Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

 

Thank you so much to every community member who supported, sent encouraging emails and messages, even cards! Thank you!

 

We made it through a GNARLY primary, that people in power had stacked so hard, they were pretty much patting themselves on the back before votes even came in, and were totally shocked when Maya cleared it! Next, we managed to earn 28% of voters in the November 2026 general election, a year when huge numbers of people did not vote (low turnout), and when it's likely that all Republicans who did vote, would have given that vote to Maya's more conservative-presenting opponent, who had accepted many sizeable donations from Republicans. What this means is that Maya earned a very respectable share of progressive and Democrat voters – even with a very tiny budget, an untruthful and nasty hit piece in the paper about her by CDN's Editor in Chief, and without even sending out one of those expensive campaign mailers!

 

Thank you to the folks who knocked doors with our campaign! Thank you to the folks who donated! Thank you to the folks who offered to help, even when it didn't work out, or life, health, weather or communications just didn't cooperate! Thank you to all of the WONDERFUL, real, everyday folks who showed up with solidarity, with kindness, with your time! And, thank you to all of you voted in the August primary, AND in the general election!!!

 

And finally, thank you – from the bottom of Maya's heart, all the way up to the stars and moon – to all of the wonderful people, organizations, and unions who endorsed, who offered support and well wishes; and to UFCW and Pro-Choice WA for sending folks up to canvass! 🙌🏼🥰🙏🏼

 

Maya worked extremely hard, and everyone who helped in small and big ways made a huge difference. We didn't win this election, but we can be truly proud of that work. Why? Because it was genuine, not performative. It was a real, grassroots effort to change who can run, get elected, and be represented in our local government, after Maya fought hard for us on our once per decade Whatcom Councy Charter Review Commission of 2025! Our campaign made many waves, and we continue to make more! 

So, Thank you!

 

The remaining truth is this:

In a district where we absolutely could have elected to county council our very first super-qualified, working-poor, previously Whatcom Democrats & 42nd LD-endorsed, currently Working Familes Party-endorsed (in fact, the first WFP-endorsed candidate north of Seattle, ever!) and Whatcom DSA-endorsed, Les-Queer Latiné baddy, who had literally delivered on ALL of her promises as a sitting Whatcom County Charter Review Commissioner long before the primary election, who had a clear and proven legislative and policy track record of solid wins for Bellingham and for WA state; and who had already given her service in countless of hours of 🔥 legislative and policy advocacy, electoral work, and community organizing at the local, county, state, national and international level; our electoral power movers chose bigotry, classism, homophobia, and a complete and total lack of solidarity with working poor people instead. They proactively chose to stack the decks in favor of a candidate Maya had explicitly asked NOT to file, because it was simply not a solidarity move.

 

Why was it not a solidarity move? Because, if you know anything about electoral science, you know that prevailing social majorities prefer to elect exact reflections of themselves at the ballot box. That is why it is extremely difficult to attain inclusive, diverse and more representational elected bodies with winner-take-all elections. Maya's opponent, particularly once she'd been sole-endorsed by the entire political establishment – which happened before these candidates had even filed with the County Auditor, was impossible for Maya to win against. And, not because Maya wasn't electable, extremely skilled, highly qualified, and even supported by a strong block of voters – Maya had already won this district a year earlier. Nope, it was impossible because the people Maya was running to guaruntee representation for on our County Council do not make up a social (or electoral) majority of our County. Maya knew that if her opponent hadn't run, and Maya carried the Dem endorsements she'd had the year prior, she would have been an easy shoe-in at the ballot box, and pushed both our party, and our county, into the future of the Democratic Party. Because, folks, the future of the Democratic Party, like it or not, is progressive!

 

Wait! So, was Maya's opponent evil and horrible? No way. She's a perfectly nice person who will do her level best as a council member. But, did the Dem leadership attempting to literally hand her opponent a Council seat on a platter do anything to help change our electoral politics for the better? Nope. Did it change who gets supported and elected into office? No. Did endorsing and electing Maya's opponent help build power for underrepresented communities and future Working Families Party wins? Nope! Did it change who currently has representation in our local government in Bellingham's District 2? Also no.

 

Because Maya could predict literally of the above playing out, before her opponent even filed, that is why she asked her opponent very frankly and directly to please reconsider and step back, and to use her privilege to lift, rather than to suppress a grassroots win. 😢🥺 Unfortunately, that ask fell on deaf ears, and many people and organizations participated in proactively stacking the decks to deliver Maya's opponent's win, including many of the same Democratic lawmakers, leaders, and organizations that Maya had actually given five solid years of 🔥 volunteer policy work, advocacy, labor, and support to and worked alongside, as she pushed from both inside and outside the party structure for housing, tech justice and privacy, human rights, trade justice, equal pay, LBGBT+ rights, 1st and 4th Amendment rights, and the decriminalization of poverty.
 

So, all of that obviously really sucked, and it was wrong. And, it is OK to say that. In fact, it's vitally important to say it, to acknowledge it, and to even ask that it be repaired – if the party, the people, and folks with sway and power in elections here actually want to walk their progressive talk.
 

One funny/awkward current thing? Some folks in the party are claiming they "just wish we had a Mamdani," i.e. a real people's candidate, with all the grassroots endorsements; electoral, party and elected experience; and the ability to really connect with people. That is actually bonkers. 😹 Because they did. They literally had Whatcom County's version of this kind of candidate in Maya, and they totally bailed! They had a candidate who had already knocked 12,000 doors in Bellingham before attempting to file for County Council in 2025 via signature petition – which she knocked an additional 2000+ doors to do. Yet, they utterly failed to lift, endorse, support, respect, and appreciate the many years of life, work, organizing, and experience that make Maya the true blue candidate she was and is.

So, yeah. Dems wish they had a Mamdani (or a Maya) now. But they're also discovering that you can't pluck that quality off of a cherry tree.  Meaning, you can't really fake that, nor can you feed an inexperienced person and candidate perfect talking points and messaging, and expect them to deliver the same kind of immediate and sure knowing, depth, perspective, experience, knowledge and ability to connect with people, and to also engage deeply, with unwavering and strong values, on basically any issue that a candidate with 48 years of solidly living-and-breathing-social-justice has.

 

So, what's next?

 

Well, we keep building. We keep running. And we do it until we have increased electoral representation, leveled the electoral playing field, and created a more equitable, inclusive, and representative elected government.

 

Can we do it?

 

Yep! We can. It's just a long, long game, and folks need to get into formation and fight with us – every time we run, until we win. Every door that people in our community knock for a real deal candidate builds us toward that win. Bernie didn't win the first time he ran. MANY of our best working class BIPoC fighters in the WA Leg didn't win the first, or sometimes second, time they ran. Some won after three or four candidacies. And some were appointed into their seats after running once, twice or more. That's because running isn't just about people's votes. It involves political parties, endorsing organizations, and broader overlaps with tribal councils, issue-based and membership organizations, and other lawmakers. In Whatcom County, it is an entire political ecosystem that is mired pretty deeply in an antiquated, business-as-usual mindset and formulaic electoral framework. Shifting that into the future, and into the Democratic party we actually need takes participation, it requires change, and it takes time.

With that in mind, Maya will be on the ballot again this August! She is running for PCO, which means Precinct Officer. This is a Partisan role, and PCOs basically do the work that Maya's already been doing. PCOs knock doors, they make sure folk in their precinct (or neighborhood) are registered and ready to vote, and they also help with Democratic Party votes on things like updating bylaws, and appointing people to leadership positions. If you live in 225, you'll see Maya on your August ballot. 😊 The current PCO for 225 is Sharon Shewmake.

 

So, YES! you SHOULD maintain your membership in Dem organizations. YES! You SHOULD maintain your Dem endorsement voting power, and your awareness of what's happening politically. Yes! you SHOULD join Indivisible, and every other organization that has tended to stack the decks and gatekeep working-poor, BIPoC, and openly LGBTQ+ candidates out of elected office here. And yes, you SHOULD keep your light lit, keep the faith, and keep engaging!

 

While Maya had to take some time post-election to take care of her oral health, get some much-needed rest for resistance, and then jumped into a crrrazy WA Leg 2026 Session (thankfully that's behind us! Millionaire's tax! Heeeey!) in which she tracked over 55 bills and brought in important wins; Maya's not stopping, and neither should you! 

 

Again, from the People for Maya Morales campaign,

 

thank you, thank you, thank you.
 

💖In Solidarity