4 newcomers face off for 26th District Position 2 seat

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Four candidates are facing off in the Aug. 4 primary election for Position 2 of the 26th Legislative District.

In February, Rep. Michelle Valdez (Republican), who currently holds the seat, announced that she will not be seeking reelection after serving in the position since 2015. The candidates vying for her seat in the primary election are Tedd Wetherbee, Katy Cornell, Renee Hernandez Greenfield, and Randy Phillips.

The two candidates with the most votes will advance to the general election in November, with the winner serving a two-year term.

Wetherbee (Democrat) has worked as a small business owner for the past roughly 14 years. He attended Florida State University and is listed as a member of the Peninsula Class of ‘88 Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to fundraise for Peninsula High School students in Gig Harbor to have the ability to participate in extracurricular activities regardless of family income.

Cornell (Republican) has served on the City of Gig Harbor Planning Commission and graduated from South Kitsap High School and Olympic College with an associate’s degree in Arts & Sciences. She is a small business owner and co-president of the nonprofit Walk In The Light International, which partners with local leaders in West Africa and aims to support “rural communities to bring lasting sustainable change through education for children, access to clean water, basic healthcare, economic empowerment, and spiritual discipleship,” per the nonprofit’s website.

Greenfield’s (Democrat) professional experience includes being an adjunct professor teaching courses in early childhood education at Tacoma Community College, a special educator at Holly Ridge Center and a CPS investigator with the Suquamish Tribe. She has a psychology degree from the University of Phoenix, a history degree from Occidental College and Early Childhood Program Administration certificates from Olympic College.

Phillips (no party preference) previously served as the student body president and president of the U.S. Student Association at Tacoma Community College. He has 15 years of Washington workforce experience and earned a Bachelor of Applied Sciences degree in applied management and project management from Tacoma Community College.

What would be your top priorities if elected?

Wetherbee: My top priority is making life more affordable for working families in the 26th Legislative District and across Washington. 1) Affordability and Economic Stability. Families are struggling with the rising costs of housing, healthcare, childcare, groceries, utilities, and transportation. I will focus on increasing attainable housing, reducing barriers to healthcare access, supporting childcare investments, and ensuring working families can keep more of what they earn. 2.) Transportation and Infrastructure. Our district faces significant transportation challenges, from ferry reliability to congestion at Gorst and throughout Kitsap and Pierce Counties. I will work to improve ferry service, advance critical infrastructure projects, and invest in transportation solutions that improve safety, mobility, and economic opportunity. 3.) Strong Communities and Opportunity for All. I believe everyone deserves access to quality public education, affordable healthcare, safe communities, and the opportunity to succeed. I will work to strengthen public schools, support workforce development and apprenticeships, expand behavioral health services, and protect the rights and freedoms of all Washingtonians.

Cornell: My top priority would be improving affordability while protecting the quality of life that makes Washington such a special place to live. Families across the 26th District are feeling squeezed by rising housing costs, higher utility bills, increasing insurance rates, and the overall cost of living. I believe the state government should be looking carefully at where its policies are adding costs and whether taxpayer dollars are being spent effectively. I would also prioritize strengthening public safety and behavioral health systems. Washington has made significant investments in these areas, but too many families still struggle to access treatment, and too many communities are frustrated by repeat cycles of addiction, crime, and homelessness. We need approaches that combine compassion with accountability, invest in treatment and recovery, and focus on measurable results.

Transportation and infrastructure are another major priority. Reliable ferry service, reducing congestion, maintaining roads and bridges, and planning responsibly for future growth are essential to our region’s economy and quality of life. Residents deserve infrastructure that works and a government that plans rather than reacting to crises. Finally, I want to focus on restoring trust in government. Whether someone agrees with me or not, they deserve a representative who listens, responds to concerns, and works respectfully with people from different perspectives. My goal is to bring practical problem-solving and community-focused leadership to Olympia rather than more division and partisanship.

Greenfield: Across all the people I’ve talked to in the 26th District, the main issue I hear is affordability. Housing costs have outpaced wages, childcare is either unavailable or unaffordable for most families, and healthcare costs are squeezing people who are doing everything right. My priority is making the 26th District a place where working families can actually afford to live and raise their kids. To achieve this, I would support policies that increase supply through smarter zoning, faster permitting, investment in the full range of housing options that communities need, and ending the burden of constantly increasing taxes on working-class families. Additionally, we need a sustained investment in early learning and the workforce that would make this possible. I managed early learning centers for years, and the difference between a one-time grant and a real funding commitment makes a massive difference in the lives of our children, workers, and families across Washington state. On behavioral health and education, I will fight for both together, because they are inseparable. Our district is dealing with a mental health and substance use crisis that our current systems cannot handle. I will push for community behavioral health funding, workforce investment, and crisis response infrastructure that meets the actual scale of the need. And from early childhood through higher ed, I will be a consistent vote for full, adequate funding. I am a special education teacher and AFT-WA member, and these are my top priorities if elected.

Phillips: I don’t believe the government’s job is to tell people how to live. I believe its job is to make sure every person has access to opportunity. A fair chance to build the life they choose. That belief shapes every priority I have. Opportunity begins with education. From Pre-K to a doctorate. I know firsthand that education can change the course of a life because it changed mine. Every child deserves a strong public education, and every adult should have access to affordable pathways into new careers through apprenticeships, technical training, community colleges, and universities. When people have a chance to learn and grow, families become stronger, businesses find the skilled workforce they need, and communities thrive. Opportunity also depends on mobility. A good job, a doctor’s appointment, or a college class means little if people can’t get there safely and reliably. We need transportation systems that move people, not just cars, while investing responsibly in the roads, ferries, transit, sidewalks, and infrastructure that connect our communities. Finally, opportunity requires a government that works. Too often, people spend more time navigating bureaucracy than receiving help. We should measure success by outcomes, reduce unnecessary barriers, and make government more transparent, responsive, and accountable to the people it serves. Government can not promise success. But it can, and should, make sure opportunity is never out of reach. Because when opportunity is within reach, there is no limit to what people can accomplish.

Why should voters choose you over your opponents?

Wetherbee: Voters should choose me because I bring real-world experience, a proven record of problem-solving, and a commitment to putting people ahead of politics. I am a small business owner who has built businesses from the ground up, created jobs, and managed the challenges that employers and working families face every day. I currently employ more than 80 people and have spent years lobbying in Olympia. My life experience has shaped my values. I am the son of an immigrant mother from Nicaragua, grew up in a working-class family, paid my own way through college, and have spent my career creating opportunities for others. I understand both the challenges families face and the importance of responsible leadership. Unlike candidates who approach issues primarily through ideology, I focus on practical solutions. I believe in listening first, building relationships, and bringing people together to solve problems. Whether it is affordability, transportation, healthcare, education, or public safety, my goal is to deliver results that improve people’s lives. This campaign has always been about service, not politics. I am running because too many families feel like the system is no longer working for them, and I want to bring a pragmatic, community-focused voice to Olympia that will work every day to make government work better for everyone.

Cornell: Voters should choose the candidate they believe will best represent their interests, listen to their concerns, and work effectively to solve problems. I believe my background has prepared me well for that responsibility.

For nearly two decades, I have worked in nonprofit leadership, community service, ministry, and small business. I’ve helped build organizations, manage budgets, lead teams, raise funds, and work alongside people from many different backgrounds and viewpoints. Through my nonprofit work, I’ve helped support schools, hospitals, healthcare programs, refugee assistance efforts, and community initiatives both locally and internationally. Those experiences taught me that lasting solutions come from bringing people together around common goals.

I am not running because I am interested in partisan politics. I am running because I care deeply about the community that raised me. I grew up in Port Orchard, attended South Kitsap schools, built my career serving others, and am now raising my family in the district I hope to represent.

I also bring experience from both the nonprofit and private sectors, along with my service on the Gig Harbor Planning Commission. That perspective helps me understand the challenges facing families, small businesses, local governments, and community organizations. Whether someone identifies as Republican, Democrat, Independent, or chooses not to identify with a party at all, my commitment is the same: to listen, to work hard, and to focus on practical solutions that improve the lives of the people I serve.

Greenfield: I’ve been in the community for 23 years, talking with, supporting, and helping people across the 26th. My campaign is a people’s campaign to advocate and give voice to those in my district who feel left behind by a system that should be protecting and helping them. Right now, I work as a developmental specialist at Holly Ridge Center, serving children with disabilities and their families trying to navigate a system that was not built with them in mind. Before that, I ran Early HeadStart and Head Start programs for low-income families. I worked as a CPS investigator for the Suquamish Tribe. I teach first-generation college students at Tacoma Community College. I’m a union member and was raised by United Steelworkers parents.

I think Olympia needs a representative to meet people where they are now. We need someone who can reflect the values of today and be steadfast in supporting our most vulnerable. For the entirety of my career, I’ve been in those systems and know how they work. I have broad organizational support from The Washington State Labor Council, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, Washington Conservation Action, Congress member Emily Randall, and dozens of other organizations and elected officials throughout the district. I reflect the values of the families I have spent my career serving, and those families deserve a representative who has actually been in the room with them, not just talking about them. I am asking voters to send that person to Olympia.

Phillips: I respect anyone willing to step forward and serve. My campaign is different because I’m not asking people to believe a carefully crafted political story. I’m asking them to look at my life. For years, I did what millions of Americans are told to do. I worked hard, paid my bills, and kept moving forward, yet every month still felt like starting over. In 2019, I took a chance and started my own business. Just a few months later, the world shut down. I could have walked away, but I adapted, learned new skills, and kept going. Later, I returned to school as a first-generation adult learner, earned my degree, and dedicated myself to serving students and advocating for my community long before I became a candidate. I know what it feels like when opportunity seems distant, and I know what is possible when someone is finally given a fair chance. I’m not running because politics has always been my dream. I’m running because opportunity changed my life, and I believe our government should make sure more people have the opportunity to build the life they choose. If elected, I will work every day to make Washington a place where success is determined not by luck or who you know, but by the hard work, determination, and opportunities we create together.