Political Endorsements

Tuesday, November 7th is an important election for determining who has a direct voice in our futures. Through our Political Work Group, WSU-CASE members assembled questionnaires, reviewed candidate responses and their records on our core issues, and conducted several candidate interviews. The result is a strong slate of recommendations who, if elected, will fight for issues like affordable housing, access to healthcare, and public transit. Scroll down for the Political Work Group’s recommendations for races in Pullman and Spokane! 

If you’re registered to vote in WA, your ballot has been mailed to you; please ensure that you have received it and take a minute to send it in! You can register in person until 8pm on November 7th (check out this page for more information). You can re-register every year if need be. If you are returning your ballot via mail, make sure it gets postmarked by November 7th, and if ballot drop boxes are your thing, they close promptly at 8pm on Election Day.

Feel free to email wsu-case-political@googlegroups.com if you have any questions, would like additional information on any of these candidates, or would like to get involved.

PULLMAN

Pullman City Council Ward 2 – Carla De Lira

Running as a first-time candidate in Pullman, Carla is a graduate student and part of the UAW/WSU-Coalition of Academic Student Employees movement. She is running to ensure that renters, students, and low-income workers are represented in the college town. Carla has also put in hard work at the student, university, and city levels to push for transit improvements so everyone can get around town easily. Carla’s hard work to fight back against student fees has helped work towards a sustainable model for transit funding that students can use reliably. Carla will also advocate for bringing grocery stores back to Ward 2 and enable the local food pantry’s Mobile Market to make more frequent visits. One of Carla’s exciting ideas is to establish worker councils in Pullman to encourage collaboration and solidarity, and fight for better wages in our rural area. Because of these reasons, and many more, we’re convinced Carla is the right candidate for her election. Vote for Carla! 

Pullman City Council, At-Large Position – Eric Fejeran

Eric Fejeran is a Pell Grant Coordinator at WSU in the Student Financial Services office and a proven activist with strong ties to many groups across the Pullman community. His platform is centered on uplifting the working class by implementing progressive taxes, encouraging continued development of sustainable forms of public transportation, and increasing affordable housing. Eric’s grassroots organizing background is apparent in his campaign strategy which mobilizes volunteers, engages with residents, and builds coalitions to garner community support. In the past, Eric has demonstrated his support of unionized workers by organizing a local rally for the Pullman Paraprofessional Union for a better contract which drew support from various stakeholders to put pressure on management and lead to a fairer contract for the union. Eric has also kept close tabs on the WSU-CASE campaign, and even reached out before our union was certified to ask how he could support us. Eric has made it clear that he values collaboration with local unions and is invested in finding ways to strengthen and expand workers’ protections and power. Eric will be a valuable ally in Pullman during our negotiations with WSU. Vote for Eric!!! 

SPOKANE

Spokane Mayoral Election – Dr. Lisa Brown 

Some of you will have known Dr. Lisa Brown when she was the chancellor of WSU-Spokane until 2017, but many more of you will recognize her name from her storied history as a politician and community leader in Eastern Washington. We believe that Dr. Brown’s decades long history in expanding investments into affordable housing and her commitment to working with community organizations to better Spokane precede her. Her strong commitment to labor is clear as she was an early advocate for the bill that allowed ASEs collective bargaining rights while she was in the state legislature. As an inaugural member of EWU’s faculty bargaining unit, she knows exactly where we are in the bargaining process and exactly what support we’ll need. Our conversations with her have made it clear that she has a vested and long-standing interest in continuing the work she did to make working at WSU more affordable, reasonable, supported – including supporting our fight to expand childcare and paid leave benefits. On the city level, Lisa will bring compassion and community to solve housing issues in Spokane and to respond to homelessness. We believe that we will see a better Spokane if we vote Lisa Brown for Mayor!

Spokane City Council, District 2 – Paul Dillon 

Running as a first-time candidate in Spokane, Paul is the Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of the Greater Washington and North Idaho area. Paul is running to ensure everyone in Spokane can access affordable housing, enjoy economic opportunity, and live in safe and liveable neighborhoods. His work on community safety focuses on equitable and just social policies as part of a larger effort to move away from carceral solutions. Paul has spent his career advocating for Spokane – from working in city and state government to lift up working and middle class families, to fighting against right-wing extremism and protecting reproductive healthcare. He has demonstrated a vested interest in the needs of his community in terms of improving housing affordability and access, public health resources, and public transit. Along with his unabashed commitment to supporting the labor movement and our union campaign, it is for these reasons that we believe Paul is the right candidate for District 2. Vote for Paul!

Spokane City Council, District 3 – Kitty Klitzke 

As a local environmental advocate and prominent figure in her community, Kitty Klitzke stands out to us as the obvious choice for the District 3 Spokane City Council seat. Kitty is running on a platform to improve the walkability, safety, and affordability of Spokane – goals she has been working on for years in her work to improve food access and social health as the president of Spokane’s Regional Food Policy Council. Her questionnaire conveyed that she is a well-informed and well-researched candidate, who has well-thought out plans and is prepared to creatively tackle local issues. Kitty is excited to engage with WSU-CASE members and to hear from our union on how to make Spokane a more livable city and hold WSU Administrators accountable. Kitty emerged at the top of a crowded field in a competitive primary, and we can see why! Let’s help get her to the finish line, vote Kitty for City Councilmember this November!

Spokane School Board – Mike Wiser

CASE is recommending that members follow the voting recommendations of the Washington Education Association in endorsing Mike Wiser for School Board. Wiser has been an advocate of education by meeting and collaborating with the community to support pro-active, data-driven curriculum and policies. He knows that armed personnel do not belong in schools, advocating instead for increased staffing and training that promotes relationships and early intervention.