Currently holds the office of Washington State Senate - District 36 until January 8, 2027.
Candidate for Washington State Senate - District 36 in 2026 Washington Primary Election.
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Get StartedReproductive rights are under attack across the country like never before. We must fight to protect all individuals’ right to decide if, when, and with whom to have children and support comprehensive reproductive services that include abortion. Learn more
Institutional racism continues to create barriers for people of color at nearly every turn while gender non-binary people, members of the LGBTQ community and individuals with disabilities face inequities and dangers to their safety and dignity. We must continue to work to move our society forward towards a world that values all people. We must look at our policies with an intersectional lens and come to solutions that lift people up because this builds a stronger, more inclusive community for all of us. Learn more
We know that people of color experience harmful discrimination every day that directly threatens their ability to thrive and live safe and healthy lives. People of color are more likely to experience incarceration, be exposed to air pollution, face gun violence, and still experience a significant wage gap compared to their white counterparts. Our immigrant and refugee neighbors have experienced heartless attacks from the federal government, including the separation of families seeking asylum. Native American women face disproportionate rates of being murdered and going missing. Progressive policies must focus on addressing these inequities in partnership with these communities. Learn more
For too long, our criminal legal system has been disproportionately incarcerating black and brown people, devastating generations of families by removing indefinitely the moms and dads that provide emotional and financial support to their children and extended families. Furthermore, our public policy has not supported successful re-entry. Even after one has served their time, policies that limit access to housing, education and jobs set these individuals up for failure, forcing them back to a life of crime to survive. These policies start in the juvenile justice system and continue into the adult incarceration system. Learn more
Every person in every community has the right to feel safe in their homes and in their neighborhoods. But we see more and more people afraid. Afraid of going to school, the movies, church, or a concert. Afraid to call the police when they need them. Afraid to send their kids out into the world. We can and must do better across the board—from holding police accountable when they use excessive force to promoting common-sense gun safety legislation to moving toward a “smart on crime” approach to our criminal legal system that prioritizes prevention and rehabilitation. Learn more
We must promote the well-being of all youth, taking extra care to our vulnerable youth populations. It is critical that we fund social services that focus on young people and provide them with the resources they need to succeed and live healthy lives. LGBTQ kids are over-represented in state child welfare systems, particularly foster care, because of strife at home and the lack of acceptance of a child’s sexual orientation or identity. Many of our kids in foster care and the juvenile justice system exit into homelessness, where they become incredibly vulnerable to those who would do them harm. Learn more
Washington state is at its best when families across all communities are thriving, which includes access to jobs with living wages and good benefits, a commitment to equal pay for equal work, and equitable support for small businesses. Stronger supports for our people, including increasing family wage jobs, providing access to affordable housing and childcare, and robust training programs will help our state prosper. Learn more
Small businesses are the core of our neighborhoods and the backbone of our economy. While some corporate tax breaks have attracted large companies and created jobs, they lack a long-term, sustainable strategy to grow our local economies from within, supporting small business, and strengthening local communities. It’s time for a new strategy. Learn more
Quality early childhood education sets our students up for success and is shown to have lifelong benefits. All of our children deserve access to comprehensive early childhood education programs. Learn more
Access to a quality education is our state’s paramount duty. We must provide our children a quality education, from early learning through higher education, to ensure they have the best opportunity for success later in life. Whether it’s innovative pre-k programs or finding ways to make college more affordable, Noel will fight for our kids to make sure they have the best education possible. Learn more
Higher education no longer only means a four-year university education. With a high demand in the trades for skilled workers, apprenticeships and community and technical colleges provide a pathway to family wage jobs and the middle class for many in our state. We must ensure that all students, regardless of zip code or income level, are able to access the higher education options that make sense for them and their futures. Learn more
Our communities are being destroyed every day by the impacts of climate change, in the form of increased flooding, wildfires, and drought. Our way of life and very existence is being threatened by inaction. Washington can and must continue to lead on reducing carbon emissions through more sustainable transportation, construction, and consumption. Centering the most impacted communities when developing policies ensures our climate solutions result in real environmental justice. Learn more
In Washington, we know the beauty and value of our natural environment, and we acknowledge the need to protect our environment to create a more sustainable future for our children. We must directly address the disproportionate burden of climate impacts on certain communities, or we risk irreversible harm. Environmental justice is a core value in the 36th Legislative District, and Noel will continue to fight for a clean energy economy, to mitigate harm to the most impacted communities and ensure our air and water is safe for generations to come. Learn more
Health care is a human right, and we have a responsibility in Washington to protect our residents from attacks on their coverage at the federal level. Washingtonians need and deserve accessible, affordable, high-quality health care. Noel fully supports creating a universal health care system for Washingtonians, as well as expanding access to comprehensive behavioral health and reproductive health services. Learn more
Cost of living – particularly the cost of a home – has reached a crisis point here in Seattle and across our region. Rising rents and purchase prices of homes are pushing people out of the city, and the number of unhoused neighbors has risen drastically since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The time for action is now. Learn more
Housing affordability is one of the defining issues facing Washingtonians right now, and we know one of the biggest cost drivers is the lack of supply. This is not only a cost-of-living challenge for current residents; it is an important factor for our state’s economic competitiveness as we seek to attract and retain businesses and their workers (as noted by a 2022 report from the Lt. Governor’s office). We need supply and we need to ensure that once folks are in housing, they can stay there. Noel will fight to break down barriers that limit supply and drive up the costs of homes and put renters at risk of eviction. Learn more
In the face of an increasingly volatile and destructive Trump administration, it is more important than ever that we take every action to protect Washington and fight back. Now is the time for big, bold moves to protect our healthcare access, safeguard our right to abortion, protect our communities from ICE, and fight back against encroachments on our privacy. Noel has always fought hard for our community and always will. Learn more
Washington is facing the same epidemic of out-of-control Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as the rest of the country, along with other tactics used by the federal government to target people because of immigration status. At the behest of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, these agents are acting unlawfully and facing zero accountability for their actions. The visuals we’re bombarded with of masked agents kidnapping members of our community - indiscriminately shoving people into vans and taking them to undisclosed locations - should never be normalized. Learn more
As a former foster parent, Noel understands firsthand the trials and triumphs our foster children face every day. At a time when our state lacks enough foster families to meet the demand, we need to step up to provide the tools, support, and resources these young people need to thrive. Learn more
Our tax structure in Washington is the second most regressive in the country. In fact, the lowest income folks in our state pay 13.8% of their income in taxes, while the highest income households pay just 4.1%. This is wrong, and it's not sustainable. We cannot continue to fund our most vital programs on the backs of the poor and working class, while the wealthy and large corporations receive massive tax breaks and don't pay their fair share. The passage of the Millionaires Tax was a huge step in the right direction. And the work isn’t done. Learn more
Washington State has the second-worst tax code in the nation, where we ask those with the least to pay the most. When considering wealth, some of the richest people in the world, who call Washington state home, are paying a fraction of one percent in taxes. Wealth inequality was exacerbated during the pandemic, with the rich getting richer and working people getting poorer. NOW is the time to ensure the wealthiest among us must pay their fair share, and Noel is leading the fight locally and nationally. Learn more
Noel fully supports collective bargaining because when our workers can organize, they advocate for better, safer working conditions for everyone. We also must foster a diverse workforce that pays all people, including women, people of color and people with disabilities, equal pay for equal work. Learn more
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