Endorsements and party politics

Endorsements in nonpartisan races are always a little weird. Because when you look at them, you can clearly see the partisan lines.

What is interesting about Chinmay’s endorsements is that he opted not to seek endorsements from the Republican Party, even though he is vice chair of the 41st Legislative District Republicans (covering Mercer Island, Newcastle, Beaux-Arts, and parts of Bellevue, Sammamish and Issaquah).

So he doesn’t seek the GOP endorsement and he doesn’t mention his leadership in local Republican politics. Casual visitors to his web site might come away with the idea that he is a nonpartisan centrist who wants more accountability.

Why does it matter? It is a lie by omission. Chinmay is following a partisan playbook, using tactics to hide who he is and bring divisive and dangerous views to our School Board.

So who likes this guy?

First up we have Sam Sim, Korean-American community leader and CEO of Apptronic, Inc. Sam Sim is a Republican who ran for the State Legislature and lost in 2024. The 44th Legislative District covers Snohomish County. So we have a guy from Snohomish county.

Next up we have Wendy Ghiora. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because she ran for Issaquah School Board against Sydne Mullings in 2021 and lost. She is a retired private school principal. She was the favorite candidate for the “let-conservative-parents-decide-all-the-things-in-our-schools voters.”

Still with us? 

Then we have Pastor Joe. He is a longtime pastor of a megachurch in Bothell. He has nothing specific to say about Chinmay, but says he researched each candidate. There is just a link to Pastor Joe's Picks, where you can find his statewide voter guide for “Getting Conservative Leaders Elected” along with links to Teachings from Pastor Joe.

And finally we have Vibhuti Jha. Who, you ask? All we can tell you is that he is running for the New York State Assembly. Do with that what you will. (Could we do a deep dive? Sure. Do we want to? Not really.)