Though 2025 has been a challenging year on a number of fronts, The Times editorial board’s search for people and agencies that have made our region and state better, in big ways and small, was not difficult at all. Tough times expose the mettle of good people.
If there is a theme this year, it could be about those having the bravery to stand up for what’s right, whether to fellow party members or Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the courthouse. There are also helpings of savvy leadership, independence and challenging of the status quo.
Bless them, every one.
State Rep. Lauren Davis, D-Shoreline: The Democrat has an impressive record advancing legislation that has helped many in the areas of domestic violence and substance abuse. But this year, this leader shared her revelation in an op-ed that bills she supported, intended to redirect juveniles entangled with the legal system, had disappointing outcomes. As she watched juvenile violence increase, sharing moments with grieving families, she changed her mind and wants a different approach.
The policies were all well-intended, she wrote. “But in the collective, they have systematically removed nearly all avenues to intervene with struggling youth before it’s too late.”
Steve Nevey, Washington State Ferries chief: He took the helm in 2024, tackling the unenviable job of restoring trust in the country’s largest ferry system after our network of marine highways suffered under years of atrophy and mismanagement. A lifelong mariner and former senior manager at Holland America Group, Nevey has stewarded the state’s return to nearly full domestic service this year. Even with nearly 500,000 more riders this summer than last, canceled sailings continued to fall. Nevey’s initiatives to raise morale among the workforce include weekly updates covering everything from rescued overturned kayakers to shining the handrails. Building back battered public confidence in the system will take time, but Nevey has shown he’s up to this herculean task.
Maritza Rivera, Seattle City Council member: Representing Northeast Seattle, Rivera sponsored successful legislation in the city’s Comprehensive Plan that helped save trees. Earlier this year, Rivera shepherded the Families, Education, Preschool & Promise Levy through the council, ensuring that the proposal sent to voters included investments that actually work. The levy was approved by 80%.
TVW: This gem of a public agency opens the doors of state government to people across Washington. Since 1995, TVW has covered legislative meetings, judicial hearings and notable business association confabs. It also offers a smart selection of originally produced — and award-winning — programming. Its founding principles include open government, nonpartisan coverage and civics education. Its recordings and broadcasts of government have become even more valuable as news organizations, both print and broadcast, have gone out of business or made steep cuts. No matter what, TVW shows up.
Matt Payne: A former Marine who worked in high-risk countries as an expat, Payne said he sometimes felt he didn’t belong anywhere. He found his place over the summer, showing up at the King County Courthouse to assist people at risk of being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. During Seattle City Council testimony, he said he couldn’t stand by as “ICE took my neighbors.” He would hand out “know your rights” documents and sometimes observe inside, showing support for immigrants and their lawyers, lecturing ICE agents on the Constitution or just serving as a friendly presence.
Gina Topp, Seattle School Board president: A lawyer who’d previously worked for King County, she likely had no idea how much weight she’d have to shoulder when she ran for Seattle School Board in 2023. After just one year, she was made president of the seven-member body — responsible for oversight of a $1.3 billion annual budget and leading a famously fractious group of co-directors.
But Topp’s style — thoughtful and deliberate — has cooled the heat among families still raw about proposed school closures. Simultaneously, she spearheaded the hire of a promising new superintendent. Many challenges remain, not least closing Seattle Public Schools’ hefty deficit and reversing enrollment declines. But Topp has already weathered a wild first year and impressed even longtime SPS critics as someone who might be able to lead the district toward brighter days.
Trevor Greene, Yakima schools superintendent, and Kelly Aramaki, Bellevue schools superintendent: This duo has done more to nudge Washington toward rethinking the way it funds public schools than anyone in recent memory. And they are an unlikely pair. Greene, who grew up on the Yakama reservation, oversees the high-poverty Yakima public schools. Aramaki leads the Bellevue School District, one of the state’s wealthiest. Both recognize that current formulas aren’t working well for anyone, and they convened several dozen fellow superintendents to make that case to legislators. This is a heavy lift. Few people even understand school finance, let alone have an appetite for tearing up Washington’s model. But as a result of Greene’s and Aramaki’s work — and the fact that more districts than ever are in dire financial straits — lawmakers are taking them seriously. Even state schools chief Chris Reykdal, not known as a vocal advocate for reform, has weighed in, saying the time has come to make systemic changes for the future.
John Houston: Houston spent years advocating on behalf of his family, whose land was taken by the Renton School District through eminent domain, or the threat of it, in the 1960s. The district said the plan was to build a new school, which never happened. Instead, decades later, the district sold the land to developers. Houston’s tenacious advocacy and media attention inspired Senate Bill 5142, which was signed into law by Gov. Bob Ferguson. It requires school districts to give families the chance to repurchase their real estate if it is not put to public use. Houston’s mission also put the spotlight on the loss of generational wealth many Black families experienced through government actions.