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PLATFORM AND POLICY
Building Washington's Promise of Opportunity:
John knows the economic challenges too many in the district face and his primary goal is to make the 18th District a place all constituents will be proud to call home. He will work to ensure we bring new, workable solutions to build a thriving economic hub for rural, suburban, and urban constituents with innovative and practical projects. He will advocate for investment in education to provide training and career pathways for teachers, nurses, mental health specialists, trades, and more. He will fight to reduce the financial tax burden on the working & professional classes by ensuring those who profit most from public investments pay their fair share.
Housing Opportunity:
Affordable, accessible, & safe housing makes for successful communities that attract more investment. We need to think innovatively as we address this critical issue here in Clark County and across our state. John will create incentives for constructing more sustainable buildings and work with local officials for reasonable zoning changes. John will work to keep rent stable so that people will not be priced out of their homes, and give people predictability to save or to retire in place. Younger generations are also having new housing expectations that we can all benefit from, this includes creating more middle housing, more walkable communities, better access to public transportation, & more multi-generational housing.
Protecting & Expanding Healthcare Access:
John knows the burden that so many families face with medical debt. He's seen his students, and their families, deal with it. He himself went through it when he shattered his leg skiing. John will advocate for moving us towards a healthcare-for-all system. Universal healthcare helps encourage innovation and entrepreneurship when it is disentangled from employment. Accessible and affordable healthcare is a human right and a public good. John will advocate for changes to ensure it is available to all Washingtonians.
Improving Education:
Our Washington State Constitution calls education our “paramount duty,” but we can do more to make sure this is happening. John wants to make sure our children attend schools in safe, healthy, & modernized buildings. That means lowering the bond percentage to at least 55%, but preferably a simple majority. As an award-winning classroom teacher, John knows first-hand the success of innovative public school programs. Let’s expand Career and Technical Education, Running Start, and magnet programs like Cascadia Tech, Vancouver School of Arts and Academics (VSAA), Vancouver iTech Prep. John will use his “teacher voice,” in Olympia to ensure our state upholds its "duty," to fully fund schools, including special education services.
Protecting Our Environment:
Ensuring Access to Abortion:
A national abortion ban is a stated Republican priority, and John will help Washington state in the fight against the ban and strengthen its position as a leader in reproductive healthcare for all.
Strengthening Crime Prevention Strategies:
John will push for upstream vs. downstream care to help prevent the cycle of opportunity and violent crime. He will work with law enforcement and the community to deploy social workers and counselors in appropriate situations, use evidence-based de-escalation practices in policing, and be a partner on sensible gun safety measures.
Southwest Washington is currently experiencing a child care crisis that burdens families, operators, and employers. Families are struggling with high costs and low availability while providers are struggling to cover operating costs. Employers are losing qualified parents who want to work, but cannot afford it. Evidence shows that early learning experiences are critical for children under the age of 5. John believes that access to affordable, high quality child care should be available for all Washingtonians. He wants to continue the momentum established by the Fair Start for Kids Act and expand it to provide more support for children, families, and care providers. He would support establishing subsidy rates based on a cost model, rather than on a market rate survey to ensure that the true cost of providing quality child care that meets regulatory health and safety standards is met. He is open to collaborating on innovative solutions and wants to create a sustainable, inclusive, and accessible child care system for all families in SW Washington and across the state.
Improving Infrastructure with Homegrown Jobs:
We are on our way to building the new I-5 bridge but, because of delays and partisan bickering, the project has become more expensive. John will support investment in this critical project that will bring jobs and infrastructure improvements to the 18th and will propose sunsetting tolls once the bridge is paid for, providing subsidies for working people under a certain income to cover the tolls. John also recognizes the necessity of reliable lightrail and will support adding public transportation that is efficient.
Improving Access to Affordable, High-Quality Childcare:
The 18th District is home to mountain and territorial views, forested preserves, and verdant valleys that all constituents value. Preserving our natural environment and the necessities it provides for all of us is a strong value of John’s, but the working people of the 18th should not be paying the most for problems created by the fossil fuel industry. John will hold the industries who’ve continued to reap record profits accountable and responsible for investing in solutions.
Progress.
Problem Solving.
Working Together.
Progress.
Problem Solving.
Working Together.
ELECT JOHN ZINGALE.
ELECT JOHN ZINGALE.
John has spent more than a decade teaching public school here in Vancouver. He has won numerous awards for his dedication and innovation in the classroom. He has also presented in front of regional and national organizations of teachers about the implementation of various teaching strategies and technological advancements in the classroom.
“My job is to inspire kids and show them the connection between history and life. I literally love everything that I do. Being in the classroom around kids has inspired my decision to run because I want to teach them that they can make a difference in their community. Kids are the ones asking the tough questions about the future and we owe them answers about how we’re working to make it better.”
Zingale earned his Masters in Teaching from the University of Portland and his Bachelors Degree from Northern Illinois University. He oversees the school-wide National History Day Competition, runs field trips to Washington, D.C., and is a partner with the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site and the National Parks Service.
Before teaching, John began his work, and union career, in the grocery retail business. He started his 16+ year career at age 15 bagging groceries in Illinois for Jewel-Osco. He worked his way up the company ladder from bagger, to cashier, to grocery manager, etc., to become one of the youngest Assistant Store Directors in the chain before transferring and moving to the Pacific Northwest.
ABOUT JOHN
Awards & Recognitions
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Vancouver Public Schools PTSA Teacher of The Year (2023)
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Washington State National History Day Teacher of the Year (2022)
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The Sons of the American Revolution Washington State & National Middle School History Teacher of the Year (2020)
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Washington State History Teacher of the Year & National Finalist (2019)
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The Washington State Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching History (2017)