Diversity is key for Everett state rep candidates

EVERETT — Two disability advocates are facing a former homeless outreach coordinator to represent the 38th Legislative District in Olympia.

Democrats Bryce Nickel and Annie Fitzgerald are challenging incumbent Rep. Julio Cortes, D-Everett. In 2022, Cortes won the house seat with 58.5% of the vote against Republican Gary Kemp.

Cortes represents the district — encompassing Everett, Marysville and Tulalip — alongside fellow Democrats Rep. Mary Fosse and Sen. June Robinson. In office, he’s introduced and helped pass bills to curb youth homelessness, better regulate the juvenile justice system and diversify the pool of law enforcement and prosecutor recruits statewide.

Meanwhile, Nickel and Fitzgerald say it’s time to see people with disabilities represented in the Legislature. Nickel, who has autism, and Fitzgerald, who was born blind and with multiple genetic disorders, want to make public and social services more accessible.

But the two differ on other policy goals, with Nickel aligning himself with Andrew Yang’s centrist Forward Party and Fitzerald running as a Democratic Socialist.

Ballots are due Aug. 6.

Julio Cortes

At age 5, Cortes immigrated with his family from Mexico City to Wapato, a small Hispanic-majority town in Yakima County. He worked as a fruit farmer and later graduated from Western Washington University in 2009. Cortes then worked in homeless youth outreach at Cocoon House in Everett for nearly a decade.

“That opened my eyes to the harsh realities a lot of our families and youth are facing,” said Cortes, now 38. “That led me to want to run for state representative.”

Cortes lists the economy, housing, homelessness and public safety as his four legislative priorities if he keeps the seat.

Cortes argued investing in education, workforce development programs and local small businesses would support marginalized groups and boost the economy. One example he mentioned is a Latino educational, training and cultural center in Everett that he and other lawmakers agreed to fund earlier this year. Set to open in 2025, the center will be one of few comprehensive resources for the nearly 100,000 Hispanics and Latinos in Snohomish County.

Cortes said he wants to make the district a “mecca for the green tech industry.” He said he saw the power of industrial symbiosis, where companies partner to exchange resources and reuse waste or by-products, on a trip to Denmark with fellow state lawmakers. Offering incentives to employers who agree to waste prevention policies would help the environment while bringing more jobs to the region, he said. Cortes said he supports laws like Senate Bill 6114 requiring Washington airport operators to provide sustainable aviation fuel for private jets.

To help “break the cycle of homelessness,” Cortes said the state needs to do a better job coordinating with local organizations to provide services. This year, the state passed House Bill 1929, a bill Cortes introduced to create at least two shelters with up to 10 beds for 18- to 24-year-olds after they exit inpatient behavioral health clinics. People at the shelters would be connected to services to help them get IDs, jobs and treatment.

Cortes said he also wants to amend Washington’s tax code. He called it “one of the most regressive in the country.” He wants Washingtonians with higher incomes to pay more in taxes.

“That money could support our school districts and infrastructure,” he said.

Cortes has served on boards and committees for the Washington Low-Income Housing Alliance, Leadership Snohomish County, Everett Public Schools and the Everett Public Facilities District. He plans to vote for President Joe Biden’s replacement in the presidential election.

As of Wednesday, Cortes had raised more than $66,300 for his re-election, with almost $21,000 listed as self-contributions, according to the Public Disclosure Commission. Contributors include the Tulalip Tribes, the Raikes Foundation, Amazon and Puget Sound Energy. His endorsements include Planned Parenthood, the Snohomish County Democratic Central Committee and Washington Conservation Action.

Annie Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald, 43, was born in Snohomish with multiple life-threatening disorders, and spent her early childhood in the foster care system. As an adult, she said she worked as a private investigator on and off for 12 years.

If elected, her priorities would be tackling the economy, housing, health care, education and accessibility requirements in counties and cities.

Fitzgerald, of Marysville, supports a Universal Basic Income, a $20 or higher minimum wage and universal health care. She said she would support an economic structure similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund that uses oil royalties for public investments.

Fitzgerald said she’d push for more education funding and free college tuition. She wants the state to expand its public education system to include universities, community colleges and trade programs. To help graduates, she’d also work to buy or cancel student debt as well as eliminate business licensing and certification fees.

“No one should pay student loans for 20 to 30 years,” she said. “It’s ridiculous.”

Fitzgerald wants the state to provide tax breaks to developers who build affordable housing as well as invest more in public housing. She said she also hopes a long-term vacancy tax would push landlords to fill vacancies “instead of price gouging renters.”

To improve disability laws in Washington, Fitzgerald said she’d start by forming a coalition of people with different disabilities. She’d also meet with city leaders to grasp where they’re at with accommodations. Fitzgerald said ramp accessibility is a big problem in Washington. In Marysville, for example, thousands of ramps are not up to code, she said.

“To me, that’s like, the bare minimum of accommodations,” she said.

Fitzgerald said she has the most progressive policies out of the 38th district candidates. She criticized Nickel for “pandering” to Democrats and Republicans.

“I am running as a Democratic Socialist (because) I want to make it clear to voters where I stand,” she said. “We want a democracy powered by everyday people.”

Fitzgerald said a more leftist stance is needed to “move the needle” in Olympia and “stand up to fascism that is creeping up into our state.”

Fitzgerald said she wrote “Cease fire now,” on her primary ballot this year because she “doesn’t want to support someone facilitating a genocide.” She would never vote for Trump, she said, but would consider voting for a Biden replacement or Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

As of Wednesday, Fitzgerald had raised $739.

Bryce Nickel

Nickel, of Everett, is passionate about solving homelessness — he lived it. He slept in his station wagon while studying business and economics at Central Washington University, he said, and was homeless on and off for about 20 years.

Nickel is a diversity consultant, board director for the Homes and Hope Community Land Trust and an advisory committee member for the Snohomish County Coordinated Entry program.

If elected, Nickel, 40, said he would try to address homelessness through restricting rent increases, raising the minimum wage statewide and setting a minimum requirement for public housing beds. Nickel said he would want to cap annual rent increases at 7%.

He would also support land use and zoning changes, he said. Aligning with the Forward Party, Nickel, like Fitzgerald, supports a Universal Basic Income, or UBI, where the government provides every adult citizen a set amount of money per month.

“During the Great Recession, people lost so much money from housing they started hoarding wealth,” he said. “It’s damaging the whole economy.”

When Nickel ran for Everett City Council last year, he campaigned against Everett’s “no sit, no lie” law, and said cities should provide land with utilities or designated areas for temporary encampments. In the primary last year, he garnered just 13.1% of the vote and didn’t advance to the general election.

Nickel, who has autism, major depression and mobility issues, also wants more legislation supporting people with disabilities. He said he would introduce a 20-chapter “Disabled Washingtonians” bill that increases accessibility requirements for transportation, housing, hotels and sidewalks.

Nickel also wants to make it easier for people to get approved for state disability. He said his case took decades.

“Staff will straight-up tell you, ‘You’ll automatically be denied the first two or three applications,’” he said.

Nickel criticized Cortes for “going along with the flow” and not pushing hard enough for policy changes.

“I want to be a river,” Nickel said. “I would hound every single politician, senator, house rep, maybe even the governor to get people on my side.”

Nickel said he is undecided in the presidential election. He’d consider voting for a Biden replacement, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Jill Stein.

As of Wednesday, Nickel’s campaign had raised no money.

Sydney Jackson: 425-339-3430; sydney.jackson@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @_sydneyajackson.