My policies
Nicolas Martinez Dunning
Where I stand
My priorities are budget integrity, public safety, practical answers to homelessness, and small business. Here is what I will do, in plain words. Tap "See the numbers" for the facts and sources behind each one.
- Public safety
- Homelessness and housing
- Growth, permits and the economy
- Taxes and spending
- Rural communities, roads and parks
Public safety
- I will protect deputy and jail funding first when budgets get tight.
- I will work to reduce open drug use, especially in areas where families and kids travel through.
- I will work with Sheriff Sanders and the Prosecutor on enforcement plus treatment near parks, schools, bus stops, and trails.
- I will push for enforcement that connects people to treatment, so the problem does not just move down the street.
- Everyone in Thurston County should be able to use a park, a trail, or a bus stop and feel safe.
- I will work with Sheriff Sanders to keep response times funded and working.
- I will work with the courts so the jail and the justice system stay funded and working.
- I will work to expand mental health and addiction treatment, with more treatment beds and crisis responders.
- I will push the county to add treatment beds, so people who are ready for help can get it when they ask.
- I will back more crisis responders, so mental health calls get the right help and deputies can focus on crime.
- I will look at county funding for a secure mental health unit at the jail, so people in crisis get care from clinicians and corrections staff can do their own jobs.
- I will work to help the County Clerk's office keep its public counter open for vulnerable residents and victims.
- Commissioners set the Clerk's budget, and I will use that vote to keep in-person help funded.
- Domestic violence victims seeking protection orders, seniors, and people without internet access need a real person to help them.
- I will not support pushing everyone to online-only service.
See the numbers
Washington State is dead last in the country for police officers per person, 51st out of the 50 states and D.C. We have 1.37 officers for every 1,000 residents, while the national average is about 2.3. In Thurston County, the Sheriff's Office has 113 deputies for about 149,000 people in the unincorporated county. In the Sheriff's area, aggravated assaults rose 22% in 2025, from 176 to 215, and the county cut about $2.5 million from the Sheriff's budget for 2026, around 4%. The jail is built for 390 people, and the Sheriff says it needs 40 to 80 more cells. I will work with Sheriff Sanders and the courts so response times, the jail, and the justice system all stay funded and working. I will protect deputy and jail funding first when budgets get tight.
Sources- FOX 13 Seattle, Aug. 20, 2026: WASPC ranking from FBI data. The national average of about 2.3 is FBI 2024.
- WASPC, Crime in Washington 2025: the 1.37 rate (p. 574), Sheriff staffing and aggravated assault
- The Olympian, Sheriff Sanders hiring more deputies despite budget cut: the $2.5 million, about 4%
- KIRO 7, Impact of overcrowding issues at Thurston County Jail: jail capacity 390, 40 to 80 more cells
Homelessness and housing
- I will back recovery-based housing.
- People get a stable place to live, along with treatment and support to stay sober and get back on their feet.
- I will report the results back to you in plain numbers.
- I will work to bring down housing costs with faster permits and less red tape for attainable homes and first-time buyers.
- I will push for quicker county review of homes that working families and first-time buyers can afford.
- I will work to cut the red tape that adds time and cost to building those homes.
- Young people and families who grew up here should be able to buy a home here.
See the numbers
The 2026 count found 1,058 people homeless in Thurston County, up from 883 last year. That is 175 more neighbors, about 20% more in one year, and 520 of them were sleeping outside, up from 389. The system we have is not working. In the county's own 2025 survey, 212 people said they didn't know where to go for help, and 185 said they asked and never heard back. I will back recovery-based housing, where people get a stable place to live along with treatment and support to stay sober and get back on their feet. And I will report the results back to you in plain numbers.
People counted in the January count, 2025 and 2026
Total people counted homeless in Thurston County: 883 in 2025 and 1,058 in 2026. People sleeping outside: 389 in 2025 and 520 in 2026.
2025202620252026Thurston County's annual January count. Percent change is my math. The county now counts every other year; the next count is January 2028. Growth, permits and the economy
- I will freeze county permit fees where they are.
- I will tie any future fee increase to faster, more predictable permit times.
- I will have the county report its permit turnaround times in plain numbers.
- I will work to give small businesses one-stop permit help with set review deadlines.
- I will push for one place at the county where a business owner can get permit questions answered.
- I will work to set clear review deadlines, so owners know when they will get an answer.
- As a small-business owner, I know waiting on a permit costs jobs and paychecks.
- I will work to shorten permit times and reduce barriers for farming and agriculture.
- I will push for faster permit review and clear timelines for farm buildings, ag-tourism, and farm stands.
- I will work to cut duplicate steps, so farmers spend their time farming instead of waiting on paperwork.
- Farms are part of what makes Thurston County home, and they should be easy to keep running here.
See the numbers
On January 1, 2026, county permit fees went up. For a typical 2,000 square foot new home, the county's own estimate is about $2,600 before and about $3,900 now, a 50% increase. Meanwhile the median home in Thurston County sold for $545,000 in August, and about one in three households already spends too much of its income on housing. I want Thurston County to be a place that welcomes people who want to build. I will freeze these fees where they are, and I will tie any future increase to faster, more predictable permit times, with the county reporting its turnaround times in plain numbers.
Taxes and spending
- I will work to increase property tax exemptions for seniors and disabled veterans.
- I will work with the Assessor and our state legislators to raise the income limits for the state's senior and disabled veteran exemptions.
- I will back outreach so the people who already qualify know about the exemption and apply.
- Seniors and disabled veterans on fixed incomes should be able to stay in the homes they worked for.
- I will hold the line on the budget: no new county taxes without a clear public case.
- I will push for a line-by-line review of county spending before any new tax is considered.
- If a new tax is proposed, I will make sure the public sees the case for it, in plain numbers, before the vote.
- Your money should go to the basics first.
- I will work for clear ethics rules and open county spending.
- I will push for clear conflict-of-interest and gift rules for county officials.
- I will work to post county spending online, where anyone can look it up.
- Trust in the county starts with being open about how your money is spent.
- I will work to increase property tax exemptions for seniors and disabled veterans.
Rural communities, roads and parks
- I will help rural communities and cities shape policy that fits their own values.
- I will push for local control, so county rules fit the communities they apply to.
- One-size-fits-all county rules do not fit rural areas and cities the same way.
- I will listen to community councils and city leaders before the county makes decisions that affect them.
- I will work for faster road and pothole repair and better rural sheriff response.
- I will push the county to fix roads and potholes faster, and to tell you when repairs are scheduled.
- I will work with Sheriff Sanders on response times in rural parts of the county.
- Folks in rural Thurston County pay county taxes too and should get the same basic services.
- I will work for safe parks, trails, and after-school options for young people.
- I will push to keep county parks and trails clean, well kept, and safe to use.
- I will support after-school options that give young people somewhere safe to go.
- Good parks and safe places for kids make every community stronger.
- I will help rural communities and cities shape policy that fits their own values.