These are the candidates running for Bellingham City Council’s at-large seat Tuesday
A primary election is required Tuesday, Aug. 3, for one Bellingham City Council race — the only one where more than two candidates filed for office.
In that race, the two candidates who receive the most votes will advance to the Nov. 2 general election, according to the state’s “top-two” primary system.
Order of placement on the primary ballot was determined by a random drawing May 21 at the close of candidate filing week.
Some 158,882 active voters were registered in Whatcom County, Friday, July 29, according to the Auditor’s Office website.
Ballots were mailed July 14 and must be postmarked — not simply mailed — or placed in ballot drop boxes by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
This close to the election, new voter registration and address changes must be made in person at the Auditor’s Office in the County Courthouse, 311 Grand Ave.
Residents can register to vote or change their address at the courthouse until 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Candidates discussed their positions and reasons for running in emails and responses to a questionnaire from The Bellingham Herald:
Bellingham City Council at-large
Three people are running in the Aug. 3 primary for the two-year term of the at-large City Council seat being vacated by Councilwoman Hollie Huthman, who is unchallenged for the council’s four-year Ward 2 seat being vacated by Councilman Gene Knutson.
All registered voters who live in the city of Bellingham can vote for the non-partisan, at-large candidates.
▪ Kristina Michele Martens, real estate agent and racial-justice activist, was a prominent voice for social change in the summer of 2020 and is working with the Chuckanut Health Foundation to outline the scope and responsibilities of a new Whatcom County Racial Equity Commission being considered by the Whatcom County Council.
Martens was among the organizers of the June 6, 2020, rally at Maritime Heritage Park that drew an estimated 5,000 people or more.
“I want to be a voice for the unheard and use my experience to bring a change to City Hall,” Martens told The Bellingham Herald in response to a questionnaire.
“Our police departments have absorbed much of the funds that were once for alternative, community-building outreach and have spent that money on militarized equipment and vehicles, while not expanding their training on being able to effectively address the majority of calls they face,” Martens said. “I believe that for a modern police force to be effective we need to diversify the types of staffing they should require. I would like to see a re-allocation of funds to increase the amount of alternative staff who would specialize in mental-health and domestic-violence calls. I would like to see us divert from using armed officers on traffic stops and think about training unarmed public works officials to pull over drivers for traffic infractions.”
To address homelessness, Martens thinks the city should use proven solutions.
“For example, I am an advocate for the city to boost support for ‘rapid re-housing’ programs, like those run by Northwest Youth Services and Lydia Place. The idea of rapid re-housing is to help households quickly exit homelessness and return to permanent housing in the private-rental market. Rapid re-housing programs provide move-in costs along with a short-term tapering rental subsidy for members of our community who need a little help getting back on their feet. It works, it’s a quick path to housing stability, and I want to see more of it in Bellingham,” Martens said.
She also advocates for “an easy access shelter. The Lighthouse Mission works well for some folks who experience homelessness, but it simply does not work for everyone.”
Homelessness goes hand in hand with the Puget Sound region’s housing crisis, and more housing must be built, Martens said.
“Zoning laws were created decades ago in a very different economy,” she said. ”We need to update them to allow for more housing types in all of our neighborhoods, not just a few. The ‘urban villages’ idea pioneered by the city government over the last decade is helping, but it’s not enough on its own. The city’s Infill Toolkit is also a solid step in the right direction and I look forward to expanding its use. I commit to being a city council member who embraces big, bold ideas rooted in data and evidence. We need to build on our successes.”
Martens has raised nearly $40,000, mostly from individual contributions, according to the Public Disclosure Commission.
She’s endorsed by the Whatcom Democrats, the Riveters Collective, the Sierra Club and several union locals. She’s also supported by several state and local elected officials, including County Council members Carol Frazey, Barry Buchanan and Todd Donovan, Democratic state Reps. Sharon Shewmake, Alicia Rule, Debra Lekanov and Alex Ramel, and state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
%20(1_fitted.jpeg "Tonia Boze, Bellingham at large (1) (1_fitted.jpeg")
▪ Tonia Boze, who lives in the York neighborhood, is a strength and conditioning coach and owner of Terrain Gym.
“I have been places in my life where I have experienced struggle and uncertainty and I know first-hand the challenges of meeting payroll and of obtaining childcare,” Boze told The Herald in response to a questionnaire. “I’m vested in this city, our community and our environment.”
Boze said she and her family don’t feel safe walking in downtown Bellingham because of “a growing acceptance of the abuse of public spaces — illegal camping, littering, drug use and violence,” she said.
“Bellingham is a beautiful city and I want it to stay that way. I don’t believe the choice is compassion for the homeless or clean and safe public spaces. I think you can have both,” she said.
She said she is concerned that the city’s first responders are not being supported.
“I want to be sure our first responders are supported while our community concerns are heard,” and that includes “a police force that treats everyone respectfully and equally under the law, and that respects diversity within its ranks and in the public — a force that is trained in de-escalation techniques, is well-equipped, and is grounded in the community,” Boze said.
For addressing homelessness, Boze would make sure that everyone has “access for mental health and addiction services and to ensure that public spaces are kept safe, clean and free from illegal camping and dumping.”
She said she favors a plan used in other U.S. cities to develop tiny home communities “that address the underlying problems creating homelessness as well as providing a small home and a stake in the property. I think that is an exciting restoration of human dignity.”
In terms of providing more housing, she said “we need to find ways to reduce building costs and increase density without losing neighborhood identity. There’s a huge demand to live here so we need to see where we can provide opportunity for a greater supply.”
Boze said the new coronavirus pandemic should remind everyone to be prepared for emergencies.
“People are innovative and can seek ways to mitigate risk for employees and customers that are ‘outside the box’,” she said. “We need to maintain respect for flexibility so that people can respond with innovation.”
Boze has raised more than $11,500, mostly from individual contributions, according to the PDC.
She’s endorsed by the Whatcom Republicans. But Boze told The Bellingham Herald in an email late Monday, Aug. 2, that she has rejected the GOP’s support.
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▪ Russ Whidbee, a financial adviser, also teaches accounting at Bellingham Technical College and Whatcom Community College.
It’s that background that will make him an effective City Council member, Whidbee said in response to a Herald questionnaire.
“Having expertise in fiscal matters and developing budgets enables me to ensure the council is a fully informed partner as it works with the administration to develop biennial budgets that effectively address the needs of the community while working within the limits of our city government’s fiscal reality,” he said. “Finally, as a Black man in Bellingham, I have critical insights regarding how we might effectively address a range of issues that are on many of our minds. Issues regarding how to become a more equitable and just community as we come to terms with our national, state and even our local history of unjust dealings with people of color and those our marginalized society.”
Whidbee said he decided to seek office because of issues surrounding the racial and social justice movement that began after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, and by the homelessness protests of 2020-2021.
“I believe we have a great opportunity to serve the community, and our Police Department, holistically for the safety of all,” Whidbee said. “I want to re-imagine policing. The goal our officers want to achieve is to protect and serve our Bellingham community. Police are public servants and should feel called to this occupation. Supporting our officers in achieving their goal means providing the extra resources they need such as mental health counselors and drug addiction prevention specialists” to respond in partnership with police.
Whidbee suggests that the city should increase its community-policing efforts such as Neighborhood Watch programs supported by partnered with officers on bicycles and foot patrols.
He would continue the use of body-worn cameras for officers and continue to address racial profiling and bias.
“The development of a community accountability/advisory board ensures that when questions arise around policing policies, or regarding particular incidents, that investigations are done in a manner that reveals the facts and holds responsible parties accountable,” Whidbee said.
He said homelessness “is a sensitive and complex national crisis that I do not take lightly or feel can easily be resolved. The work done in our community is admirable and deserves acknowledgment.”
Whidbee said he would “stay the course” with tiny home villages; expand the city’s partnerships with organizations such as Lighthouse Mission Ministries, Lydia Place and the Opportunity Council; and work with the Bellingham-Whatcom Housing Authority as well as federal and state agencies and legislators to develop more immediate housing options.
Further, he said he would seek public-private partnerships to expand affordable housing, “not only for our homeless, but also for those whom housing is becoming more difficult,” which he said means workforce housing.
“We have to strive to make housing more affordable for community,” he said. “Our senior community also needs attention in this area.”
He’s endorsed by Bellingham City Council member Lisa Anderson, neighborhood activist Ann Mackie, and the Bellingham/Whatcom Firefighters union, IAFF Local 106.
He’s raised $4,200, mostly from individual donors, according to the PDC.
This story was originally published July 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
