Education, housing top issues in races to represent Edmonds, Mukilteo

EDMONDS — In the 21st Legislative District, two longtime incumbent Democrats are trying to hold onto their seats for another term.

In Position 1, Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, wants to continue his work on housing affordability, while a Republican and Democrat challenger oppose his views on housing density.

In Position 2, education funding is the big issue as Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, runs for re-election.

District 21 encompasses Edmonds, Mukilteo and parts of Lynnwood.

State representatives make $57,876 a year.

Ballots for the primary election are due Aug. 6. The top two vote-getters in each race will move on to November’s general election.

Position 1

Riaz Khan

Days before filing for election, Khan, 54, was a Democrat. In May, the one-term Mukilteo City Council member resigned as the vice chair of the 21st District Democrats to join the Republican Party.

Outside of politics, he is an engineer at Boeing.

Khan’s top priorities are improving public safety, reducing inflation and improving education.

Cities, not the state, should make decisions on housing density, he said.

Khan said he favors single family housing in Mukilteo. In 2021, he voted against the city’s Housing Action Plan while on the council. The plan, passed by a 4-3 vote, informed how the city would increase available housing.

To reduce inflation, Khan said he opposes the state’s 8-cent tax on purchasing single-use plastic bags at grocery stores.

He also would support lowering the state’s 49.4-cent gas tax, which pays for maintenance on highways and roads.

Peterson holds elected positions on both the Snohomish County Council and in the Legislature. Because of this, Khan said Peterson’s “concentration is split.”

“He should not be taking taxpayers’ money,” he said. “If he cares for taxpayer money, you should find someone to put extra effort for both jobs.”

In March, Khan was arrested for investigation of misdemeanor assault after his wife called police to report he’d been physical with her.

Khan denied hitting his wife. In an interview, his wife, Ayesha, said he did hit her, though she called the incident a “silly mistake.”

City prosecutors dropped the criminal charge.

As of this week, Khan hadn’t reported any campaign contributions to the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Jason Moon

Moon, 42, is a current Mukilteo City Council member. He was appointed in 2022 and won re-election last year after running unopposed.

Moon thinks the district needs a fresh perspective. He describes himself as a moderate, pragmatic Democrat.

Moon said housing policies in the district shouldn’t be “one size fits all.” Instead, cities themselves should decide how to regulate density in their neighborhoods.

He pointed to a bill from this year’s legislative session that would require cities to allow denser housing near bus and train stops.

Moon wants to preserve neighborhoods as they are, especially in Mukilteo and Edmonds. He doesn’t think transit-oriented development is the answer to the affordability crisis.

The bill, co-sponsored by Peterson, passed the House this year but failed to receive a vote from the Senate.

Moon believes his constituents agree with him on housing. In 2021, 83% of Mukilteo residents rejected an advisory initiative asking if the city should build more high-density housing.

The state should empower local governments to create their own unique solutions to combat high housing costs, he said.

The state needs more accountability, Moon said. Delays in the delivery of new state ferries are an example of that, he said. A new vessel for the Mukilteo-Clinton route isn’t expected to arrive until 2028 at the earliest.

If elected, Moon said he would resign from the City Council.

As of Thursday, he had reported $20,125 in campaign contributions. He is endorsed by Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine and several City Council members from various cities around the district.

Strom Peterson

Peterson, 56, is looking to retain his seat in the Legislature for a sixth term.

Peterson, the chair of the House’s Housing Committee, said the state still has a lot of work to do in addressing increasingly high housing costs.

“Every community needs to be part of the solution,” he said. “We know that housing density is one piece of the housing puzzle that we need to improve upon.”

He wants to add more duplexes and triplexes into neighborhoods dominated by single-family homes.

Continuing to push for gun control measures is another priority for Peterson. Last year, he was the prime sponsor of a statewide assault weapons ban he called “critical” to public safety.

The Snohomish County Council appointed him to the council in 2022 and he won election to remain there in 2023.

Peterson affirmed he can effectively balance both positions.

“I have been able to do the work, make the votes, make hard choices in both jobs,” he said.

Working both jobs is an advantage for his constituents, he said. Interacting with county staff on a daily basis and understanding problems on the state level gives him a unique perspective that inform policies at both levels, he said.

“I think I’m a much better representative having being able to work on the county level and I think I’m a much better County Council member knowing the pressures and opportunities that we have at the state level to do the right thing for our communities,” he said.

Peterson has reported $46,672 in campaign contributions. He is endorsed by numerous elected officials statewide, including U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.

Position 2

Bruce Guthrie

Guthrie, a semi-retired substitute teacher and speed skater, is a frequent signature gatherer for political causes and a member of the Libertarian party.

He believes the state’s public school system is getting worse.

“We’re spending more money and the results we’re getting are worse,” he said.

What’s missing in the public school system now is competition, said Guthrie, 61. At private schools, students and parents are treated like customers, he said, but that’s not the case with public schools.

“If we get some perception that they’re not doing a good job with their kids, they know we can pull our kid, and that discipline is what keeps these schools awesome,” he said.

Guthrie’s ultimate goal would be the complete privatization of the public school system, but he conceded that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

In the meantime, Guthrie supports vouchers from the state for students to attend private school. He thinks it would lead to a better education, while saving money for the state.

Guthrie is also an advocate for cutting government spending and lowering taxes.

“I think it’s hard for me to think of something that I would not cut,” he said.

In June, police arrested Guthrie while he collected signatures for a petition at a public park during the Edmonds Arts Festival.

City prosecutors later dropped the case.

Citing his First Amendment rights, Guthrie is now pursuing a lawsuit against the city for wrongful arrest.

Guthrie hasn’t reported any campaign contributions.

Kristina Mitchell

Mitchell, 39, is a former public school teacher. Last year, she ran as a nonpartisan candidate for the County Council against Democrat Megan Dunn but did not advance past the primary.

This time, Mitchell is running under the “Conservative” party label. She said she doesn’t align with the “far-right agenda” of the Republican Party.

She described herself as “moderate, conservative, middle road leaning to the right.”

Mitchell’s biggest campaign issue is education funding.

When working on the state budget, Mitchell said lawmakers should prioritize fully funding K-12 schools, before turning to “everything else” like human services, higher education and government functions. She doesn’t believe raising taxes is the way to do it.

“Until our education system is no longer an issue, it will still be my priority,” Mitchell said. “You have to maintain it, you can’t let it fall through the cracks.”

Mitchell said the government needs more accountability in how it spends taxes, specifically marijuana taxes.

“We want to know where the money is going if we’re having to consolidate schools,” she said.

Mitchell has reported $2,168 in campaign funding.

Nearly half came from a $1,000 contribution from Peter Zieve, a local aerospace entrepreneur. In 2016, Zieve contributed $1 million to former President Donald Trump’s first election campaign.

Lillian Ortiz-Self

Like Peterson, Ortiz-Self, 63, is looking to retain her seat for a sixth term. In the House, she is the majority caucus chair for the Democrats.

A school counselor with Everett Public Schools, she feels she has the experience to continue making change for students and residents.

“I’ve devoted my career to making sure that the voices of our children and our families and really those with no voice at all is being heard and trying to meet the needs of our most vulnerable,” she said.

Ortiz-Self said she is passionate about continuing to work on the state’s education system. Huge gaps in behavioral support, special education and early child care still remain in the public school system, she said.

“The Washington State Constitution says that it is our paramount duty,” she said. “We have to fund it.”

Even as test scores for students have dropped, she said the Legislature has continued to support student growth.

“Feeding hungry children so they can be able to learn, providing computer and internet services across the board,” she said.

Earlier this year, Ortiz-Self passed a bill renewing a program to implement dual language learning in schools. The program is already active in Everett and Mukilteo schools.

Next year, she plans to make progress on retaining teachers and substitutes to keep classrooms staffed, she said.

As of Thursday, Ortiz-Self had reported $73,772 in campaign contributions.

Jenelle Baumbach: 360-352-8623; jenelle.baumbach@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jenelleclar.