City of Bothell

Carston Curd is a natural resources planner and licensed geologist running to bring a progressive and sustainable vision to Bothell City Council, Position 4. He currently serves on the Sound Transit Community Oversight Panel, as vice chair of the Bothell Planning Commission, and as third vice chair for the 1st Legislative District Democrats. Curd is also a volunteer for a number of grassroots and community initiatives within the Northshore area.

Curd is an advocate for green spaces and educates the community on complex topics that impact the solutions to the lack of affordable homes. As a progressive environmental advocate, his platform priorities include increasing the number of affordable homes, making transit accessible, and building resilience to urban flooding. As a current public servant in Snohomish County, Curd brings valuable experience and has garnered the support of many local Democrats including Bothell Mayor Mason Thompson.

Also running is Ann Aagaard, who brings a long list of accolades as an environmental advocate at the state and federal levels. In the late 1970s, she founded the grassroots environmental organization Save Our Valuable Environment, which worked on zoning and wetland protection measures. Her most notable achievement is the three-decade North Creek Valley wetland restoration project that now serves as a core teaching function at the University of Washington Bothell and Cascadia Community College. While we appreciate Aagaard's long record on environmental protection, her platform and policies are thin on the other pressing issues facing Bothell like housing, transit, policing, and homelessness services.

Mark Swanson has stated in local interviews that he's "not actively campaigning," though he made it through the primary election. Though he has no website available with a comprehensive look at his policy proposals, he states that there is no affordable housing crisis in Bothell, despite much evidence to the contrary. Much of his platform seems to be anti-growth, and in a League of Women Voters forum he states that he will curb growth in the city, preventing the building of affordable and family apartments to keep only single family neighborhoods in the area.

Carston Curd will work to fight climate change, improve housing affordability, and expand transit access in Bothell. He is the best choice for Bothell City Council, Position 4.

Han Tran, an electrical engineer, is running for Northshore School Board, Director District 3 to replace David Cogan, who is not seeking re-election. Tran is an active community advocate, previously running for Bothell City Council in 2021 on a strong progressive platform, participating on the school district’s Ethnic Studies Work Team, and serving as a Washington Human Rights Commissioner.

As an immigrant and a working mother to Northshore district students, Tran wants to champion equity and inclusion, empower educators, and bring a holistic and progressive approach to addressing the district’s needs. She wants to work to close opportunity gaps by implementing targeted academic support, culturally responsive teaching, and accountability metrics. The rest of her campaign priorities are equally detailed and community-centric, and she has received an impressive list of progressive endorsements in this race.

Tran faces two challengers, Chris Cazares and Myriam Juritz, for the school district director seat. Chris Cazares is a member of the US Air Force and a lawyer who is running on a vague and thin platform based on the values of communication and representation. His campaign website lacks campaign information as of mid-July.

Myriam Juritz is a substitute teacher in the Northshore school district and she serves on the board of the Northshore Schools Foundation. Juritz has shared a campaign platform that emphasizes improving academic excellence and student health, both mental and physical. She is an immigrant and credits her upbringing in political unrest as motivating her to run for local government to ensure that community needs are met. However, her platform is not as detailed nor as progressive Tran’s.

Tran is the clear choice in this race and deserves your vote for Northshore School Board Director, District 3.