Too many state legislators seemed to blindly follow Democratic leadership in Olympia this year, passing the largest raft of taxes in state history without fully vetting how they’ll raise the cost of living in Washington state.
Rep. Amy Walen, D-Kirkland, was not one of them. The House Democrat dared to question her credulous peers in a difficult session, even proposing her own detailed budget framework to control spending while preserving Washington’s social safety net. Obsessed with raising new taxes, Democratic leaders were having none of it.
“I think we have to vote our own mind and heart and conscience and not always follow the party,” Walen told The Times editorial board. “More voices make better policy.”
Voters should promote Walen to serve in the Senate, representing the 48th Legislative District, which spans Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland and the shores of Lake Washington.
Before her election to the state House in 2018, Walen served as a Kirkland City Council member with distinction. Her peers elevated her to mayor in 2014.
In the Legislature, she has again distinguished herself as an independent thinker worried about the impacts of legislation on constituents. Most dramatically, Walen voted against the Legislature’s operating budget this year, convinced that historically high taxes, while revenues were already on the rise, was the wrong way to go. She argues persuasively that her party, with wide majorities in Olympia, isn’t producing “sustainable” budgets; lawmakers are too reliant on piecemeal taxes rather than living within their means.
“We’ve got to go back to sound budget principles,” said Walen, who warns that the burden of the new taxes will filter down to those in the state who can least afford them.
Walen may be a budget hawk, gleaned in part from her decades of experience balancing a budget as owner of Kirkland auto dealerships. But her Democratic credentials are strong. The self-styled “pragmatic progressive” has helped pass bills to create more affordable housing, protect reproductive rights and strengthen gun regulations. The breast cancer survivor started a “fur fighters” caucus to advocate for greater protection of animals in the state.
Walen’s opponent, Sen. Vandana Slatter, was appointed by the King County Council to the seat vacated by former Sen. Patty Kuderer, who was elected state insurance commissioner. Slatter is a capable public servant, and a pharmacist. Though she rarely veered from the party line, she, like Walen, voted against the business and occupation taxes this year, expected to especially impact their district.
But Walen’s abiding independence and willingness to vote against the most extreme positions of her majority party, rather than fall in line, earns her The Times editorial board’s endorsement.
For instance, unlike Slatter, Walen voted against providing striking workers access to unemployment insurance, arguing not from an anti-labor stance but rather one that it would weaken a key state safety net.
Walen argues for a strategic approach in combating the Trump administration’s policies, including tariffs and budget cuts that harm Washington’s trade-dependent economy. She fears more than $9 billion in new taxes passed by the Legislature this year handcuffs the state’s ability to respond further by backfilling aid to the most vulnerable residents.
Fundraising in the race is skewed toward Walen, a business-backed candidate whose $641,000 is nearly double Slatter’s $343,000. Despite a weak showing in the primary, Walen’s candidacy reinforces her belief that Democrats must sometimes challenge each other to produce the best policy results for the state’s residents, at a time when they control every lever of state government. A healthy skepticism is an asset in Olympia, not a liability.
Vote for Walen to restore some balance, pragmatism and independent thinking to the state Senate.
