Hi, thank you for visiting my page. My name is Brandon Kimmel, and this is a little bit about me.

I am originally from Pennsylvania, where I grew up in a small town with dirt roads, one-stoplight, and nothing to do but get into trouble. From 2002-2004, while I was in high school, I attended a vocational school for protective services. I gained valuable leadership qualities and experiences that changed my life forever. After meeting my wife, we both attended college together, studying criminal justice. I became a young but proud father to a beautiful baby girl who has now graduated and is attending college here in Washington. We didn't want her to grow up without a sibling, so we had our second minion, who fills my heart with joy every day.

Eventually, we decided that dirt roads and no opportunity weren’t the ideal place to raise our daughters, so we moved to Washington, where their mother is originally from. My first job here was at Alderwood Mall. I have lived and worked in Lynnwood for nine years now. I've struggled with hardships and worked long hours—two or more jobs. I've loved and lost. But I’ve gained everything. My twins from my second relationship are five years old now, and I couldn't be happier. But when there are ups, there are always downs in life. The pandemic and the defund police movement took a toll on us and my career, and then things started to fall apart. I lost  jobs due to layoffs and government mandates. My second most important relationship started slipping through my fingers. I was alone and doing everything I could to support myself, support my children, and get back on my feet.

One night, while I was sleeping in my car in a parking lot in Lynnwood, two people tried to break into my car at two in the morning. I grabbed a can of pepper spray, jumped out of my car, and scared them away. It never occurred to me that I could have been shot or stabbed. Everything I owned was in my car, and I couldn't lose any of it. I decided at that moment that I had to fight for survival. Instead of running back to Pennsylvania and leaving my kids, I decided to get to work. I opened my laptop and started a company with just enough money for the business license fees. And so, Asset Guard Solutions LLC was created—a protective services company.

Every day since, I have worked night after night after night for over three years, trying to survive and provide. I've met some wonderful and positive people living on the streets of Lynnwood. I befriended a woman who lived in a storage unit. She was working as a caregiver during the day but went home to a 4x8 metal storage unit with all she had left to her name. Not long ago, she reached out to me and let me know she made it into an apartment.

I had some of the best and funniest conversations with a woman living in a room at Motel 6 with three other people. She had such a unique and infectious laugh. I found a man in a dumpster one night and told him that a few weeks prior, I had read a story about a man who died when a garbage truck lifted the dumpster into the truck. I just didn't want the same thing to happen to him too. After climbing out, he looked at me strangely and replied, "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever told me." I complimented his altered lowrider bicycle, and since I was doing security at this location, he said he would respect the property and not come back. It's been a while, but I still see him riding around on that same bicycle.

Unfortunately, I haven't always had pleasant encounters on the streets. I've been threatened numerous times—people have told me they would kill me just because I politely asked them not to camp or do drugs around storefronts and buildings. Some of those threats came with weapons like a hammer, a machete, a bat, and a knife.

My decision to run for city council came months ago when I was sitting on my balcony and heard police sirens. Police raced past my building toward the food court at Alderwood Mall. I have worked in retail long enough to know something bad had happened. I quickly called my oldest daughter and made sure she wasn’t in the mall. She was safe—this time.

I learned later that a 13-year-old innocent girl lost her life in a place she thought—and we all thought—was safe. A place many of us visit, along with our friends and family. But this isn’t the first time a violent crime has occurred at this mall, and if we don’t make urgent changes immediately, the problems here will increase.

I am running for Lynnwood City Council, and I hope you will support me by following, joining, and voting this November.

Thank You,
Brandon Kimmel
Owner | Asset Guard Solutions
Lynnwood, WA 98036