Odd election years often aren’t taken as seriously as even years — but at Lead Locally we believe every year has consequential elections for our warming planet.

Here are our latest endorsed candidates, as we race towards Election Day on November 4th.

Florida

Orlando City Council is unique in that it manages its own municipal utility which still maintains contracts with coal plants. This Democratic-leaning city in Florida, a state that has critically underinvested in climate action and will likely remain a swing state for upballot elections, can take major action towards cleaner energy and more affordable rates. We’re backing: 

• Tom Keen for Orlando City Council District 1: Keen has fought to ensure the city transitions to clean energy through the Green Works Orlando initiative that pairs a plan for sustainable livability in the city with climate action. He is also working to protect the city’s natural environment like the Split Oak Forest, and held developers and local authorities accountable to sustainable growth. 
• Mira Tanna for Orlando City Council District 3: Tanna has served as Orlando’s Grants Manager where she was awarded the 2021 Employee of the Year and worked to help the city reach its ambitious sustainability goals by securing multiple state and federal grants. She is running to push the city to invest in public transit, continue to transition to clean energy, improve walkability, and invest more in resiliency as the threat of natural disasters increases.

Michigan

• Abdullah Hammoud for Dearborn Mayor – As Mayor of Dearborn, Hammoud has prioritized environmental justice and climate resilience, especially for neighborhoods historically burdened by pollution. His administration has invested over $25 million in green stormwater infrastructure, including bioswales, retention systems, and removal of 50+ logjams along the Rouge River — helping reduce flood risk in frontline communities. Previously, during his 5-years in state office, Hammond led the votes to shut down a controversial oil pipeline (Line 5), consistently voted for urgent climate action, and helped rescind regressive caps on affordable rooftop solar – bucking powerful special-interest lobbying like DTE and Consumers Energy.

New Mexico

• Pat Feghali for Santa Fe City Council District 1: Patricia “Pat” Feghali is a lawyer and urban planner with a long history of civic engagement and public service. She has spent the past four years working as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Santa Fe and was a legislative analyst for the New Mexico House of Representatives for two legislative sessions. As a Councilor, Pat will prioritize non-car transportation and sustainability, including stormwater management and wastewater treatment. She will also work to bring increased solar energy to the city.

North Carolina

• Dalton George for Mayor of Boone, NC: Dalton has been a rural community organizer for the past decade, starting at age 15. He was elected to Boone Town Council in 2021 and appointed Mayor Pro Tem in 2023, when the position became vacant. Dalton made Boone’s municipal operations carbon neutral and led the town to restore and protect critical ecosystems. As mayor, Dalton will continue to be a conservation leader and will demonstrate that small towns in Appalachia can move the needle on climate action.
• Abrilla Robinson for Smithfield Town Council: Abrilla Robinson is a longtime environmentalist and community advocate. As the founder of Minorities in Recycling and Environmental Management, she has been recognized for her work on recycling policy, public housing programs, workforce development, and environmental justice. On the Smithfield Town Council, Abrilla will focus on protecting people and infrastructure from the risks of flooding and accelerating the town’s transition to clean energy.
• Beth Kennett for Burlington Mayor: Beth Kennett is an experienced educator, community leader, and nonprofit director, who lost by fewer than 100 votes when she ran for Mayor in 2023. Beth is committed to deeply listening to constituents and their issues and building a city government that is transparent and accountable. As the City of Burlington grows, Beth is running to ensure that growth is sustainable and equitable and that the city invests in cleaning up its contaminated waterways and industrial sites that threaten residents’ health.
• Ian Baltutis for Burlington City Council: Ian Baltutis was elected the youngest Mayor of Burlington in 2015 and served in the role until 2021. During his tenure, Ian had an impressive track record of wins for climate and community, including launching a new bus system for the town and winning investments in bike paths and greenways to make the city more connected and navigable without a car. On Council, Ian will continue to focus on climate and environmental justice, prioritizing electrification of the entire fleet of city buses, clean-up up the Haw River, and passing a comprehensive climate action plan. 
• Donna Vanhook for Burlington City Council: Donna Vanhook is the current Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor for Alamance County, where she has been a tireless advocate for environmental justice. In this role, she has focused on cleaning up the former Western Electric industrial site and supports plans to convert it into a solar energy facility. As a City Councilor, Donna will continue fighting to ensure clean air and water for all city residents – and will push the city to adopt an ambitious climate action plan.
• Cecile “CC” Crawford for Greensboro City Council: Cecile “CC” Crawford is a housing and economic justice advocate, coalition-builder, and the current Vice Chair of Greenboro’s Parks and Recreation Commission. She has won significant investments in tenant protections from City Hall, worked to improve playgrounds and parks across the city, and led community-rooted programs to address gun violence. On Council, CC will prioritize climate resilience and environmental justice, pushing for a climate jobs training program, natural disaster preparedness plans, and access to local, sustainable food for all neighborhoods.

Washington: It’s all the more important right now for blue states to step up against the Trump administration with bold climate policy – and special and municipal elections this year give Washington the chance to do just that. Seattle candidates are running to build a progressive majority and new mayorship that could implement the green social housing the city just approved via ballot, densify housing to make city more walkable, and deeply invest in public transit. Meanwhile, several special state legislative elections pit climate progressives against fossil-fuel backed candidates and could get the state’s Democrats closer to a supermajority that would strengthen the Climate Commitment Act and better implement the state’s building electrification laws.

• Katie Wilson for Seattle Mayor: Katie Wilson is the founder and General Secretary of the Transit Riders Union and a long-time progressive organizer and policy advocate in Seattle. Katie has an impressive track record of building powerful coalitions and winning campaigns to improve working peoples’ lives, from raising the minimum wage in Seattle and surrounding cities to taxing corporations and investing the revenue in social housing. As Mayor, Katie will implement a visionary, climate-centered platform to reduce emissions from transportation, the city’s largest source of emissions, by expanding public transportation, improving pedestrian and bike safety, and investing in affordable housing to prevent displacement.
• Dionne Foster for Seattle City Council At-Large: Dionne Foster has extensive experience in government and the nonprofit sector, including serving as an advisor to Seattle Public Utilities and leading climate policy analysis for the community organization Puget Sound Sage. Dionne is deeply committed to climate action at the city level, especially in light of the federal government’s backsliding in this moment. On Council, she will push to hold utilities accountable to clean energy commitments and fair pricing, to change the zoning rules to allow for denser housing development across the city, and to invest in sustainable transit infrastructure.
• Eddie Lin for Seattle City Council District 2: Eddie Lin is an assistant city attorney for the City, where he works closely with Seattle’s Office of Housing. He is a major advocate for building denser, more walkable neighborhoods to address the twin crises of housing affordability and climate change. On Council, he will push for zoning laws that allow increased housing development, revenue generation by taxing the wealthy and corporations, and investments in climate action and resiliency.
• Jessica Rienstra for Whatcom County Council District 3: Jessica Rienstra is a nurse practitioner and a current elected member of the 2025 Charter Review Commission. Jessica decided to run for office in part due to the devastating 2021 Nooksack flood, during which she witnessed firsthand the power of community coming together post-crisis and the importance of local governments in building capacity for disaster preparedness, especially given the impacts of climate change in the region. She was born and raised in rural Whatcom County and is committed to ensuring that all parts of the County have access to affordable housing, public transportation, and emergency preparedness measures.
• Deb Krishnadasan for State Senate Legislative District 26: Deb Krishnadasan currently serves in the State Senate, where she sits on the Agriculture and Natural Resources and Transportation Committees. In office, she has co-sponsored legislation to hold corporate polluters accountable for violating the state’s environmental statutes, to research on the impacts of forever chemicals (PFAS), and to require utilities to disclose more data on building emissions. If elected, Deb will focus on electrifying the state’s extensive ferry system, investing in transit-oriented development, and supporting sustainable food production.
• Victoria Hunt for State Senate Legislative District 5: Victoria Hunt is a trained ecologist, current State Senator, and former Issaquah City Councilor. In Issaquah, she successfully championed the city’s Climate Action Plan, which detailed a plan to slash the city’s emissions. With just a few months in the Senate under her belt, she has already prioritized climate and environmental action, supporting bills to increase clean energy development statewide, improve climate standards for new buildings, and invest in wildfire preparedness, and will continue to do so if re-elected.

Montana

• Emma Bode for Bozeman City Commission: Bode has led on organizing for climate and environmental justice in Bozeman long before stepping into her current role as a City Commissioner. She served on the city’s citizen working group that drafted its Climate Action Plan and oversaw its implementation after being appointed its chair, founded a student climate club at Montana State University, and organized with Forward Montana and  the Sunrise Movement. After being appointed to fill the remainder of a vacant term, she has been a leader on the Commission in ensuring the Climate Plan hits its goals, supporting the installation of solar on municipal buildings, negotiating with the city’s monopoly utility for a Renewable Rate option, and serving as the Commission’s liaison to the regional public transit board. 
• Ryan Hunter for Kalispell Mayor: Hunter is an urban planner whose worked in the community at the Flathead Land Trust to protect local wildlife habitat and at the Collaborative Housing Solutions to address the housing crisis. He currently serves on the Kalispell City Council where he’s led on advocating for housing access, walkability and safe streets, and removing harmful water toxins like lead & PFAS. He’s running for Mayor to continue that work and plans to reform zoning to build more mixed-use and walkable neighborhoods, and push for solar panel installation and public electric vehicle charging stations.
• Mark Nicholson for Billing City Council District 1: Nicholson is a local psychiatrist who is running to ensure Billings continues to act on climate and to improve the city’s environment and walkability on Council. He’ll vote to approve the 2024 Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, a transportation policy the current Council has blocked which would help improve biking, public transit, and walkability. He’ll also continue to support the City of Billings opposing the expansion of nearby methane electrical generation before the Montana Public Service Commission which would increase pressure on local housing and infrastructure, degrade air quality, and accelerate climate change. 
• Amy Aguirre for Billings City Council District 3 – Aguirre is a strong proponent for good environmental practices and green spaces who will work on Council to increase housing density and improve affordability in doing so, protect green spaces, and expand opportunities for public art particularly from artists of color.