Community Government

Cannabis entrepreneur Wetherbee enters 26th District race

A third candidate plans to run for the state House seat in Washington’s 26th Legislative District currently held by Rep. Michelle Valdez, R-Gig Harbor.

Tedd Wetherbee, a Democrat from Gig Harbor, announced in a press release earlier this month he would run for the district’s Position 2 House seat. Wetherbee billed himself as a father and small business owner who understands the local economy and how rising costs are harming families.

“I’m running because I believe our community deserves leadership that understands real life and what it takes to run a business, support a family, and plan for the future,” he said in a statement. “Too often, decisions are made without enough input from the people living with the consequences.”

Tedd Wetherbee

Swing district

The 26th Legislative District includes Gig Harbor, the Key Peninsula, Port Orchard and part of Bremerton. It is one of only two Washington legislative districts represented by members of both parties. Races in the 26th are typically expensive and competitive.

Valdez, née Caldier, held one of the district’s two state House seats since 2014. She announced in February that she would not seek a seventh term. Three candidates – two Democrats and a Republican – plan to campaign for her position.

Wetherbee, owner of a chain of marijuana dispensaries in Pierce County called The Galley, joins fellow Democrat Renee Hernandez Greenfield and Republican Katy Cornell, whom Valdez endorsed. 

Early fundraising

As of April 14, Wetherbee had already raised more than $53,000 in campaign donations, according to state filings. That gives him an early advantage over Hernandez Greenfield, at nearly $31,000. Cornell has raised about $73,000.

In a phone interview, Wetherbee called the donations “significant” and the result of a reputation he built as a business owner and nearly two-decade Gig Harbor resident.

Wetherbee, 58, said he has advocated in Olympia on behalf of the cannabis industry for over a decade. He said the experience provided him with insight into the legislative process and its shortcomings.

“I came to realize a lot of the elected officials we have in office right now don’t really have a lot of experience in small business,” he said. “They certainly don’t have knowledge of the cannabis industry.” 

Forefront of recreational marijuana

Wetherbee said he was among the first business owners in the state licensed to sell recreational marijuana after legalization in 2012. But regulations from Pierce County and its cities created road blocks to opening.

According to past media reports, Wetherbee defied a Pierce County ban on pot shops. He sued the city of Fife after it denied him a business license and filed a tort claim against the city of Gig Harbor, requesting $3.5 million in damages.

In recent years, Wetherbee said he has focused on advocating against an excise tax hike and legalization of cannabis delivery and consumption lounges. He argued both would be difficult to regulate and harmful for the industry.

Aside from supporting small business, Wetherbee said his top focus if elected would be on affordability and cost of living, access to health care and preservation of civil liberties for women and LGBTQ+ people.

“It’s not my desire to work for a pension or a seat,” he said. “I don’t intend on going to Olympia and being an ideologue, hard fixed on my own thoughts. I want to focus on what the people of this community need.”

Other 26th district races

The race between Wetherbee, Hernandez Greenfield  and Cornell is one of three legislative elections this fall in the 26th. 

Rep. Adison Richards, D-Gig Harbor, faces Republican David Olson, a Peninsula School District board member who ran for superintendent of Washington schools in 2024. 

In the Senate, Gig Harbor restaurant owner Gary Parker is running as a Republican against Deb Krishnadasan, D-Gig Harbor.

The primary election is Aug. 4.