store trip goes far enough, let alone leaves room to save.

We should focus on the biggest pressure points.

That means expanding childcare capacity and workforce support so families have more options and more predictable costs. It means opening up housing opportunities, especially for middle-income folks. And it means taking seriously the impact of market concentration that drives up everyday costs.

We can’t control global prices, but we can make smarter state-level decisions that lower barriers, increase competition, and reduce unnecessary costs.

Affordability is felt and measured in everyday life, not in reports. Folks should feel that their hard work leads to stability, not constant pressure.

Every policy decision should pass a simple test: does this make it easier or harder for people to build a stable future here?

Most Washingtonians share strong progressive values. We want to expand economic opportunity, strengthen public schools, address housing costs, and protect working families. But passing a law is only the first step. What matters most is whether those laws actually deliver results.

Too often, well-intentioned policies get slowed down by layers of process, unclear timelines, and fragmented oversight. That means housing takes years to build, much-needed infrastructure gets delayed, and families wait too long to see promised improvements.

We can modernize how government delivers without sacrificing environmental standards, labor protections, or community input. That includes clearer permitting timelines, better coordination across agencies, streamlined implementation for high-priority projects, and stronger follow-through after laws are passed.

Progressive values demand progressive results. Government should be held accountable for what it actually accomplishes.

Public trust is hard to win and easy to lose. If we want voters to ever trust Democrats again, then we must make government work better. It needs to be effective, efficient, radically transparent, and accountable. I will approach every issue with this focus.

Washington’s natural beauty is part of who we are. It’s what made me fall in love with this state. From clean water and mountain views to parks, forests, and shorelines that define our communities. Protecting that isn’t optional. It’s a fundamental responsibility.

Climate change is no longer abstract or something to prevent. Nearly annual wildfire smoke keeps kids indoors. Heat waves strain infrastructure. Flooding and shoreline erosion affect neighborhoods and businesses. We must pair long-term climate goals with practical, near-term resilience.

That means accelerating the transition to clean energy, supporting electrification and energy efficiency, and ensuring our infrastructure can withstand increasingly extreme conditions. It also means cutting unnecessary delays in climate-aligned projects while maintaining strong environmental standards.

Environmental policy can and should reduce pollution, strengthen public health, and create economic opportunity. Washington can lead in clean technology and innovation while safeguarding working families from rising energy costs.

Protecting our environment and growing our economy are not mutually exclusive. With thoughtful planning, we can, and must, build a future that is cleaner, more resilient, and more prosperous for the next generation.

Artificial intelligence is already shaping hiring decisions, credit approvals, healthcare tools, and the information people see online. Washington is home to some of the world’s leading technology companies, which gives us both an opportunity and a responsibility.

As AI systems become more powerful, we need clear guardrails that protect privacy, prevent discrimination, and ensure transparency. This is especially important in high-risk uses like employment, education, housing, healthcare, and law enforcement. 

We should adopt a risk-based AI framework that requires stronger oversight for systems that significantly impact people’s lives. Our approach must ensure innovation and consumer protection move forward together, which means:

• Clear standards for high-risk AI systems
• Transparency when automated systems affect people’s rights
• Strong enforcement against discriminatory outcomes
• Space for startups and researchers to innovate responsibly

Innovation and public trust should go hand in hand.

Voters should have confidence that public policy is shaped by communities and not by concentrated wealth.

In recent years, the scale of money in politics has grown dramatically. Corporate entities exert outsized influence, often far removed from the everyday concerns of voters and small businesses. Even when elected officials act in good faith, the perception of imbalance erodes public trust.

Washington has a strong tradition of ethics laws and transparency. But we can go further by modernizing safeguards that limit undue corporate influence, strengthen disclosure requirements, and reinforce the principle that political power should rest solely with voters.

Other states have begun advancing legislation that clarifies how corporations may participate in elections, strengthens shareholder oversight of political spending, and improves reporting so the public can clearly see where money is coming from. 

Washington should carefully examine similar approaches to ensure our campaign finance laws keep pace with today’s realities.

We must preserve accountability and ensure that our democracy reflects the voices of the people, not just those with the deepest pockets.

When voters believe the system is fair and that their voice matters, trust grows. And trust is the foundation of effective government.