Friday, October 2, 2026
The Thurston County Assessor’s race in the Aug. 4 Primary Election features two candidates who know their way around local government.
Lynda Nashed Zeman and JJ Olson, have been around local government for a while with one candidate having previously served as a city council member and the other having spent a decade working for the county.
Each of the candidates will advance to the Nov. 3 General Election, given the top two contestants in partisan office races move on, as per state law.
The winner in November will be “responsible for identifying, locating, and fairly valuing all real or personal property within the county for tax purposes,” according to a job description posted on the county’s website.
The position carries an annual salary of $147,936 and four-year term.
Lynda Nashed Zeman (Democrat): She currently serves in an executive administrative role with the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners Chair. As a former Lacey City Council member, she worked directly with residents, businesses and regional partners on issues ranging from public services to community investment. For three years, she provided executive administrative services in the Thurston County Accessor’s Office by supporting core operations like strategic budgeting and financial oversight. Zeman also serves as Vice President of the International Association of Assessing Officers West Puget Sound Chapter.
Zeman is involved in several community organizations, such as the Zonta Club of Olympia, Rotary Club of Hawks Prairie and the Thurston County Democrats
JJ Olson (Democrat): He has spent more than a decade working various jobs inside the Thurston County Assessor’s Office. Olson is currently the Business Applications Administrator at the Assessor’s Office, where he oversees the appraisal and tax software systems. He also sees calculations on over 120,000 parcels with $66 billion in assessed value, and the calculation of over $650 million in property taxes annually. Olson has a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Management from St. Martin’s University. He received his Washington State Real Property Assessment Accreditation in 2016.
Olson is involved in the local soccer community, having played for and coached FC Olympia. He’s also a member of the International Association of Assessing Officers.
Voting is underway for the Aug. 4 Primary Election. The Thurston County Auditor’s Elections Division mailed out more than 207,000 ballots to registered voters about two weeks ago.
Any registered voter who thinks they should have received a ballot but hasn’t as of yet, should contact the Elections Division at 360-786-5408 or elections@co.thurston.wa.us, said the auditor's office in an announcement.
The Elections Division has also opened 31 secure ballot drop boxes. A list of ballot drop boxes and addresses is included in mailed ballot materials, but can also be found here. Drop boxes are open until 8 p.m. on Aug. 4.
The Elections Division is a designated voting center during business hours. Voters may register to vote, update their current registration, obtain a ballot, or use a voting assistance device at the Voting Center.
The Elections Division Voting Center is located at 2915 29th Ave. SW in Tumwater.
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TheVirtualOne
This one’s a no brainer - JJ Olson knows the ins and outs of the assessors office.
Wednesday, July 29 Report this
Hailey
I’d feel like kind of a jagoff if I wasn’t a licensed appraiser/assessor and decided that I still had the audacity to be a VP for an org for that profession. But maybe that’s just me.
Thursday, July 30 Report this
vloveland
I took a look at their endorsements. This position is important for Housing in Thurston County.
I chose the one that Indivisible endorsed. They have my respect. She also had a plethora of respected endorsements.
And I've learnt to be cautious of people using their family church photo as an ad. Some of the most unscrupulous people can be found in the leadership of church society.
Monday, August 3 Report this
vloveland
Following up, it's not so much church - as church clothes in the kitchen on Jj's page. Not sure why that puts me on alert.
In the end, the endorsements helped me decide
Monday, August 3 Report this