The Olympia Standard

Not that we expect Justin Stang to exit civic life, but Daniel sat down with him following the election to reflect on how it went for him and the future of Olympia.

This is the last election 2025 episode! We are joined in the first segment by Danielle Westbrook, long time friend of the podcast and political consultant. In the second segment, the 2025 election crew comes together one more time with Rob Richards.

Whether Interstate 5 "killed downtown Tumwater" will never actually be answered, mostly because we don't have a time machine and we can't really settle on what "kill" or "downtown" means in this context. But the premise is one of the most widely accepted historical facts of our area. I take the counter-narrative position that downtown Tumwater was killed by a road, but it wasn't I-5. In this episode, I take a walk with David Scherer Water to discuss the historical conflict and what it tells us about cities, growth and potential. Here is also some background reading: Why the Myth of Tumwater and Interstate 5 Matters David Scherer Water: The Highway that Shaped (and buried) Olympia David Scherer Water: Tumwater Strikes Back

Emmett is joined by Erika Lari and Daniel Garcia to make a complete rundown of your Olympia ballot for this election. Erika and Daniel dissect the interviews we've been running for the last several weeks to help you make your decisions this fall.

Daniel Garcia returns to interview Paul Berendt and Caleb Geiger for Position #7 on the Olympia City Council.

Mayor Dontae Payne and Caleb Geiger debate the pros and cons of the Workers' Bill of Rights (Prop 1), which will be on your ballot this week! This discussion was hosted by Daniel Garcia, who runs the Heal Olympia project.

Daniel Garcia from the Heal Olympia project is back on the podcast, this time sitting down with Robert Vanderpool and Justin Stang, who are competing for the Position 6 seat on the Olympia City Council.

This episode was supposed to feature Daniel Garcia from Heal Oly sitting down with two city council candidates for a conversation. But at the last minute, we had to cancel. We offered the candidates a chance to record their responses on their own, but only Clark Gilman was able to get his in. We’ll be back next Saturday with a full recorded conversation between two candidates running for another city council seat. Fortunately, you can get a direct compare and contrast with Clark and Wendy over at this episode of Lean in Olympia that just dropped!

Erika Lari from OSD4All again takes the wheel to talk with Renee Fullerton and Rhyan Smith, who are facing off for the position in District 3 on the Olympia School Board.

Erika Lari from OSD4All rejoins the podcast to talk with Gil Lamont and Emily Leddige, who are facing off for the position in District 5 on the Olympia School Board.

In this episode, I’m sharing a story from my blog about how neighboring cities shape each other and the surprising ways that history still affects us today. I dive into Lacey’s journey to cityhood, from its rivalry with Olympia in the 1960s over annexation and boundaries, to its push north in the 1980s to grow into undeveloped areas like Hawks Prairie. Along the way, I explore how city boundaries have never been neutral, they’ve historically shaped wealth, services, and political power, often in ways that entrench inequality. I also discuss modern implications, including Lacey’s recent studies on annexing older unincorporated neighborhoods and how financial and service considerations continue to drive decisions. And I touch on a broader idea: what if independent boards, rather than city governments themselves, managed city boundaries to focus on efficiency, equity, and community planning? Finally, I’m excited to share how the podcast is expanding to cover local school district and city council races, bringing in new voices, but the same policy-focused perspective to elections that shape our communities today.

Olympia’s history is deeper and more connected to the larger American story than many people realize. From the city’s founding to its role in shaping regional and national events, Olympia carries with it legacies that are still being reckoned with today. In this episode, we sit down with Mayor Dontae Payne to talk about how Olympia’s past informs its present, and how the city is beginning to address questions of racial justice and repair. Mayor Payne shares his perspective on the city’s recent efforts to study reparations for the descendants of enslaved people, what that work looks like at the local level, and why he believes grappling with history is essential to moving forward as a community. Actually Olympia: Mayor Dontae Payne - Reparations City Council Study Session on Reparations

This week, we have the one segment we were able to get in at our live show last week! We welcomed FC Olympia (Ryan Perkins and Van Crisp) to talk about "Pro-Am" sports on the community scale, how it fits in Olympia and the future of community level clubs in our city. FC Olympia The Cooler Guild (Van's podcast about Reign FC)

We welcomed Erika Lari from OSD4All and Rob Richards, political consultant, to walk through the results of the 2025 August Primary. While we talked a little bit about non-Olympia stuff, we focused our discussion on Olympia-centric races. Olympia Time: Five initial lessons from the August Primary Olympia Time: Digging Deeper Into the August Primary Results

In this episode of the Olympia Standard, we delve into the burgeoning movement to unionize Starbucks locations in Olympia. With two more Westside locations, Cooper Point and Black Lake B, recently voting to unionize, Olympia now has three unionized Starbucks stores, joining a national trend of over 600 organized locations. We welcome Pepper Sparkman to the show to discuss the significance of this work.

Daniel Garcia is a planning commissioner and internet phenomenon (at least locally). He runs Heal Olympia, which is driving a vital conversation about the future of Olympia's built environment. We sit down with him to talk about walking, parking, and the future of our city. Heal Olympia on Instagram Porcupine Media videos feature Lakefair vendors I referenced in the show (scroll down)

Host emeritus and city council-member Dani Madrone rejoins the podcast for a discussion about housing, parking, parking minimums and how we're going to turn empty parking lots on the Westside into a thriving, walkable, community. Maybe someday.

This week we welcome back former Olympia Mayor Cheryl Selby to talk about the new AHA Olympia Museum downtown and the future of Olympia's history. Olympia Arts and History Alliance

In the Olympia School District primary ballot rundown episode last weekend we incorrectly described Renee Fullerton's position on school vouchers. So, we're running her entire answer the voucher question at the OSD4All Forum now so you have a chance to hear from her.

Note: In this episode, we incorrectly described Renee Fullerton's position on school vouchers. So, we're running her entire answer the voucher question at the OSD4All Forum now so you have a chance to hear from her. We are in your feeds early as we hand the mics over to the crew at OSD4All as they review the primary ballot for your 2025 Olympia School District board candidates. OSD4All co-presidents Erika Lari and Sheila Beadling were joined by former school board member Justin McKaughan to talk about the candidates on the ballot. You can view all of OSD4All's election resources, including their forum from last weekend. at their website.