32nd District candidates: Lauren Davis and Imraan Saddiqi

Washington state’s midterm elections are Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The Beacon sent six questions to incumbent Lauren Davis and Imraan Siddiqi, both Democrats vying for a two-year term as state representative in the 32nd Legislative District, Position 2, which serves south Edmonds, Esperance, and parts of King and Snohomish counties, including Woodway, Lynnwood, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, and northwest Seattle.

Davis has held the seat since 2019. Siddiqi is a first-time candidate with no elected experience.

Edmonds Beacon: The Legislature approved Washington’s first tax on personal income over $1 million. It’s now a hot topic in advance of the election. Do you support or oppose the new millionaires tax? Why or why not?

Lauren Davis: I do support the Millionaires Tax and voted for it this past session. For the entirety of my eight years of legislative service, I have heard from constituents about the extremely regressive nature of Washington’s tax code. The Millionaires Tax provided a tangible opportunity to ask the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share, while providing tax relief to everyday Washingtonians.

The bill included approximately $1 billion in tax relief, including the removal of sales tax on diapers, hygiene products, and over-the-counter medications, an expansion of the Working Families Tax Credit, and the largest small business tax cut in state history. Because the Millionaires Tax only taxes income, not assets, that exceed $1 million in a calendar year, it is estimated that just 289 people out of 157,000 residents in the 32nd Legislative District will be subjected to the tax.

Imraan Siddiqi: I support unregressing our tax system, but this tax was only half the job. Making our tax system fairer should also mean reducing the burden of existing taxes, especially sales taxes, on working families.

I also want accountability for how the money is spent. Supporters promised funding for education, but the legislation does not require the revenue to go to schools. Those promises should be reflected in the law, not just in the pitch.

Washington needs a predictable, sustainable budget that funds essential services without placing a disproportionate burden on those least able to pay. This tax alone does not get us there and leaves Washington one of the most regressively taxed states in the Nation.

Beacon:  Ferry reliability, as demonstrated in the Oct. 5 “sick out” from engineering crew, remains a major issue for Edmonds residents. What specific actions would you support to improve Washington State Ferries service?

Davis: I love our Washington state ferries and ride the various routes when I travel throughout our state for work. But predictability and reliability are key, particularly when work commutes or medical appointments are at stake. Not to mention the astronomical waits during the summertime. We need to invest in both the fleet and the workforce. In terms of the fleet, we can accelerate our vessel replacement plan.

Regarding the workforce, the legislature should prioritize recruitment and training programs and ensure ferry jobs are family-wage jobs. Not in lieu of, but in addition to, car ferry service, I also support the Mosquito Fleet Act, which would expand passenger-only service, not dissimilar to the fast ferries that Kitsap Transit now operates.

Siddiqi: Ferries are essential transportation, not a luxury. People need to know they can get to work, school, access medical services, and get home again. I would support planning that connects reliable funding with clear goals for staffing, vessel maintenance, and replacement. That means planning for workforce needs before shortages become service disruptions and addressing maintenance before breakdowns force cancellations.

Accountability matters, too. Washington State Ferries should report clearly on these areas with independent audits to identify problems and track improvements. Riders deserve reliable service, and workers deserve reasonable staffing and compensation, and we all need honest information when something goes wrong. I am committed to having my positions informed by talking to people who rely on and work on our ferries.

Beacon:  Do you believe state government has struck the right balance between encouraging housing density and preserving local control over zoning? Why or why not?

Davis: Given that there have been so many legislative changes in the last handful of years related to the Growth Management Act, transit-oriented development, and middle housing, I think it would be premature to declare whether the correct balance has been struck. Implementation matters. As one of six legislators representing part of the City of Edmonds in the state legislature, my job is to listen, learn, and fight for and stand up for my district. If legislative changes are needed to provide local governments greater flexibility, I stand ready to assist.

 Siddiqi: Not yet. The legislature has a role to play in preparing the state for growth and making housing more affordable. But statewide requirements need to leave room for local conditions.

We should reduce unnecessary permitting delays and costs that make housing harder to build. We also need to ensure that new housing is supported by transportation, utilities, schools, and other services.

Knocking on doors across the 32nd District, I hear how much people value their communities, and I experience the distinct characters of our cities. Our communities differ in geography, infrastructure, and housing needs. The state should establish clear housing goals while giving cities meaningful flexibility in how to meet them. We need more homes and thoughtful local planning, not a choice between the two.

Beacon: What role should cities like Edmonds have in making land-use decisions versus mandates from the Legislature.

Davis: The topography and limited ingress and egress of coastal communities like Edmonds pose challenges for implementing density goals. The legislature’s efforts on middle housing and transit-oriented development were intended to promote responsible growth in anticipation of significant housing needs over the coming decades. That said, one size does not fit all. Individual cities should have flexibility to meet these goals in ways that reflect the communities they know best.

Siddiqi: Cities should have a meaningful role in deciding where and how their communities grow. Most importantly, residents need to be involved early, not after the major decisions have already been made.

Mandates don’t always translate to good outcomes. We have seen it in the way we fund schools with the prototypical model, assuming a one-size-fits-all approach that is too rigid to let local administrators make the choices best for their schools. Similarly, local governments should retain flexibility over implementation, including how growth fits with infrastructure, environmental constraints, and neighborhood needs.

Mandates without practical support are not enough. The state has to provide the funding for the infrastructure in roads and utilities, schools, and parks to ensure cities can meet their responsibility to actually create housing people can afford. I support combining state expectations, local decision-making, and funding for the infrastructure that makes growth possible

Beacon:  Crime rates have improved in some areas, but residents remain concerned about retail theft, drug crime, and property crime. What additional public safety legislation would you support?

Lauren Davis: Public safety is a central area of focus for me, having served on the House Community Safety Committee for my entire tenure in the Legislature. I work on virtually all policy issues within this realm, including diversion programs for individuals with untreated behavioral health needs, programs for successful reentry from jail or prison, sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, internet crimes against children, organized retail theft, juvenile justice, law enforcement staffing, first responder wellness, crime victims’ rights, and more.

I introduced legislation to increase criminal penalties for the crime of escaping from community custody, which is currently treated the same in the criminal code as commercial fishing without a license. When people exit Washington state prisons, most are not supervised. We primarily supervise individuals deemed “high risk, high violent” and those convicted of sex offenses.

There is a sub-population of supervised individuals who abscond from community custody because they are engaged in ongoing criminal activity. A concerning number of violent crimes in our region are committed by individuals currently under DOC supervision. When DOC catches up to them, the current maximum penalty is 30 days in custody – a wildly insufficient deterrent to compel a person to remain complaint with supervision.

Siddiqi: Everyone deserves to feel safe in their communities. We are not there yet. My husband is a small-business owner who has had to spend $60,000 a year on private security. That is money he should be able to invest in his business and employees, not spend simply to keep workers and customers safe.

I support legislation that gives law enforcement the staffing, training, and investigative and judicial resources to address theft, trafficking, and gun violence, including the problems along Aurora.

We also need stronger community-based responses for people experiencing addiction or a mental health crisis, especially young people. Police should not be the default response to every unmet behavioral health need. Public safety requires both accountability for crime and effective intervention before someone’s crisis becomes a costly or tragic emergency. 

Beacon: What additional steps, if any, should the Legislature take to address wildfire preparedness, flooding and climate resilience?

Davis: I am proud of the work we have accomplished to combat climate change during the past eight years including the passage of the Clean Energy Transformation Act, the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), and the low carbon fuel standard. There is much more work to be done. The CCA has brought in more money than we had originally anticipated. We need to ensure that these dollars are going to the best and highest use through rigorous accountability measures.

Additionally, we must ensure that our wildfire preparedness efforts are adequately funded, including forest health. Particularly after the devastating floods of late 2025, we must prioritize investments in maintaining and improving levees and drainage systems, clearing waterways and debris where appropriate, restoring natural flood buffers, and helping communities identify and prioritize projects before disasters occur.

Siddiqi: We need to prepare for disasters before they happen and make sure climate funding reaches the communities facing the greatest risks.

I support restoring Climate Commitment Act dollars diverted from their intended purposes and providing a clear accounting of how that money is spent. I also support working with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner and local governments to avoid public policies that encourage development in areas with high flood or wildfire risk.

We should invest in practical preparedness: forest management, flood protection, evacuation planning, and early detection. That includes carefully evaluated tools such as AI-assisted wildfire monitoring that is showing tremendous promise in pilot programs around the world.

Finally, we need guardrails on construction of data centers to make sure that they are serving Washington's working families, not just billionaires. We cannot let them damage our environment, drain our energy, and drive up our prices. Nor should we stand for our public officials to negotiating these data center deals under nondisclosure agreements. I won’t let Big Tech get a blank check at the public’s expense.