Election: Four-term Bellingham council member vs. former Whatcom Democrats chair
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Whatcom County Elections 2025
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Four-term Bellingham City Council member Michael Lilliquist is facing a challenge from former Whatcom Democrats chair Andrew Reding in his bid for a fifth straight four-year term representing Ward 6.
Ward 6 includes the Edgemoor, South and Fairhaven neighborhoods, plus most of Samish and Happy Valley, and part of South Hill.
The City Council makes laws, appoints members of advisory committees and controls the purse through its budget authority.
All City Council races are nonpartisan, but the two major parties usually endorse candidates. In this case, both candidates are supported by Democratic organizations. Lilliquist has secured the sole support of Whatcom County’s three Democratic Party groups.
All registered voters in Bellingham can vote in this race, regardless of ward. Ballots will be mailed to registered voters on Wednesday and must be postmarked or placed in a drop box by 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 in Washington’s all-mail election.
Michael Lilliquist
Lilliquist, who was first elected to the Ward 6 seat in 2009, has a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience from the University of Texas at Austin. He has cast votes over the years as part of a City Council majority whose focus is on housing, especially different types of housing, as the state grapples with record-high rents and home prices, along with a surge in homelessness.
With his colleagues on the City Council, Lilliquist has supported programs to expand housing types, creating the city’s urban villages and the “Infill Toolkit” for middle housing. He supported a plan to expand accessory dwelling units and backed the Bellingham Home Fund, a voter-approved tax that helps finance affordable housing. He has also championed the city’s “multimodal” focus on transportation planning that includes pedestrians, cyclists and public transit — not just cars.
“I am proud of the work I have done to improve access to housing in Bellingham, and I am excited to continue this work. For example, I’d like to revive the Bellingham Public Development Authority to bring more housing projects forward. We need leadership that is willing to meet our housing challenges with practical actions and creative solutions,” Lilliquist said at his campaign website.
According to his website, Lilliquist has the sole support of the Whatcom Democrats, the organization once headed by his opponent. He also has the sole endorsements from the 40th and 42nd district Democrats. In addition, he lists sole endorsements of Lummi Nation, the Sierra Club of Washington State, the Washington Housing Alliance Fund and local labor unions including LiUNA 292, the Teamsters 231, the Guild of Pacific Northwest Employees 1937 and the NW Washington Central Labor Council.
His website lists endorsements from organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Moms Demand Action against gun violence and the Whatcom County Association of Realtors, also its sole endorsement. Personal support includes a range of current and former Bellingham and Whatcom County elected officials.
Lilliquist has raised $26,393 for his campaign through Oct. 13, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. More than half that amount is from individual donors, $2,250 in party contributions and $500 from labor unions.
Andrew Reding
Reding is the former chair of the Whatcom Democrats and a member of the Whatcom County Charter Review Commission.
He is a public policy analyst who has served with the U.S. Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, preparing reports on human rights and affidavits for court cases, identifying foreign residents responsible for torture and massacres in their home countries, leading to civil suits by victims and deportation. He served on the city council of Sanibel, a barrier island in southwest Florida.
“(My) major accomplishments included expansion of below market rate housing and adoption of a ‘dark skies’ ordinance preventing light pollution. I also sponsored citizen-initiated city charter amendments that incorporated the vision statement, guaranteed that the environmentally sensitive lands conservation district would remain ‘forever wild,’ and limited roads to two lanes,” Reding said in an email.
Reding said he would help free city money amid a tight budget by promoting a separate property tax to fund the Bellingham Public Library.
“A library fund which I think would be very popular, would pass very easy in our community, and would free up the library fund for the general fund,” Reding said at the Sept. 24 election forum held by the Bellingham City Club.
According to his campaign website, Reding is endorsed by nationally known environmental activist Bill McKibben. He has the sole endorsement of the Washington State Progressive Caucus, the Democratic Municipal Democrats and the Stonewall Dems, which promotes LGBTQ+ political candidates. His union support includes the sole endorsements of the Western Academic Workers United (UAW), Local 425 of Western States Carpenters, International Association of Machinists District 751, United Food and Commercial Workers 3000, Local 191 of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Local 37083 of Communication Workers of America (CWA). Bellingham Herald newsroom employees are part of CWA, but are represented by a different bargaining unit.
Other backing comes from organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Moms Demand Action against gun violence and the Associated General Contractors of Washington, a sole endorsement. Personal support includes a range of current and former Bellingham and Whatcom County elected officials.
Reding has raised $18,970 for his campaign through Oct. 13, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. About three-fourths of that amount is from individual donors, $1,750 in party contributions and $3,000 from political action committees.
This story was originally published October 16, 2025 at 1:22 PM.
