This social, racial justice activist to seek Bellingham council seat
Another community activist who played a key role in last summer’s social justice movement is running for political office — the at-large seat that’s opening on the Bellingham City Council.
Kristina Michele Martens, a real-estate agent and Black Lives Matter organizer, announced her candidacy in a Facebook post March 16.
“I was honored and humbled to be a part of rallies that brought our community together this summer to focus on racial justice,” Martens said on Facebook. “In the process, it became apparent that Bellingham needed more visible elected leaders of color who could craft policy based on their own lived experience.”
In an interview, Martens told The Bellingham Herald that she hopes to be a role model for people of color, and especially women of color.
“As a Black woman, I want BIPOC people to look at me and say, ‘She looks like us,’ “ she said.
Martens, who also co-founded the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission, is seeking the at-large City Council seat held by Councilwoman Hollie Huthman.
Huthman told The Herald that she will run for the 2nd Ward seat held by Councilman Gene Knutson, who isn’t seeking re-election after nearly three decades on the council.
In running for political office, Martens becomes the second key figure to emerge from the growing local social and racial justice movement.
Terrance “TeeJay” Morris is seeking the District 1 County Council seat currently held by Rud Browne, who isn’t running for a third term.
Martens told The Herald that City Council members and other community leaders sought her advice about how to respond to the growing outrage over the killings of Black people by police officers and vigilantes.
“I figured, ‘Why not cut out the middle man?’ “ she said.
Martens spoke at several of last summer’s social justice events, including the June 6 rally in Maritime Heritage Park that drew more than 5,000 people and she organized the Aug. 27 march calling for police and criminal justice reform.
On her campaign website, Martens lists her primary concerns as equitable economic recovery, housing for all, environmental resilience, homelessness response and racial equity.
“I’m looking at the whole picture and playing the long game,” she said.
Martens told The Herald that she’d push the city to create a committee to examine cold-weather strategies for those without shelter.
“Winter comes at the same time every year,” she said. “Where the city spends its money shows what it thinks is important.”
“It’s clear that we’re standing in the rubble of what we’ve been doing. And it hasn’t gotten us anywhere,” she said.
Martens moved to Bellingham in 2016 from San Diego.
She was a co-host of “Bellingham Tonight,” a TV talk show, host of the radio show “Thursdays with Kristina Michele” on KZAX-LpFM and the podcast “Mission Accomplished” on KPNW-DB — and she started the singing competition “Bellingham Idol.”
Candidate filing week is May 17-21.
Washington’s “top two” primary is Aug. 3 and Election Day is Nov. 2.
