I’m Not a Career Politician. I’m One of You.
My name is William Dehnel, and I’m asking for your vote to represent Legislative District 2 in the Washington State House of Representatives. But before I ask for anything, I want you to know who I am.
I drive buses. I dispatch routes. I’ve been showing up to work at Pierce Transit since 2016, first as a Transit Operator, now as a Supervisor and Dispatcher. I know what a long shift feels like. I know what it means to stretch a paycheck and wonder if it’s enough. That’s not a talking point. That’s my life.
I Fight for Workers, Because I Am One
When my coworkers needed someone to stand up for them, I stepped up. I served as Recording Secretary of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 758 from 2022 to 2025, and I’m currently a Shop Steward and Vice President of the ATU Legislative Council of Washington. I’ve been a delegate to both the Pierce County Labor Council and the Washington State Labor Council since 2022.
When I sit across from management at the bargaining table, I don’t back down. That’s exactly how I’ll show up for you in Olympia.
Fighting for LGBTQ+ Workers and Families
I helped found the Transit Togetherness Pride Caucus of ATU Local 758, because I’m LGBTQ+ myself, and because fighting for workers means fighting for all workers, no exceptions, no asterisks.
LGBTQ+ families in LD 2 face real threats right now, to their healthcare, their kids’ right to learn in a safe school, and their basic dignity in the workplace. These aren’t culture war abstractions. They’re people I know. People I am.
In Olympia, I’ll oppose any legislation that targets LGBTQ+ people, full stop. I’ll stand against discrimination in housing, employment, and healthcare. And I’ll fight to make sure every school in LD 2 is a place where every kid, no matter who they are or who their family is, feels safe and valued.
This is who I am. This is what I stand for.
This District Is My Home
I’m married to Brandi Cody-Dehnel. We’re parents to Erica (27), Lucy (24), and Benjamin (21), and proud grandparents to Carter (6). This isn’t abstract to me. Your roads are my roads. Your schools are where kids like mine grew up. Your hospital, or the lack of one close by, is something I worry about too.
I know what it’s like to live more than an hour from the nearest Level 1 Trauma Center. I know what it means when rural schools are underfunded and teachers are burning out. These aren’t problems I read about. They’re problems I live alongside you every single day.
Why I’m Running
I’m running because the people of LD2 deserve a representative who answers to working families, not lobbyists, not special interests, not party insiders.
You deserve fully funded schools where every student gets real attention and every teacher earns a living wage. You deserve access to healthcare that doesn’t require a two-hour round trip. And you deserve infrastructure that actually works.
Our roads and bridges are aging. Too many families in LD2 deal with crumbling pavement, unreliable internet access, and transit gaps that make getting to work, or the doctor, or the grocery store, harder than it needs to be. Rural communities aren’t a second priority. We pay taxes too, and we deserve investment that shows it. In Olympia, I’ll fight for infrastructure funding that reaches every corner of this district, not just the places that are easiest to reach.
I’m not running to build a career in politics. I’m running because the work isn’t done, and you deserve someone who will never stop fighting for you.