Draft:Josh Binda

Josh Binda
Josh Binda (born November 18, 1999) is an American politician from Washington State, an engineer, author, and public speaker. He became the youngest African American ever elected in Washington State history when he was elected to the City Council of Lynnwood at age 21 and is currently one of the youngest politicians in the United States. He is a 2024 Congressional Candidate in Washington’s 2nd Congressional District and one of the youngest candidates to ever run for U.S. Congress.

Early life, education and career
Josh was born in Providence, Rhode Island to refugee parents who won an international visa lottery to come to the U.S. after escaping the civil war in Liberia. Growing up on the East Coast in Section 8 housing, Josh moved to Western Washington as a teenager, after his dad landed a job at Boeing. He credits moving to the region with changing his life and giving him opportunities that he wouldn’t have had elsewhere.

Josh attended Kamiak High School in Mukilteo where he was a local football star and star track athlete. He also attended Sno-Isle Tech in conjunction with high school, where he served as Student Body President and graduated near the top of his class with an Aerospace Engineering Certificate. He was offered a job by Boeing as an Aerospace Mechanic at just 17 years old, and became one of the youngest Aerospace Integration Engineers ever hired by Blue Origin shortly thereafter.

Josh currently runs his own public speaking business and is a self published author, as well. He has spoken to nearly 40,000 Washington State students, aged elementary through college, during two motivational speaking tours.

Awards and honors
Josh is a former student athlete who has achieved success and garnered numerous awards and honors throughout his life. In 2017, during his senior year of high school, Josh was named "Athlete of the Year" for his performance as a football captain and star running back at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, Washington. He also excelled as a track athlete, earning the “Most Inspirational Award” in both his junior year in 2016 and his senior year in 2017.

Josh's dedication to academic excellence was evident as he maintained the status of an "All Honors" student throughout his time at Sno-Isle Tech, a technical training public school that he attended in conjunction with high school. Josh served as Sno-Isle Tech's Student Body President during his junior and senior years in 2016 and 2017. His achievements extended beyond his education and athletics, as he was honored as one of the "Top 30 Under 30" youngest and brightest professionals of 2022 by 425 Business Magazine and nominated for the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2023.

Political Work
Josh rose to prominence as a Seattle area Black Lives Matter activist during summer 2020, leading peaceful marches in the cities of Snohomish, Mukilteo, Bothell, Everett, Lynnwood, and Woodinville. He used his role as the lead organizer of those marches to meet with local elected officials to talk about police brutality and other racial and social justice issues. He was encouraged by several of those local elected officials to run for office himself.

Josh beat a 20-year incumbent at 21 years old when he ran for Lynnwood City Council in 2021, making him the youngest BIPOC ever elected in Washington State. He won 45.5% of the vote in a 3-way primary and 53% of the vote in the general.

While on council Josh has initiated a program that set up scholarships for youth and seniors to use parks and recreation facilities for free, hosted community workshops at city hall aimed at inspiring the next generation of leaders , increased the parks and recreation budget by millions of dollars, and led the call to put mental health clinicians in all Lynnwood public schools.

Policies and Platform
Josh is known for his progressive policy platform and dedication to addressing critical issues facing society. His platform is centered on various key areas, including equitable healthcare with a focus on implementing Medicare for all. He is a strong advocate for women's rights and aims to protect these rights by codifying Roe v. Wade into law. He also emphasizes the need for increased affordable housing options to combat the housing crisis and actively works towards addressing climate change through sustainable initiatives. Education is another priority for Josh, as he seeks to make education more accessible and to increase funding for schools. He is a staunch supporter of workers' rights and unions, advocating for fair working conditions and wages. Notably, Josh is the only elected official in Snohomish County to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, demonstrating his commitment to peace and diplomacy.

Running for Congress
Josh gained significant media attention after announcing his candidacy for Congress on January 31st, 2024. If elected, he would make history as the youngest BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individual to be elected to Congress in the United States. Josh is running in an eight-way primary race, where the top two candidates will advance to the general election in November.

Failed recall attempt
A series of false public complaints and targeted right wing media stories led to a failed recall attempt against Josh in 2023. First were allegations that Josh had misused campaign funds after complaints were filed against him with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission. Second were accusations that Josh had misused city facilities when he filmed a video of himself at City Hall after hours. Third were misleading media stories about a personal photo that Josh posted of himself to his personal Instagram account that depicted himself without a shirt on in order to display a new tattoo. Fourth were false claims that Josh had inappropriately asked for reimbursement from the city of Lynnwood for a trip he made to a National League of Cities conference in Washington, DC in 2023.

In late June 2023, a Snohomish County Superior Court judge approved the moving forward of a campaign to recall Josh. A few weeks prior, the NAACP had opened an investigation into the controversy surrounding Josh after receiving an anonymous tip that he was being racially targeted by fellow council members and by conservatives. The NAACP held a press conference in July 2023 to share their findings with the public.

The NAACP’s investigative report stated that Josh had been subjected to a hostile work environment, unfair treatment, the spreading of false information, and retaliation by then Lynnwood City Council President Shannon Sessions, as well as other more conservative members of the council.

The report contained emails received by the NAACP via a public records request that showed Council President Sessions asking for rules to be changed in a way that targeted Josh before he had even won his race, during a time when he was the presumptive front runner due to his strong showing during the primary. The NAACP report also contained records that showed that Josh’s request for travel reimbursement to the National League of Cities Conference had been unethically denied by his council leadership. According to the NAACP investigation and city rules, Josh was fully within his rights to use his previously allocated city-budgeted funds to go to the conference where he replaced Congressman Maxwell Frost as the keynote speaker for the closing youth delegates session. It was also noted that Lynnwood city council leadership had discriminated against Josh, as a different council member was allowed to go to the conference without question, while Josh was originally denied. The NAACP also called out local media entities for unfairly targeting and misrepresenting Josh.

During the press conference, NAACP members also pointed out that Josh had also been treated differently from fellow Lynnwood City Council Member Jim Smith who, just months prior, had been publicly accused of racism and had had his own Public Disclosure Commission violations, as PDC violations are incredibly common in Washington State.

In September 2023 a Public Disclosure Commission complaint was filed against the Committee to Recall Josh Binda.

In January 2024 the recall effort against Josh failed. They did not turn a single signature into the Snohomish County Auditor.