Community Government

26th District Position 2: Katy Cornell, Renee Hernandez Greenfield seek vacant House seat

Katy Cornell and Renee Hernandez Greenfield are running to replace Republican Rep. Michelle Valdez (née Caldier) as the Position 2 representative for the 26th Legislative District. In addition to the short interviews below, Gig Harbor Now published a Q&A with the two candidates about major issues. Find the Q&A here.

Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters may drop their ballots in ballot boxes by the end of the day on Nov. 3, or send them through the mail, as long as it is postmarked by Nov. 3. Voters can find a map of all 57 Pierce County ballot boxes here.

Katy Cornell

Katy Cornell grew up in Port Orchard. She serves on the Gig Harbor Planning Commission and founded both Victory Blueprint Group, a political consulting company, and Walk In Our Light, a religious nonprofit that builds wells and performs humanitarian work in the West African nation of Burkina Faso.

She said this work taught her “that throwing money at problems isn’t enough.” The key to effective leadership and a better future is cooperative governance “to address root causes, change policies and systems that contribute to problems, demand accountability, and create lasting solutions,” she said.

“Our mission has always been about empowering local leaders and creating sustainable solutions,” she said. “One of my greatest lessons has been seeing how government policies and systemic problems can impact communities for generations. Behind every policy are real people and families.”

Katy Cornell

Cornell and her husband Tom Cornell are also pastors at SOZO Church in Tacoma. Several social media users have posted videos of both Cornells speaking about their work and beliefs.

In one video, Katy Cornell states that abortion “is murder,” even in the case of rape. In another, Cornell and her husband discuss handing out Bibles to Muslim children. These children allegedly told the Cornells that they have to hide them from their families, because their parents do not want them reading the Bible. Cornell states as a policy platform that she believes in parental rights. Tom Cornell has also stated that practices such as yoga and Hinduism are “witchcraft.”

When asked about these statements, and whether she agrees with her husband, Cornell said that her statements about abortion were made in a church setting and not statements intended for public policy. She said she would not support legislation that would undermine voter-approved ballot measures, including Initiative 120, the Reproductive Privacy Act. The 1991 initiative declares that “every woman has the fundamental right to choose or refuse to have an abortion.” 

Cornell also said that she has “been saddened by political attacks that try to make my faith the issue. I’m not running to impose my beliefs on anyone, and I’m not a Christian nationalist.”

She did not address her husband’s statements about Hinduism and yoga.

Cornell said that constituents want “practical solutions that help keep businesses from closing, protect children from fentanyl, improve public safety, and make life more affordable.” She also said that she values transparency and potential conflicts of interest seriously. It is why, she said, she “intentionally chose not to use my consulting company to manage my own campaign because I wanted to maintain a clear separation between my business and my candidacy.”

She also said that she respects voters’ rights to ask how she will serve them, and encouraged voters to get in touch with her.

“The separation of church and state protects everyone’s freedom,” she said. She said that, if she is elected, she will “make decisions based on the Constitution, the law, the needs of the district, and my responsibility to protect everyone’s rights, not on imposing personal beliefs.”

She said in an email to Gig Harbor Now that people are welcome to call her at her personal number, (360) 216-7400.

Renee Hernandez Greenfield

Renee Hernandez Greenfield has lived in the 26th District for more than two decades after moving here as part of a military family. She has worked in early childhood education, Tribal child welfare and family services. She currently works at Holly Ridge Center in Bremerton.

Hernandez Greenfield was also one of three finalists Pierce and Kitsap county leaders considered for an appointment to the district’s state Senate seat after Emily Randall won election to Congress.

Hernandez Greenfield said she recognizes the importance of responsible growth across the district. However, “solutions need to reflect the communities they serve. When our towns build enough homes, we can create more opportunities for families to live near jobs and services while reducing  pressure to develop farmland and forests.”

Renee Hernandez Greenfield

She also emphasized that she is “cautious about statewide rules that ignore local conditions. Much of the Key Peninsula relies on septic systems and wells, and housing policies need to account for those realities while preserving the rural character of the community.”

She also said her career experience shows that early learning can be in difficult times. If elected, she would “put early learning on a footing that is much harder to cut in a bad year by expanding the constitutional definition of basic education to include children ages two to five. That turns ECEAP and childcare from programs the Legislature can trim into an obligation it has to fund.”