The 2025 election season kicked off on Friday, May 9, with 11 candidates filing to run for Mayor of Auburn and for three open positions on the Auburn City Council.

Incumbents running for reelection include Nancy Backus for Mayor, along with Kate Baldwin and the recently-appointed Lisa Stirgus for Auburn City Council. Former Councilmember James Jeraraj is running to return to the council in Position 6.

The Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 5, with the top two vote-getters moving on to the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

NOTE: Links for each candidate are to their profiles on the King County Elections website.

*denotes incumbent

City of Auburn, Mayor:

Ronnie Morgan: As of now, there is limited publicly available information regarding his professional background or campaign platform.
Yolanda Trout: Councilmember since 2014, is running with a platform focused on community engagement, public safety, and economic revitalization.
Nancy Backus*: Auburn’s first female Mayor (since 2014), seeking re-election after a decade of service and a prior 25-year career at Boeing.

City of Auburn, Council Position No. 2:

Kate Baldwin*: Solution architect with a background in civic engagement.
Adib Altallal: Civil and environmental engineer and real estate broker.

City of Auburn, Council Position No. 4:

~~James Jeyaraj~~ Withdrawn to run for Position 6.
Erica Tomas: Auburn resident emphasizing community involvement and local issues.
Brian Lott: Chief administrative officer with experience in public service
Yuval Fleming: Resident focusing on community development and civic engagement.

City of Auburn, Council Position No. 6:

James Jeyaraj: Former councilmember and Deputy Mayor, seeking to return to the Council.
Lisa M. Stirgus*: Appointed to the Council in April 2025, is running for a full term in Position 6.
Cobi Clark: Lifelong South Sound resident and designated real estate broker.

As part of our ongoing political coverage, The Auburn Examiner will be reaching out to each candidate to ask how they plan to govern, what their top priorities are, and how they intend to address the city’s most pressing challenges. Candidate responses will be published in the coming weeks to help inform voters ahead of the Aug. 5 2025 Primary Election.

For more information on the candidates and their platforms, residents are encouraged to visit the official King County Elections website here.