The Olympia Standard
The Olympia Standard
The Olympia Standard
A podcast about politics in Olympia, WA
#163: General Election Preview
What has changed in the sheriff and commissioner race since August? What can we expect after the ballot turn in deadline next week? These questions and more will be answered by our expert panel of Daniel Garcia, Robin Vazquez and Jeff DeLuca as they preview the November General Election.
Oct 29
30 min
#162: Thurston County Assessor Candidates
Daniel and Jeff sit down with county assessor candidates Lynda Zeman and JJ Olson to talk about the role of the office and their visions for leading it.
Oct 17
39 min
#161: Thurston County Clerk Candidates
Daniel Garcia and Jeff DeLuca sit down with Thurston County clerk candidates Nicole Miller and Garrett Cady. They discuss the role of the office in our justice system and how it can survive in tough budget times.
Oct 3
51 min
#160: Timberland Regional Library Levy
In our first episode of this general election campaign season, Daniel talks with Brent Caron of the Timberland Library workers union and Rachel Martin of the TRL Patrons group to talk about the Library Levy Lid Lift.
Sep 5
39 min
#159: 2026 Primary Election Review
Host Daniel Garcia is joined by expert panelists Jeff DeLuca and Robin Vasquez to unpack the Thurston County election results. Together, they analyze key takeaways, explore what the outcomes mean for the upcoming November general election, and break down county-level races (including sheriff, assessor, commissioner, and clerk) alongside key legislative contests.
Aug 22
28 min
#158: How Does Lakefair Fit in Olympia?
Everyone has an opinion about Lakefair, and we drive directly into that every summer discussion. We talk with former and current business owners downtown and with Neil Turner, who ran Lakefair this year. What is the point of Lakefair, what was it intended to be? Can Lakefair be better for our city?
Aug 8
22 min
#157: Live with Sofie Landis, Sam Miller and Olympia’s Kid Mayor
We returned to the porch at 3 Magnets this summer to do our now traditional (3 out of 4 years!) Live Show. We welcomed Sofie Landis of Sofie’s Scoops, Sam Miller and Harriet Rambo, who served as Mayor for the Day earlier this year. We talked about the state of downtown, how Sam translates the real state of our city into comedy and we did a quiz show!
Jul 25
41 min
#156: The 2026/27 Olympia School District budget
Erika Lari from OSD4All is back on the podcast, this time walking us through the dynamics around the current budget recently approved by the Olympia School District.
Jul 11
25 min
#155: O-POP and the New Olympia
Over the last ten years or so, Olympia has led the pack in local governments in Washington State in reversing course on decades of restrictive zoning. Behind that movement has been Olympians for People Orientated Places. This week, we sit down with Holly Gadbaw and Janae Huber. They are two of O-POP’s founders and are now looking back at a decade of history as they move on from the organization.
Jun 27
36 min
#154: Crisis at the Library
This week, we bring you two interviews. The first with two trustees of the Timberland Regional Library and the president of the Timberland union. We discuss the financial crisis the district found its way into earlier this year and how the district can get out. Background:Regional library cuts 25% of staff in South Sound layoffs. Here’s what to know Gloves off baby!’: Messages between two top TRL administrators stoke public outrage The Deep History and Structural Mismatch of Timberland Regional Library The Timberland Regional Library doesn’t face a stand-off, it faces some sort of evolution
Jun 13
52 min
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