||| FROM RANDY GAYLORD |||
We are so lucky that Kim Wyman is asking for your vote to another term as Secretary of State. Kim has built upon the legacy of Ralph Munro and Sam Reed to demonstrate what a strong election leader can do to inspire voting and protect the ballot process.
I have known Kim as an election official for almost 20 years – first she was the Thurston County Auditor and then then two terms as Secretary of State. I followed her work and defense of what is the best vote-by-mail system in the nation. I smiled as national new stations called her time and again to explain the vote-by-mail process used in Washington State. She has been instrumental at bringing confidence to vote- by-mail here in Washington and to other states too.
Kim Wyman has always put voters first without regard to party. As a Democrat elected seven times as Prosecuting Attorney, I am proud to support a person who joins me in putting people first.
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Thank You Randy! She has my vote as well.
I couldn’t disagree more with Randy Gaylord’s opinion above, which is why the local Democrats are supporting Gael Tarleton. This is a race between Gael Tarleton, who is highly qualified, and Kim Wyman, the incumbent. Gael is a cyber-security expert, having worked at the Pentagon as a defense analyst for ten years, evaluating threats to American national interests and developing responses. Utilizing her vast experience in the area of national security and cybersecurity, specifically, in January, 2020, Gael sponsored House Bill 1251 to enact the types of protections of our voting system that were not in place at the time. This bill and another she sponsored supporting voter education both passed in both houses of the legislature with bipartisan support. Secretary of State Kim Wyman has not been a leader in this area, and in fact Harvard researchers warned that our state’s voter rolls were vulnerable to hacking during the 2016 election.
As a legislator, Gael Tarleton has consistently written and supported legislation that will increase voter registration and participation by eligible voters. Kim Wyman minimized the problem of low voter turnout trends and attempted to block common sense efforts to increase turnout. State voter turnout declined under Wyman until Democrats took over the state senate in 2017 and passed legislation, including the Washington Voting Rights Act, same day voter registration, pre-registration for young voters, and automatic voter registration. In fact, Kim Wyman testified against youth voter pre-registration and same day registration.
I strongly encourage you to vote for Gael Tarleton, a champion of election security and expanding the vote.
Thank you for sharing this Randy. I normally vote Democrat but I made an exception here. While the rest of the Country is arguing over mail-in ballots Washington State has been a standout at how to do it right. She’s clearly the best qualified candidate and has my vote.
Randy and I don’t agree often, but on this we do. Kim Wyman has stated herself that the SOS should essentially be a non-partisan office because of the service it provides to all citizens.
Thank you Randy for helping people to understand that voting on party lines doesn’t always lead to the right candidate for the job.