“The priorities we face in communities across South King County– housing affordability, behavioral health, supporting small business– require urgent investment and attention from our state government.
As your State Representative and neighbor, I understand the challenges facing local families and have real experience making a positive difference.
I hope to earn your support.”
–Chris
Volunteer for ChrisENDORSEMENTS
- Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus
- Kent Mayor Dana Ralph
- Covington Mayor Sean Smith
- Kent City Council President Satwinder Kaur
- Congressmember Adam Smith
- Governor Bob Ferguson
- State Senator Claudia Kauffman, 47th LD
- State Representative Debra Entenman, 47th LD
- State Representative Janice Zahn, 41st LD
- State Representative Edwin Obras, 33rd LD
Chris on Protecting Reproductive Choice
“As an attorney representing tribes and a member of the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force, I see every day how our policies and priorities leave people behind. The unconscionable Dobbs decision has created a new generation of second-class citizens – they are our daughters, our sisters, and our loved ones.
I am proud that my work has been recognized by Pro-Choice Washington and other advoates for abortion rights and reprodictive care.
Moving forward, we must ensure that care is accessible across our state for Washingtonians and those traveling from other states seeking care. In an era of hospital mergers and some religious providers refusing care – we have work to do on this issue.
In order to protect every person’s access to care, we also must remove its expense which limits access based on wealth. Healthcare – including reproductive and gender affirming care – is a human right and the legislature must protect it for everyone. Not just the wealthy.
Additionally, the important and personal decision of whether and when to have a family should not be made under economic duress. In Olympia, I will fight for investments in families including affordable housing, childhood nutrition, and universal childcare.
Having spent decades taking on federal and state governments to protect the rights and deliver overdue resources for Native and other underrepresented communities, I am ready to work every day in Olympia to change that.
I would be honored to earn your support so that I can join you in your work to improve access to health for every Washingtonian, and those who seek sanctuary here for reproductive care.”
—Chris Stearns
About Chris
Chris Stearns is the State Representative for the 47th district and is one of only a handful of Native Americans ever elected to the Washington State legislature.
Chris is the Vice-Chair of the State Government & Tribal Relations Committee, Vice-Chair of the Regulated Substances & Gaming Committee, and a member of the Capital Budget Committee. He is also the Co-Chair of the Legislative Nuclear Energy Caucus and an ex-Officio Member of the WA State Horseracing Committee.
As an attorney with over 30 years of experience, Chris has worked at the state and federal level to advance the health and rights of Native Americans, youth, and vulnerable communities. He has worked to advance human and tribal rights, expand clean energy jobs, champion health care access and affordability, and improve economic opportunity for tribal and other marginalized communities.
Chris was previously an Auburn City Council member, where he was the Chair of the Public Works Committee. While on the Council, he coordinated with other cities in King County on issues including strengthening public safety, affordable housing, drug dependency, and salmon recovery.
A longtime resident of Auburn, he and his wife Pamela have two adult daughters – both graduates of Auburn High School– and a grandson. They currently share their home with their dogs, Lovey and Peaches.
John Lewis said it best: "the vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society." 📬 Today, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Trump's horrible plan to restrict our right to vote by mail in the fall elections. Our right to vote must remain sacred. ... See MoreSee Less
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What a beautiful celebration of Recovery, Perseverance, Achievement, and Hope.
I was honored to attend the most recent graduation ceremony for participants in the King County Drug Court graduation. What I witnessed was more than a ceremony. It was an entire community coming together to rescue and rebuild lives. Judges, court staff, health care professionals, law enforcement, families, and peers all working together to create new beginnings and new leases on life. As one mother tearfully told her son, “you’ve been blessed with a crown of beauty instead of ashes.”
I also attended part of the Seattle Police Department’s “Before the Badge” Program and saw how new recruits were introduced to the Drug Court program. They met with the Drug Court Judge and professional staff, including peers who themselves are graduates and in recovery, to learn about the policies, best practices, and behavioral science that make the program so effective.
As a police veteran explained to the recruits, it’s one of the few areas where police officers get to see how their work is changing lives. I am so grateful to see how the Drug Court and BTB programs are both working to save and rebuild lives. ... See MoreSee Less
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It’s been 25 years since the horrific terror attacks changed our world. Back then I was working in Washington, D.C. and on that morning was part of a national tribal leaders summit in downtown D.C. when the attacks happened. There was such a suffocating sense of dread as hundreds of us gathered around the Hyatt hotel’s coffee shop TV to watch what was happening live in NY and DC. But then, even through the panic there was also a growing sense of calmness and determination to make sure we all would be OK. I remember that night feeling so amazed at how everyone joined together in spirit that day: there was unity, pride, love and compassion. Our nation’s resolve was put to the test, and we passed the test with flying colors. That is the America I love and still love. ... See MoreSee Less
Native Americans Reflect on What They Were Doing on 9/11
nativenewsonline.net
Editor’s Note: Five years ago, in remembrance of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Native News Online reached out to several prominent Native Americans to have them reflect on where they were and what t...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
It was an honor to meet NASA #astronaut Woody Hoburg and NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator Jared Isaacman at the #NASA Inspiration event hosted by The Boeing Company at The Museum of Flight. Administrator Isaacman discussed our future in space, focusing on the planned lunar base, the Mars mission, the SR-1 nuclear powered spacecraft, as well as the space race with China right now.
I was glad to join my colleagues Senator Claudia Kauffman and Rep. Mari Leavitt and together support the growth of the space industry in Kent and Auburn and our State.
#coffeeachievers ... See MoreSee Less
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"Labor Day in this country has never been a class holiday. It has always been a national holiday. ... In this country we insist, as an essential of the American way of life, that the employer-employee relationship should be one between free men and equals. We refuse to regard those who work with hand or brain as different from or inferior to those who live from their own property. We insist that labor is entitled to as much respect as property. But our workers with hand and brain deserve more than respect for their labor. They deserve practical protection in the opportunity to use their labor at a return adequate to support them at a decent and constantly rising standard of living, and to accumulate a margin of security against the inevitable vicissitudes of life."
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936 ... See MoreSee Less
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Thank you to Katrina Megrath, CEO of Operations & Animal Care at the Auburn Valley Humane Society for a wonderful tour and discussion about the incredible work the Shelter does for our community and our four legged friends in the region. The amout of hope and love they share with cats, dogs, and other animals is impossible to measure. And I learned that they have a program called Shelter Buddies that allows kids to read to cats each day. I also saw how important donations are: there were four motherless premature kittens who were being kept alive in a donated incubator. Everything about the AVHS is inspiring. ... See MoreSee Less
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For the second time, a federal court has blocked Trump's plan to restrict the power of people to vote by mail.
The court said Trump's executive order would cause "irreparable harm, would be "practically impossible" to comply with, and is likely unconstitutional.
As Senator Bobby Kennedy put it in a 1963 Civil Rights report to the President, "Each citizen’s right to vote is fundamental to all the other rights of citizenship."
From a federalism perspective, it is up to the states to fight back when the federal government tries to undermine states' authority to oversee elections.
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Judge again blocks Trump mail ballot executive order in ruling that’s likely to be swiftly appealed
apnews.com
A federal judge is once again blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order that seeks to limit mail voting in the midterm elections. U.S.0 CommentsComment on Facebook
“Pe’ Sla holds a sacred place in the world of the Great Sioux Nation. … It is where Fallen Star came to Earth… Pe’ Sla is a church, a pantry and a pharmacy at once – the ceremony, the food and the medicine all right there in the ground.”
“‘It’s to set a precedent to attack all sacred sites,’ Big Eagle said. ‘This isn’t happening just here – it’s happening all over the country.’”
The fight to protect tribal Sacred Sites continues across our country, even here in Washington. That's why I introduced HB 2281, a bill that would protect Tribes' religious freedom and sacred places. My bill would prohibits the State from “substantially burdening” a Tribe’s religious exercise unless that it is using the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling governmental interest. #ProtectSacredSites
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A rare win in Indian country: how tribes drove out a mining company in one week
www.theguardian.com
At the sacred prairie of Pe’ Sla in South Dakota, Indigenous and environmental groups banded together to halt drilling0 CommentsComment on Facebook
As we wind down the summer, I wanted to share with you what I’ve been hearing from our friends and neighbors:
- you’re concerned about the kind of America we are going to pass on to our children.
And what you want are:
- safe communities, good parks
- a life that you can afford to live
- an opportunity to realize our dreams and fulfill our destinies.
I believe in the exact same things and those are the values I will always fight for. ... See MoreSee Less
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