Election 2025: 3 questions for Olympia City Council candidates
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Olympian Election 2025 Coverage
There are 31 ballot drop boxes located across the county. Ballots are due Nov. 4, 2025.
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The Olympian reached out to candidates in contested races in the Nov. 4 General Election to ask about pressing issues facing their jurisdictions. Here, you’ll find the answers we received from Olympia City Council candidates. You can also learn more about candidates through the county’s official Voters’ Pamphlet.
The Olympian is posting similar stories on the Port of Olympia, Tumwater City Council, Lacey City Council, Tumwater School Board, and Olympia School Board elections elsewhere on our website.
Ballot drop boxes are the most efficient way to return your ballot. There are 31 ballot drop boxes located across the county. Or you can mail your ballot, making sure it is postmarked no later than Nov. 4. Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall recommends putting them in the mail by Oct. 28.
Olympia City Council Position No. 4
Olympia is facing a $7 million deficit in its 2026 budget. How should the city close the gap?
Clark Gilman (incumbent): The City of Olympia is very focused on budget sustainability. I chair Olympia’s Finance Committee and have worked to lead a transparent and fair budget process. We evaluate performance and compare ourselves to other cities through our Priority Based Budget program. The truth is we will likely ask for new revenue. I’m grateful that this community has consistently supported local government and values the services Olympia provides.
The $7 million gap reported in the news was a starting point in our budget conversations. We have a plan to close that gap through spending reductions and new revenue. I am recommending that we maintain current services and ask the community for a modest increase in the Business and Occupation tax and a 1/10% increase in sales tax for additional public safety efforts. I am proud of our City and I believe our services are worthy of funding.
Wendy Carlson: Olympia cannot continue to rely on one-time fixes or short-term patches. To close the $7 million gap, we must prioritize essential government services, adopt a priority-based budgeting approach for non-essential budget items, and implement more effective financial planning. This means scrutinizing programs to ensure they deliver real value, expanding partnerships to share costs, and pursuing grants and state/federal funding to fill gaps.
I also believe in aligning growth with revenue by streamlining permitting for responsible development that broadens our tax base. Olympia families balance their household budgets every month; we owe them the same discipline in city government.
The City Council is considering raising the sales tax to support public safety, including possibly more officers. Do you support this?
Gilman: I am proud of our Public Safety staff and trust our Police, Fire, and Court leadership. We have made great progress in Reimagining Public Safety. The 1/10% sales tax and state grants that go with it would be welcome help in our efforts. The funds would be used for patrol officers and alternative responders.
Let’s bust a myth here: Alternative unarmed response does not tie law enforcement’s hands. Instead, it frees officers to respond to critical incidents while allowing the city to provide appropriate interventions for the variety of situations that lead people to call for help. I’m very supportive of our Crisis Response Unit, our Familiar Faces program, our Clean Team, our Fire Department CARES Team and our nonprofit partners that work with Olympia police to better respond to calls for help.
Carlson: The council’s discussion around the proposed 0.1% sales tax increase appears more focused on raising revenue than directly addressing public safety. While state law requires these dollars to be spent on police and fire, the city must ensure this money supplements, not supplants, existing general fund commitments. Using it as a replacement for current funding would undermine the purpose of the tax and erode public trust. If adopted, I would insist that every dollar be dedicated transparently to actual frontline needs, such as hiring additional officers, expanding behavioral health response teams, and improving training and equipment.
I would also require regular public reporting to show exactly where the money goes and what results it delivers. Olympia residents deserve safe neighborhoods and timely emergency response, but they also deserve accountability. Public safety must remain a top priority, and these funds must be used responsibly to achieve real, measurable improvements.
What should be done to increase access to housing in Olympia?
Gilman: Housing is an issue across the country, and it certainly impacts Olympia. There was a day when a school teacher and a carpenter could buy a house and have a modest mortgage payment. That day has passed. New housing is being built, 4,000 units have been built in the past 10 years. But we need more long-term-affordable housing. Your support for the Home Fund makes a difference. Olympia has partnered to develop more than 500 units of affordable housing, helped improve existing apartments and changed rules to allow mother-in-law apartments and backyard cottages.
Today 53% of Olympia residents are renters. I championed treating renting housing as a business. It’s reasonable to me that rental housing should be safe and healthy to occupy. We strengthened rules for landlords and tenants who are trying to navigate disagreements. Olympia uses a variety of tools to soften the impacts of an unfair housing market.
Carlson: Olympia faces a housing shortage at every level: affordable, workforce, and market-rate. We need a balanced approach that increases supply while protecting neighborhood character. This means incentivizing infill and mixed-use projects downtown, supporting accessory dwelling units, and streamlining permitting so builders can move quickly without sacrificing quality. We should also partner with nonprofits and regional agencies to expand affordable housing opportunities and ensure services are available to help residents stay housed. By aligning zoning, infrastructure, and incentives, Olympia can expand housing choices for families, seniors, and young professionals alike.
Olympia City Council Position No. 6
Olympia is facing a $7 million deficit in its 2026 budget. How should the city close the gap?
Robert Vanderpool (incumbent): I support raising our sales and B&O taxes to close the gap to a reasonable level, with very few cuts, and using a small portion of our reserves to close a gap (once around $700,000 or so). I believe Olympians want us to continue to have a climate program and crisis response even if it means slightly higher taxes. Ultimately, the City is not the problem, we are doing much of the work the public expects of us. It is our extremely regressive tax code and the property tax cap is to blame for this pain. Moreover, it is completely ridiculous that local governments must be in a position where our choices are taxing the working poor and small businesses, while the wealthy and corporations pay effectively less than the average Olympian. I have consulted with lawyers on this, and we are stuck with this system until state legislation changes.
Justin Stang: City Council recently reviewed options for addressing the deficit. Of the options presented, I most closely agree with the following path: Adding the .01% sales tax to help cover costs for public safety, leaving the B&O tax as it is currently, and not utilizing reserve funds to balance the budget. City staff estimates that this path would leave a need for $3.5 million dollars in savings from current spending — a difficult but necessary option for providing long-term financial stability without overburdening our community with taxes and related cost increases.
To reconcile that, I’d advocate that we look for savings in every corner of the city budget and ensure that the responsibility is shared across all departments. We could also approach certain work regionally. Building regional collaboratives allows municipalities to share resources and avoid duplicating efforts. This approach helps us protect essential services while managing public dollars responsibly.
The City Council is considering raising the sales tax to support public safety, including possibly more officers. Do you support this?
Vanderpool: I support the sales tax increase because it includes Crisis Response funding, continues Reimagining Public Safety and will help us fund items such as equipment for our firefighters. The reality of the ‘new officers’ is we are so shorthanded right now we may have to pull officers from walking patrol to cover the city-wide vehicle patrol. The Reimagining Public Safety work is based around diversifying the roles involved in emergency response; hiring more officers doesn’t mean those officers have to be armed patrol units. I support the continued trend towards a variety of different units for different needs (example Crisis Response).
Is this tax perfect? No, I would rather implement taxes on corporations or the extremely wealthy. This was the bone we were thrown by the Governor. Again, if we want to not cut other programs, we must pursue this tax and grant.
Stang: While I believe that sales tax increases are a regressive tax that ends up disproportionately affecting lower income and vulnerable populations, I also see that the city of Olympia is facing financial constraints that require difficult decisions. Olympia PD is short-staffed by approximately nine positions, which requires the remaining officers to work frequent overtime shifts. This increases costs for taxpayers and contributes to staff burnout.
Additionally, 55% of Olympia’s general fund covers public safety and it will be difficult to balance the budget without looking at cuts to these essential services. Considering the options presented for solving this budget shortfall, I do support the nominal sales tax rate increase as the best option for helping to address this issue without cuts to our public safety services. Coupled with State grant funding to help hiring, this tax increase could help stabilize the budget for an essential part of our municipal services.
What should be done to increase access to housing in Olympia?
Vanderpool: I support code and process reforms that make building housing easier for small and nonprofit developers. For example: Missing Middle, parking reforms, and other such policies prior to being on council. My first year I worked with staff to create the Affordable Housing Emergency Pilot. This program cuts red tape, moves a planner to affordable housing projects, and lowers upfront utility costs. I proudly voted and worked to support tenant protections as a means of stability.
Regionally we have been doing an amazing job of creating housing projects in response to the homeless crisis by working with a variety of non-profit providers. The next step will be to create a Public Developer to create mixed income and mixed-use housing at scale. This entity would bond, tax, receive grants, and build housing as a public utility. Units created would have to be covenanted at an income cap to ensure permanent affordability.
Stang: To increase access to housing in Olympia, we need to expand the supply of all housing types, from single-resident units to family homes, at a range of income levels. That includes prioritizing deeply affordable units, workforce housing, and permanent supportive housing that connects people to services such as mental health and addiction recovery. Promoting infill and density through duplexes, triplexes, ADUs, and small-scale multi-family homes can add options in existing neighborhoods. Olympia should review its permitting process and impact fees to support these projects.
We must also align funding and partnerships to support small-scale and nonprofit housing developers, who are often best equipped to serve local needs. Additionally, advocating for state reforms to support cooperative and condominium housing models can expand affordable ownership opportunities. This work requires collaboration across government, builders, and community organizations to ensure housing is available, accessible, and supportive for people at every stage of life.
Olympia City Council Position No. 7
Olympia is facing a $7 million deficit in its 2026 budget. How should the city close the gap?
Paul Berendt: I believe Olympia must prepare for a prolonged and challenging economic recession. Budget priorities need to be reevaluated to better align with community needs and expectations. Due to volatility in the national economy — driven by layoffs, severe federal cuts, inflation, and tariffs — reductions in our city budget will be unavoidable.
I generally support increasing the public safety tax because it includes matching state funds and strengthens essential services. However, the city should first undertake significant budget cuts, as raising the B&0 tax may become necessary later. It’s prudent to delay any tax increases until we better understand the recession’s impact. The City Council must engage in renewed discussions about which services are truly essential. Our community is under stress, and raising taxes adds burdens to residents and businesses. Tax increases should only follow a careful, transparent process that demonstrates clear benefits to the community.
Caleb Gieger: Our community faces financial challenges as rising service costs collide with Washington’s regressive tax code, which restricts the city’s ability to generate revenue. When deficits occur, the city is left with limited options: either cut services or raise sales and business taxes. Until the state reforms its tax system, municipalities statewide will continue to struggle to meet residents’ needs.
In the meantime, the city can pursue greater efficiency by streamlining programs and reducing reliance on contractors. It can also use opportunities like HB 2015, which allows access to state grants supporting public safety in exchange for a modest 0.1% sales tax increase. Staff reductions should remain a last resort as less employment means less money in our local economy. Engaging the community to identify volunteer opportunities could also help supplement city services and foster civic involvement. These steps offer a path forward while we advocate for broader tax reform at the state level.
The City Council is considering raising the sales tax to support public safety, including possibly more officers. Do you support this?
Berendt: The Police department is currently understaffed. Quality officers are being lured away to better paying jobs from other jurisdictions and departments by higher pay. Currently Olympia Officers have been reassigned to cover the highest priority calls and crimes in the city. While serious crime is down, speeding on our streets is up and the walking patrol in downtown was recently reduced. I want to see officers retained, and additional resources focused on reducing speeding on our streets and increasing a visible presence on the streets of downtown to provide a greater sense of security in the community. For that reason, I support the increase of a 10th of 1% sales tax increase for police services. A subset of this revenue might also be used to pay for current services that could be subject to budget cuts.
Gieger: Though I’m cautious about tax increases that burden working people, I support this modest sales tax increase (0.1%) for three reasons. First, it is a requirement to access grant funds created by HB 2015. This means this small increase could bring in additional funding for the city. Second, the revenue is earmarked for public safety, ensuring it supports essential services like filling police vacancies, expanding crisis response teams for unhoused residents, and strengthening our emergency response system. Third, it’s a strategic move to preserve vital programs without resorting to deeper cuts.
Still, this is band aid. Without broader tax reform that requires the ultra-wealthy and large corporations — who benefit most from public services and infrastructure — to contribute their fair share, cities will continue to stretch limited resources to meet growing needs. We must keep pushing for a more equitable tax system while making smart, targeted investments to protect our communities.
What should be done to increase access to housing in Olympia?
Berendt: Higher housing costs are not unique to Olympia; communities everywhere are struggling with this challenge. Just as we regularly review the city’s comprehensive plan, building codes, permit requirements, and impact fee policies should also be routinely examined to determine whether they meet stated goals or inadvertently hinder affordability. Housing demand is shaped by market forces, so any regulatory reform must effectively reduce housing costs.
Many changes fail to address supply and demand directly. Instead, the city should strategically focus on increasing housing types in short supply, especially low-income and senior housing. Successful approaches elsewhere include identifying publicly owned properties for housing development and securing necessary funding. It’s crucial to remember that when tax incentives are given to developers, the tax burden often shifts to other taxpayers. Therefore, tax exemptions should be granted sparingly and only when they provide substantial, clear benefits to the community.
Gieger: Housing is a human right and a top priority. Addressing this requires both local and regional action. Locally, I support zoning reforms that promote denser housing and small-scale commercial development in neighborhoods. I’ll advocate for strong tenant protections while ensuring small landlords are not squeezed through needless red tape or over-burdensome expenses. To encourage affordable housing, I propose waiving permit fees for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) dedicated to below-market-rate tenants. I also aim to empower small, local contractors to build infill housing by helping them access funding unavailable through traditional banking.
Regionally, we must continue working with partners like the Thurston Regional Housing Council (RHC) and Habitat for Humanity to expand equitable access to homes working people can afford. I propose launching a pilot program through the RHC to build public, below-market-rate housing. These combined efforts will help create a more inclusive housing landscape and ensure everyone has a place to call home.
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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