Nate Sanford

Nate Sanford is a reporter for Cascade PBS and KNKX. A Murrow news fellow, he covers policy and political power dynamics with an emphasis on the issues facing young adults in Washington. Contact him at nsanford@knkx.org.

Latest work

News

What happens to money set aside for unused Democracy Vouchers?

Sometimes vouchers are pledged to a candidate who doesn’t make it through the primary before spending them. Here’s where those donations go.

Nate Sanford Sep 8, 2025

Politics

Democracy Vouchers limited to D5 in Seattle’s 2026 election

Next year, only residents in Seattle’s District 5 will get Democracy Vouchers, after Seattle’s Elections and Ethics Commission

Nate Sanford Sep 4, 2025

News

The Newsfeed: Records show broad ChatGPT use by WA city officials

A Cascade PBS/KNKX investigation found that AI was used to help write emails to constituents, mayoral letters and other government communications.

Paris Jackson Shannen Ortale Nate Sanford Aug 29, 2025

News

Washington cities’ AI policies play catch-up as officials embrace new tech

Adoption outpaces guardrails as AI use raises ethical questions and rules are still being written — sometimes with help from ChatGPT.

Nate Sanford Aug 27, 2025

News

Washington city officials are using ChatGPT for government work

Records show that public servants have used generative AI to write emails to constituents, mayoral letters, policy documents and more.

Nate Sanford Aug 26, 2025