SEATAC—Democratic Gubernatorial candidate El’ona Kearney says she feels the Democratic Party is bullying her out of the gubernatorial race to direct votes toward her opponent’s campaign, Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

Kearney is one of four women running for Washington State governor alongside Cassondra Hanson (D), Jennifer Hoover (R), and Rosetta Marshall-Williams (Independent). She has also attempted to gain support from fellow Black politicians, she informed the Lynnwood Times, but felt they avoided her or “gatekeep.”

When she attempted to meet with Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards, according to Kearney, she was told countless times that the Mayor was too busy. When she finally secured an appointment, however, Mayor Woodards sent her assistant instead who told Kearney to write down on a notepad whatever she wished relayed back to the Woodards.

The City of Tacoma confirmed with the Lynnwood Times that The Mayor’s Chief of Staff, Bucoda Warren, met with El’Ona Kearney on December 22, 2022, at a coffee shop. Kearney had reached out to the city on November 21, 2022, via the contact form on the city’s website.

“As is our standard practice, when someone wants to meet with the Mayor and she is unavailable, her Chief of Staff takes the meeting to gather more information and determine appropriate next steps,” Maria Lee, Media and Communications for the City of Tacoma told the Lynnwood Times. “If someone is confirmed to be an active candidate, that information is then shared with the Mayor for personal follow-up as it would not be appropriate for City staff to schedule that follow-up. I confirmed with the Mayor’s office this morning that the Mayor has not had a chance to personally reach out to El’Ona Kearney.”

Lee added that Mayor Woodards receives a large volume of messages and urged Kearney to reach out again through a non-city channel as she is an active candidate.

Kearney also told the Times that when she would attempt to approach Representative Marilyn Strickland (D-WA10), it always felt like “she was avoiding” her as well.

She did successfully meet with Tacoma City Councilwoman Sarah Rumbaugh after a successful speech at Evergreen College where she announced to a cheering crowd her initial plans to run for Governor. However, during that meeting Kearney was shocked when Councilwoman Rumbaugh asked what her backup plan was if she didn’t win and allegedly suggesting she join Ferguson’s future cabinet instead.

“I told her how the Democrat Party has been treating me and cutting me out. I can’t get legal representation. I’m out in these streets doing the best I can, so I work with what I can,” said Kearney.

Kearney informed the Lynnwood Times that she is not open to the idea of joining Ferguson’s cabinet because she feels she could do nothing for community from that position.

“It’s never about working for their cabinet,” said Kearney. “I’ve been campaigning in all 39 counties. The consistent issue is who’s in the cabinet does not represent or know anything about the positions they’re representing.”

The Lynnwood Times also reached out to Councilwoman Rumbaugh for comment but has not received a response as of the publication of this article.

Kearney signed up for the race on May 26, 2022, and informed the Lynnwood Times she has been working with the Democratic Party since to gain visibility during her race but to no avail. However, the Democrat Party sees things differently.

According to Stephen Reed, Communications Director for Washington State Democrats, the party has had no contact with Kearney and could not speak on behalf of any local party organizations who operate autonomously. The only record of communication the state party had with Kearney was when she requested access to campaign tools. The party responded to her informing Kearney that she is eligible for those tools and how to proceed but never received a response. 

“We appreciate anyone who seeks to serve our communities through public service,” Reed told the Lynnwood Times.

Kearney also initially claimed that Ferguson’s campaign “threatened” her to drop out of the race but when the Lynnwood Times requested to see evidence of this, she exhibited her phone’s call records, showing a call log of former King County Councilman Larry Gossett instead. She then admitted that she never spoke with Ferguson directly.

According to Kearney during a call with Gossett, the former King County Councilman told her he didn’t care what her platform was and that other “Black leaders in the community” were told to back Bob Ferguson. According to Kearney, Gossett questioned why she was still planning to run for Governor after being told this.

Kearney continued that she was told the Democratic Party has an 8-year-plan to first place Ferguson into office as Governor followed by current Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards – to be the first Black woman as Washington State Governor. Kearney, who is a Black woman herself, would disrupt this plan if she were to be elected Governor, she told the Lynnwood Times.

“This is why all of the Black leaders are ignoring me and why they’re pushing for Bob Ferguson,” said Kearney. “I told them that they’re sitting here being the face of the Black community as if they are pro-Black this, pro-Black community, but they’re feeding crumbs to the community because they’re the gatekeepers.”

Kearney also claimed that one of her constituents told her that she wanted to run for Governor but that “it was not safe” to do so because “Bob was willing to kill anyone who runs against him,” although she would not give a name who had told her this. The Lynnwood Times asked what she felt was meant by “kill,” whether it was meant literally or figuratively, either by legal action or digging up past histories, but all she said was “there is nothing to go after.”

The Lynnwood Times reached out to the Bob Ferguson campaign who said that nobody from Ferguson’s campaign contacted Kearney adding that their focus is to defeat Republican Dave Reichert.

“Obviously that claim is absurd. Bob is focused on defeating anti-choice Republican Dave Reichert. If this individual received threats, it was not from anyone associated with our campaign, and we encourage her to report that threat to law enforcement immediately,” a spokesperson for Bob Ferguson’s campaign told the Lynnwood Times.

Kearny was upfront about her husband being incarcerated for a murder charge back when he was 19. She has said that this has also granted her perspective on the importance of prison reform. Kearney’s husband, Kong Lefeau, is now an outstanding citizen working overtime for a union so that she could campaign full-time, she said.

Kearney’s platform revolves around expanding mental health services and housing statewide. She places emphasis on housing, reducing the cost of living, and a woman’s right to choose. She also supports gun rights and has a fiscally conservative approach to budgeting.

She has been transparent about her mental health history, being hospitalized for her depression during junior high which she’s leveraged to showcase to voters how she has a unique perspective on what it means to be in need of mental health services. She has also been vocal about being homeless, giving her a unique perspective on the homelessness crises and its solutions.

Kearney strives to remove labels and barriers to support all communities with a bipartisan strategy. She is a United States Army veteran and also holds veteran’s rights as one of her top priorities.

“I’m not here to represent Black America, I’m not here to represent women’s rights. I’m here to represent all of Washington State because all of us are disenfranchised in some way or another,” said Kearney. “I just want to break barriers and stereotypes that we have, and I want to go back to where politics being where it’s not dictating whether you can be my neighbor or not.”