Nicholas Ton for Bellevue City Council Position 1 offers bold, people-centered leadership to a city that desperately needs it. Ton’s candidacy reflects lived experience as a renter, transit rider, and working-class resident — voices often missing in Bellevue policymaking. We didn’t get the impression he was running to be somebody or bee-line up the political ladder; he’s running to make the city a place where everyone can thrive, not just those who already have wealth and access.

Ton offers a clear, unapologetically urbanist vision: build housing that ordinary people can afford, expand safe and accessible transit, and shift the tax burden away from working families. He supports missing middle housing and is one of the few candidates in the race to vocally criticize the current council’s shameful inaction on housing and its deference to anti-change, degrowth voices over real community need. As a member of the Eastside Urbanism group, Ton understands that charm and “neighborhood character” shouldn’t come at the cost of affordability or inclusion.

He also speaks powerfully about mobility justice, calling out the council’s quiet abandonment of the Bike Bellevue plan and advocating for protected bike lanes, widened sidewalks, and real traffic calming — not buzzwords, but enforceable policies that prioritize safety. On public transit, Ton goes further than most: proposing free ORCA transit cards, fare-free buses, and redirecting funds from private ventures like BellHop toward public mobility infrastructure.

His platform centers economic justice — proposing municipal broadband and electricity, removing regressive utility taxes, and taxing luxuries like vacant homes and waterfront properties. He articulates a compelling public safety vision rooted in prevention: better schools, higher wages, and care over criminalization.

There are other candidates in this race, but none bring the same combination of grassroots experience, bold vision, and policy fluency. While consensus politics may be the default on the Bellevue Council, Ton is not afraid to speak truth and push for change — even when it’s uncomfortable.

Nicholas Ton represents the next generation of leadership — one willing to name the crises Bellevue faces and act decisively to address them. He’s the kind of councilmember who will fight  for a more just and livable city. The Urbanist enthusiastically endorses Nicholas Ton for Bellevue City Council Position 1.