Two Olympia City Council members announce they’re running for re-election
There are three council seats up for grabs in Olympia at the end of the year, and incumbents in two of the positions have announced they want to keep their positions.
Council members Yến Huỳnh and Dani Madrone are both running for re-election, Huỳnh to Position 2 and Madrone to Position 3. Huỳnh filled the position in 2021 after it was left vacant by Jessica Bateman when she was elected to the state House of Representatives. Madrone has been in her position since 2019.
Mayor Cheryl Selby announced in December she won’t seek re-election this year. Council member Dontae Payne announced not long after that he’s running for her position, which leaves his seat on the council up for grabs.
Huỳnh announced her intention to run again last week. She said her priorities are public health and safety, as well as economic resilience and climate justice. Her plan of attack includes elevating underrepresented voices in the community, as well as small business owners and employees. She also wants to find ways to continue folding arts and culture into long-term solutions.
“I believe this approach resonates across our communities, brings people together, promotes healing, advances social justice, and achieves creative solutions to community challenges,” she said.
In her time on city council, she has helped establish the city’s Social Justice & Equity Commission, and she is spearheading the formation of a Youth Council. She included in a list of accomplishments the increase in police accountability with the use of body cameras, as well as her support of the Inspire Olympia grant program and another program for minority-owned startups.
Huỳnh serves as chair of the council’s Community Livability and Public Safety Committee. She received her master’s of public administration with an emphasis in Public Policy from The Evergreen State College. She’s a member of the Leadership Thurston County cohort, as well as the Director of Equity for the Washington State Department of Corrections.
Dani Madrone didn’t make a formal announcement that she’s running again. She quietly filed with the Public Disclosure Commission in early December, she told The Olympian last week.
Madrone’s priorities include addressing affordable housing and climate change, as well as building relationships with other communities such as the Squaxin Island Tribe.
She said building and maintaining affordable housing will continue to be a top priority for the city. She said a lot of progress has been made in her time on the council, including Olympia becoming the first place to have a permanent supportive housing facility in the county, but there’s a lot more work to do.
Madrone said she wants to lean into community partnerships more, including with Habitat for Humanity for more housing construction. She wants to advance policies to prevent displacement and make sure affordable housing stays affordable.
She said Olympia has a lot of ambitious goals for addressing climate issues. She said it isn’t just about mitigation, but community adaptation to climate change. And the city’s work toward addressing impending sea level rise is part of adapting. Madrone said she’s excited about the state’s announcement that turning Capitol Lake back into an estuary is the preferred alternative.
Lastly, she said she wants Olympia to be known as a friendly and welcoming city. That takes ensuring that it’s safe and people have a high quality of life. She said a lot has been done in that regard with regional community plans and the support of shared open spaces as well as local businesses and the art scene.
Madrone said the city will be updating its comprehensive plan in the next term, and she’s interested in having strong consultation with the Squaxin Island Tribe.
Like Huỳnh, Madrone received a master’s in public administration from Evergreen with a focus on public policy and local government. She is the chair of the Land Use and Environment Committee, as well as a representative for the Regional Housing Council. She also serves on the Transportation Policy Board, the Sea Level Rise Governance Committee and the Tribal Relations working group.
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