TNT endorsements: Pierce County Council races in Tacoma, UP, Fircrest and Lakewood | Opinion

Ryan Mello, a prominent Tacoma Democrat elected to represent District 4 on the Pierce County Council in 2020, is taking his shot at the County Executive’s office this year. You may have heard.

It was only a matter of time, of course — a development long in the making, at least if you’ve had your eye on local politics over the last dozen or so years. Mello, who previously spent two terms on the Tacoma City Council, has had lofty ambitions since the beginning.

Adding to the election intrigue?

The current Pierce County Council chair will be joined on the 2024 ballot by Kelly Chambers, a Puyallup Republican who’s spent the last six years representing the 25th Legislative District in the state House of Representatives.

Chambers has also made quite a name for herself, it’s worth noting — particularly in the ever-growing suburban-rural parts of the county, like South Hill and Frederickson, where the politics tend to trend red to even redder.

It sets the stage for what promises to be a hotly contested and highly watched race to succeed Bruce Dammeier this fall.

While The News Tribune Editorial Board will wait until the general election to issue its endorsement for Pierce County Executive, Mello’s decision set off a domino effect of sorts, as they so often do in politics — and voters in two key districts won’t have the luxury of time.

Mello’s exit has the potential to shape political dynamics on the Pierce County Council for years to come, starting with this year’s primary.

In the district Mello currently represents, two well-positioned and promising up-and-comers are vying to follow in his footsteps.

In Pierce County Council District 6, meanwhile, an incumbent with one term under her belt and eyes on another could end up filling the biggest leadership void once Mello’s gone.

Below you’ll find The News Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for both important races.

Pierce County Council District 4

This year’s only open Pierce County Council seat presents a golden opportunity for a new aspiring leader to step into the spotlight.

For voters, the race in Pierce County Council District 4, which includes Tacoma, Fircrest and University Place, is a win-win. There are two qualified candidates up for the job, and both appear more than worthy.

For The News Tribune Editorial Board, on the other hand?

The race in District 4 presented a conundrum — and one of the most difficult endorsement decisions we’ve faced in a long time.

Rodney Robinson, who currently serves as the director of the Campaign to End and Prevent Youth and Young Adult Homelessness in Pierce County, earned our endorsement once the dust and heated debate settled.

A resident of University Place for the last seven years, Robinson is running as a Democrat and impressed the TNT Ed Board with his comprehensive, firsthand experience contending with one of the most pressing and vexing issues Pierce County faces.

With Mello’s departure from the council in 2025, the perspective Robinson would bring to Pierce County government has the potential to be invaluable.

So would his lived experience as a Black man born and raised in Tacoma, for that matter.

The Pierce County Council hasn’t had an African American member since the late Harold Moss, who ended his final term back in 2004.

Rounding out a two-person field in a race that won’t be decided until the November general election, Rosie Ayala, who works as director of operations for the Foundation for Tacoma Students and was sworn in as the first Latina member of the Metro Parks Board of Commissioners in 2022, is also vying to represent District 4.

Like Robinson, the South Tacoma resident is running as a Democrat — and has a lot to offer.

The first in her generation of family to obtain an education beyond elementary school, Ayala has worked with homeless youth, too, helping to provide unhoused young people with case management, housing and drug rehabilitation earlier in her career.

There’s a reason Ayala touts endorsements from a who’s who list of local elected officials, from state Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins on down; she’s an up-and-comer who has quickly forged strong connections in Tacoma and is already earning distinction in the important elected position she currently holds.

We fully expect to hear Ayala’s name — and watch Pierce County benefit from her leadership — for years to come, no matter what role she finds herself in.

Voters can’t go wrong in the District 4 race.

That much we’re certain of.

Pierce County Council District 6

When Democrat Jani Hitchen was elected to represent District 6 on the Pierce County Council in 2020 it marked a monumental moment for her party.

Flipping the suburban district that includes Lakewood, DuPont, Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Steilacoom from red to blue helped give progressives a majority on the County Council for the first time in nearly two decades.

The more liberal party leveraged its newfound political advantage to accomplish long-sought goals and provide an important legislative check to Republican County Executive Bruce Dammeier.

Four years later, District 6 voters would be wise to retain Hitchen’s services.

The former science and technology teacher in the Bethel and Clover Park school districts decisively earned the TNT Ed Board’s strong endorsement again this year.

As a newbie on the Pierce County Council, Hitchen was blessed with a chance to watch and learn, first under former council chair and Gig Harbor Democrat Derek Young and more recently under Mello — an opportunity that has served her well.

At the same time, it didn’t take Hitchen long to carve out an important role of her own, which speaks to her determination and resolve.

She’s focused on addressing behavioral health and addiction-related issues in local communities with compassion and urgency.

She chairs the council’s Health and Human Services Committee and was recently elected chair of the Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health.

Earlier this year, Hitchen helped to convene the county’s attempt at a “Unified Regional Approach” to homelessness.

Now, with Mello seeking the County Executive’s office and fellow Democrat Marty Campbell running for Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer, the stakes are high this election season:

Hitchen deserves four more years.

She’s earned it, and depending on how things shake out on election night in Pierce County, the council might need her leadership more than ever — starting next year.

Loujanna “LJ” Rohrer, a Steilacoom Historical School District Board member and legislative assistant in the state House, is running as a Republican in District 6.

Rohrer previously served as assistant to Pierce County Councilmember Doug Richardson, so she knows the area well, but her grasp of the issues and the policy ideas she brings to the race are no match for Hitchen’s knowledge and experience.

Danny Hankins is the other candidate in the District 6 race.

Running as a Democrat, Hankins owns a video production company and is running a long-shot campaign based on big, bold ideas — like raising the minimum wage to $21 an hour and ending the use of red light cameras.

In what he called a campaign first, Hankins recently dropped a series of what he described as “virtual reality” campaign ads, which purportedly allow viewers with VR headsets to sit in the passenger seat next to him as he drives around District 6 and discusses the issues.

We admire Hankins’ spunk and ingenuity.

Sadly, The News Tribune Editorial Board does not own a VR headset.

The News Tribune Editorial Board is: Matt Driscoll, opinion editor; Stephanie Pedersen, TNT president and editor; Jim Walton, community representative; Amanda Figueroa, community representative; Justin Evans, community representative; J. Manny Santiago, community representative; Bart Hayes, community representative.

This story was originally published July 20, 2024 at 10:26 AM.