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Rashell Lisowski (Burien City Council Position 3, Washington, candidate 2025)
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Rashell Lisowski ran for election to the Burien City Council Position 3 in Washington. She was on the ballot in the primary on August 5, 2025.[source]
Lisowski completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Rashell Lisowski provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on July 8, 2025:
- Birth date: October 6, 1994
- Birth place: Kalamazoo, Michigan
- High school: Mattawan Public High School
- Bachelor's: Syracuse University, 2017
- Bachelor's: Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Policy, 2017
- Gender: Female
- Profession: Organizer
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign slogan: Integrity over politics, and people over political connections.
- Campaign website
- Campaign Instagram
Elections
General election
General election for Burien City Council Position 3
Marie Barbon and Sam Mendez are running in the general election for Burien City Council Position 3 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Marie Barbon (Nonpartisan) | ||
Sam Mendez (Nonpartisan)  | ||
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| = 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Burien City Council Position 3
Marie Barbon, Rashell Lisowski, and Sam Mendez ran in the primary for Burien City Council Position 3 on August 5, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Marie Barbon (Nonpartisan) | ||
 | Rashell Lisowski (Nonpartisan) | |
| Sam Mendez (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Lisowski received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Rashell Lisowski completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lisowski's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I’m Rashell Lisowski, a renter, small business owner, and longtime community organizer running for Burien City Council, Position 3. I’ve spent years fighting alongside working-class families for housing stability, food security, and public health, because I’ve lived the struggles so many of us face. Whether it’s knocking doors, staffing food banks, or passing renter protections, I believe in showing up, not just during election season, but every day. I’m running because Burien is at a turning point. We can choose a future where housing is affordable, where every resident has a voice, and where we stop criminalizing poverty. I want to bring our community’s values into City Hall, and build a Burien that works for all of us.
- Working-Class Leadership: I’m a renter, small business owner, and community organizer, not a career politician. I know what it’s like to struggle to stay housed, put food on the table, and make our voices heard. I’ll bring that lived experience to City Hall. Right now there are NO renters on council, and that's an important perspective because 38% of residents in Burien are renters.
- Housing Stability for All: Burien is facing a housing crisis. I support building more affordable and mixed-income housing, protecting renters, and stopping displacement. Everyone deserves a safe, stable place to live.
- A Healthier, Safer Burien: Real public safety means investing in mental health care, youth programs, food access, and community, not just more policing. People also deserve to feel safe in their community, immigrants included. I’ll fight for solutions that keep our neighborhoods safe and whole.
I’m passionate about public policies that make life more stable and dignified for working people. That includes housing justice: expanding affordable housing, protecting renters, and reforming zoning so that people of all income levels can call Burien home. I care deeply about public safety rooted in community, not criminalization, which means investing in mental health care, youth programs, and alternatives to incarceration. As a food banker and small business owner, I also prioritize economic and food security, supporting living wages, fair taxation, and access to basic services. My priorities are shaped by real-life experience and the struggles I see in my community every day. I'm also passionate about including those who are left out.
City Council is where state policy meets real life experience. It’s a unique and important part of government because it’s the level closest to the people, where decisions about housing, public safety, transportation, and land use actually take shape in our neighborhoods. While state and federal laws set the framework, City Council determines how those policies are implemented on the ground. It’s also where residents can have the most direct voice in shaping their community, and where one voice can make a huge difference. That makes this office not only powerful, but deeply accountable to the people it serves, and exceptionally accessible in a city like Burien.
I look up to everyday people who fight for justice without needing a title or recognition, especially the women in my family who showed me what it means to work hard, speak up, and take care of others even when they had very little themselves. I also draw inspiration from organizers like Grace Lee Boggs and Ella Baker, people who built power quietly and collectively, not for ego but for lasting change. Their example reminds me that leadership isn’t about being the loudest in the room; it’s about listening, building trust, and staying rooted in community no matter how hard the fight gets.
An elected official should be accountable to the people they serve—not to corporations, political parties, or personal ambition. They should lead with integrity, listen before they speak, and stay grounded in the realities of their community. Transparency, consistency, and the courage to stand up for what’s right, even when it’s not popular, are essential. Most of all, they should never forget who put them in office and why: to fight for a better future for all of us, not just the well-connected few. Candidates also need to be able to work with others, and accross the aisle.
I bring a mix of lived experience, organizing skills, and deep community roots that make me ready to serve, and to serve with integrity. I’m not afraid to ask hard questions, I know how to build coalitions, and I don’t back down when people’s basic needs are on the line. I’ve spent years showing up for my neighbors, whether through tenant organizing, food banking, or policy advocacy. I lead with empathy, I listen more than I speak, and I follow through. What sets me apart is that I don’t see this as a stepping stone, or part of a political career or political party climb, I see it as a responsibility to fight for the people who’ve been left out for too long.
The core responsibilities of a City Councilmember are to listen to the community, create policies that reflect our shared values, and ensure public resources are used to meet real needs, like housing, safety, and infrastructure. That means showing up, being accessible, and making decisions that prioritize the well-being of all residents, not just the loudest or wealthiest voices. It also means holding city leadership accountable, asking tough questions, and working collaboratively to build a Burien where everyone can thrive.
I want to leave a legacy of fighting for people who’ve been pushed to the margins: working-class families, renters, youth, and anyone who’s been told their voice doesn’t matter. I want folks to look back and say: she didn’t play politics, she stood up when it counted, and she helped shift power into the hands of the people. If I can help build lasting systems that make housing more stable, government more accountable, and communities more cared for, then I’ll have done my job. My legacy should be measured not by titles or praise, but by how many people feel more seen, heard, and secure because I was in office.
The first historical event I remember clearly was the start of the Iraq War in 2003. I was about 8 years old, and even though I didn’t fully understand everything, I remember the news footage, the protests, and the way people around me talked about fear, patriotism, and power. It was one of the first times I saw how decisions made by people in power could have massive, life-or-death consequences, and that stuck with me. It helped shape my belief in questioning authority, demanding accountability, and standing with people impacted by war and injustice.
My very first job (unofficially) was working pony rides with my grandma when I was 12. I helped set up the ring, care for the animals, and talk to families, which taught me a lot about responsibility and patience early on. My first official job was scooping ice cream at 15, and from there I moved into serving in restaurants. Each job taught me something different about hard work, showing up for people, and navigating the real-life challenges that so many of us face in the service industry. Those early experiences still shape how I lead and who I fight for. Working class people are my people, and they always have been.
One of my favorite books is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. I read it at a time when I was trying to figure out who I was and what it meant to stay true to yourself. Even though I don’t agree with all of Rand’s politics, the core idea of refusing to compromise your values or creativity just to fit in really stuck with me. Another favorite is Animal Farm by George Orwell, a sharp, haunting reminder of how power can corrupt even the most revolutionary ideals. Both books, in very different ways, pushed me to think critically about leadership, integrity, and what it means to fight for real change without losing yourself.
Rose Colored Lenses - Miley Cyrus
One of the biggest struggles in my life has been my mom’s meth use, which started when I was just 2 years old. I grew up watching her be punished, judged, and criminalized, never offered real help, treatment, or a path to stability. It shaped how I see the world and the systems we live under. I know what it’s like to love someone who’s suffering and to feel powerless while the system responds with cages instead of care. That experience drives my commitment to public health approaches over punishment, and to building a society that treats people with dignity, not disposability.
One of the most important and often overlooked powers of City Council is its role in shaping the Comprehensive Plan, the long-term blueprint for how our city grows. This includes decisions about housing density, zoning, transportation, green space, and climate resilience. It directly impacts whether we build affordable housing, where new developments go, and who gets to live and thrive in Burien. City Council also has the power to set local tax policy, deciding how we fund essential services like infrastructure, public safety, human services, and social programs. That includes tools like the utility tax, business and occupation tax, and decisions about how we use state-shared revenues. Most people don’t realize how deeply these planning and budgeting decisions shape our city’s future, and how much power local elected officials have to make them more equitable.
Experience in government can be helpful, but it’s not the most important qualification. What really matters is whether someone understands their community, is willing to listen and learn, and has the courage to fight for what’s right. Too often, political experience just means being part of the same systems that haven’t worked for regular people. We need leaders who know how to organize, build relationships, and get things done, not just in council chambers, but out in the neighborhoods where the real work happens. Lived experience, accountability, and a clear vision matter more than a political resume.
The most important qualities for a City Councilmember go beyond technical skills, they start with integrity over politics and people over political connections. We need leaders who aren’t soley focused on party lines or special interests, but who show up consistently for their community. That means listening deeply, being transparent, and staying accountable to the people, not the powerful or the wealthy. It also takes practical skills like understanding budgets, zoning, and city operations, as well as the ability to organize, communicate, and turn real life concerns into policy. At the end of the day, this job isn’t about climbing the political ladder, it’s about serving the people with honesty, courage, and follow-through.
City Council is unique because it’s the part of local government where everyday people can have the most direct impact. Councilmembers help decide how public dollars are spent, how neighborhoods are shaped through zoning and land use, and what policies guide housing, safety, and transportation. Unlike other levels of government, this office is rooted in the day-to-day realities of the community, it’s where decisions are made that people actually feel in their daily lives. What makes it powerful isn’t just the authority it holds, but the ability to respond quickly and locally to what people need. When done right, it’s the most accessible, accountable, and people-driven part of government.
Working Families Party, WashingtonCAN, UFCW 3000, MLK LAbor Council, Transit Riders Union, The Urbanist, National Women's Political Caucus of Washington
I believe financial transparency and government accountability are non-negotiable. Public money should serve the public good, and residents deserve to know how every dollar is being spent. That means clear, accessible budgeting, regular reporting, and open communication, not fine print and closed-door decisions. I also believe accountability means owning mistakes, correcting course when needed, and always centering the needs of the people over politics or special interests. Trust in government starts with honesty and follow-through. I do not support the funding of consultant bank accounts, and find political marketing to be a disgrace.
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 Lisowski completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
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Candidate Burien City Council Position 3 |
Personal |
Footnotes
