Jay Arnold (Kirkland City Council Position 1, Washington, candidate 2025)

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Jay Arnold

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Kirkland City Council Position 1

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 4, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

University of Colorado, Boulder, 1989

Personal

Profession

Web Developer

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign X

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Jay Arnold ran for election to the Kirkland City Council Position 1 in Washington. Arnold was on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source]

Arnold completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jay Arnold provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on September 29, 2025:

• Bachelor's: University of Colorado, Boulder, 1989
• Profession: Web Developer
• Incumbent officeholder: Yes
• Campaign slogan: Proven Leadership, Forward Progress
• Campaign website
• Campaign endorsements
• Campaign Facebook
• Campaign Instagram
• Campaign X
• LinkedIn

Elections

General election

General election for Kirkland City Council Position 1

Jay Arnold and Ken Oberman ran in the general election for Kirkland City Council Position 1 on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Jay Arnold (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Ken Oberman (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Arnold received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Arnold's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here.

• Legis. District 1, Wash., Democratic Party
• Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates of Washington
• Washington Conservation Action

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jay Arnold completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Arnold's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I first moved to Kirkland 35 years ago, renting an apartment in Totem Lake. Kirkland was the jewel of the Eastside then and remains so today. My wife and I, Mary Beth Binns, live in the Norkirk neighborhood, and have three daughters in college and grad school. I am in my third term elected to the Kirkland City Council and have the honor of serving as Deputy Mayor.

Prior to being elected, I volunteered within the community and on non-profit boards. I served on the Kirkland Planning Commission. I co-chaired the successful YES! For Great Kirkland Parks campaign where voters approved permanent, dedicated funding for Kirkland parks in 2012. My policy background was honed as a board member of Futurewise, the state’s leading smart growth organization, and as a board member at Spark Northwest, developing community-based renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. I also served as a trustee of the Municipal League, promoting good government principles, and chaired the Capital Finance Review Board, examining the overlapping tax impact of ballot measures from various jurisdictions.

Professionally, I work as a freelance web developer and technology consultant for non-profit organizations. Previously, I was a long-time Test Manager at Microsoft, working on flagship products like Windows and Internet Explorer. I also am a former technology director at Fuse Washington.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Parks, People, and Places: Kirkland is a vibrant, beautiful city with so many opportunities to get together and enjoy our parks or your favorite neighborhood place. Expanding Kirkland parks and ensuring we have thriving neighborhoods are a priority for me.

  During my tenure, we have re-vitalized Totem Lake, opened new and expanded parks, and acquired land for the Finn Hill Green Loop.

  With grocery stores under threat of closure, I will work to keep our neighborhood shopping centers thriving. As these centers redevelop, we need to provide more housing, and therefore, more customers nearby, with more affordable options.

  I’m committed to ensuring that Kirkland continues to be a welcoming and inclusive community for all residents.
• Kirkland leads the region in reimagining public safety, with a smart, strategic approach that delivers better response while keeping fire and police fully staffed. We have added mental health professionals to respond to those in crisis. This new type of first responder eases the burden on police and fire. Our Homelessness Action Response Team responds to reports of people living outdoors in Kirkland. HART connects people with resources while keeping public spaces available for their intended use. We’ve improved response times by hiring additional firefighters and kept the community safer in an earthquake with new and remodeled fire stations. Our police and court are focusing on organized retail theft, in partnership with merchants.
• Connecting Kirkland: we need to connect Kirkland neighborhoods to each other for walking, cycling, transit, and car travel. We will soon complete key transportation investments in Totem Lake, Juanita Drive, and 100th Avenue. The next round of projects will improve safety and flow. These projects include both projects paid for by developers and city investments. We built the Cross Kirkland Corridor bridge and continue to improve the CKC, but other cities have leapfrogged us in paving their segments. Given increased usage, it’s time we fulfill Kirkland’s vision for both a paved trail and separate walking path. We need transit that serves all neighborhoods with frequent service, and a circulator shuttle around town.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Sustainability, the combination of housing, transportation, environment, and energy policy, is a passion of mine.

I have protected landmark trees, championed energy-efficient, all-electric buildings, and planned for climate resilience to keep Kirkland sustainable into the future. I'm proud of my work to adopt Kirkland's Sustainability Strategic Plan, which guides the city's efforts.

To combat climate change, we need new and existing buildings to be more efficient and reduce emissions. I represent Western Washington cities on the State Building Code Council that sets standards for new construction. I championed Kirkland programs like Energy Smart Eastside that provide incentives for existing homeowners to add solar or heat pumps.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The City Council in Kirkland is a part-time job, yet deals with a variety of topics facing local government: fire, police, parks, water, sewer, streets, sidewalks, human services, planning, zoning, and budget. You have to be curious and willing to listen and learn. You also need a commitment to public service and serving your entire community.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Kirkland is blessed by former leaders that preserved our beloved waterfront parks. The Cross Kirkland Corridor and Green Loop are the next investments that contribute to our quality of life. I want to turn our long-term vision into reality for building and improving trails, developing adjacent parks, and building community.

I was blessed with the opportunity to move to Kirkland right out of college, rent an apartment in Totem Lake, and eventually to be able to buy a house and raise a family here. That opportunity for rentals, condos, and small starter homes has been lost. Our kids and grandkids, working families, teachers, health care workers, and local retail and restaurant staff are being pushed further away. I’ve talked to seniors that are ready to downsize but don’t have options for places to live where they can stay in our community.

I will continue working towards restoring affordable places to live in Kirkland at all ages and stages of life.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Although you don't have to have previous experience in office, you do need to be involved in your community. Before I ran for office, I was volunteering on the boards of non-profits that worked on housing, planning, clean energy, and good government principles. I served five years on the Kirkland Planning Commission. I worked to secure funding for Kirkland Parks after the great recession.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

It's important to be a consensus builder and be creative in finding solutions. The hardest issues involve balancing competing concerns where there is no easy answer. As a Councilmember, you don't have the luxury of not adopting a budget, not adopting a comprehensive plan, or failing to meet state mandates. You are responsible for shaping those policies, proposing changes you want, and getting to yes with your Council colleagues to get things done.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I am proud to be endorsed by both business and environmental groups, transportation and bicycle organizations, various Democratic party organizations, and regional and community leaders.

I am endorsed by our Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, County Councilmembers Balducci and Dembowski, state legislators representing Kirkland, Mayors and Councilmembers from neighboring cities that I have worked with on issues regionally, and community leaders in Kirkland.

I am also endorsed by a number of organizations across a variety of issues. Each has a robust process of questions and interviews for candidates. Endorsements include the Sierra Club, Eastside Business Alliance, Washington Bikes, Planned Parenthood, and Washington Conservation Action.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Other survey responses

Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Arnold completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.

• VoteWA Profile

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