EDMONDS—Libertarian Bruce Guthrie of Edmonds filed Friday to challenge Democratic incumbent Lillian Ortiz-Self once again for State Representative, Position 2, in the 21st Legislative District.
Guthrie, a 63-year-old retired operations and marketing executive who now works as a substitute math and science teacher, has called Edmonds home since 2008. He and his wife Julia are raising three children who attend local private schools. With degrees from Cornell, Northwestern and Seattle University, the longtime Libertarian activist has run for office before — including bids for Congress in the early 2000s and a seat on the Mukilteo School Board in 2019. He faced Ortiz-Self in the 2024 primary, picking up about 10% of the vote, and challenged her back in 2016.
This time around, Guthrie is campaigning on a platform of individual freedom and tighter control on state spending. He wants to roll back sales and property taxes, rule out any state income tax, beef up the rainy-day fund by trimming overall budgets, and give parents more school choices through vouchers, charter schools and easier transfers to nearby public schools that have room.
In June 2024, during the Edmonds Arts Festival at the Frances Anderson Center playfield, Guthrie was arrested on a misdemeanor trespass charge while collecting signatures to qualify Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver for the state ballot. Guthrie argued the park was a public space where petitioning is protected by the First Amendment. Prosecutors dropped the charge within weeks, but he filed a damages claim in February 2025 and followed up with the lawsuit in February 2026. The case is still moving forward.
Ortiz-Self, first elected in 2014 and now serving as House Majority Caucus Chair, brings more than a decade of steady leadership and deep roots in education and human services. A school counselor in the Everett Public Schools, she previously directed a mental-health center, advised on education policy and founded a community center that supports Latino families. She holds master’s degrees in public administration and counseling.
Among her recent wins are the Immigrant Workers Protection Act, expanded child-care access and flexibility, more multilingual services across state programs, and new transparency rules for private detention facilities. She has also helped secure major investments in K-12 education, early learning, youth mental health, workforce training and transportation projects that reduce congestion while supporting local jobs.
Ortiz-Self serves on the Education, Human Services Youth & Early Learning, and Labor & Workplace Standards committees and co-chairs the state’s Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee.
Author: Mario Lotmore
