State Rep. candidates speak their piece at Kent forum

The Kent Chamber of Commerce conducted its annual election forum at a luncheon Oct. 17 at the Holiday Inn, 22318 84th Ave. S., Kent.

Seven candidates vying for state representative seats in the 33rd and 47th districts participated in the forum, which attracted approximately 90 members of the Kent business community. There are two seats up for election in each of the two districts.

The 33rd District encompasses most of Kent, as well as Des Moines, Normandy Park, Burien and Seatac. The 47th District includes Covington, Black Diamond and parts of Auburn, as well as the Kent East Hill and unincorporated areas east of Kent.

Candidates at the forum were: Democrat Tina Orwall and Republican Todd Gibson (for 33rd District, Pos. 1); incumbent Democrat Rep. Dave Upthegrove (for 33rd District, Pos. 2); Republican hopeful Mark Hargrove and incumbent Democrat Rep. Geoff Simpson (for 47th District, Pos. 1); and incumbent Democrat Rep. Pat Sullivan and Republican challenger Timothy Miller (for 47th District, Pos. 2). Republican candidate Tan Lam of Kent, who is challenging Upthegrove for his 33rd District seat, was unable to attend the forum.

The chamber asked candidates to weigh in on five topics: transportation spending, cutting back the state budget, funding the Green River Levee repairs, Washington’s business-friendly reputation, and the education system.

• Transportation

When it came to transportation, the Republican candidates, all new this year to politics, cited traffic congestion as one of the top concerns of people they’d talked to in the community, and said that it would be one of their top priorities if elected.

The Democrats, all incumbents save for Orwall, gave varied answers on the transportation issue. Sullivan advocated breaking construction projects down into bite-sized projects - like the 167/405 interchange - that could be jointly funded by the state and affected counties. Simpson said that safety and preservation of existing roads had to come before congestion relief. Upthegrove said that state needs to invest in a “freight-mobility project,” and should lobby for federal funds and institute broad-based tolling to accomplish it. Orwall had no definitive answer, but said she would “work closely with community leaders to see what are the priorities.”

• Budget

When asked how they’d pare down the state budget in the face of a projected deficit, most of the candidates gave generalized answers — saying that they would retain funding for the “priorities of government,” such as education and safety, and then look for other areas to cut.

The only cut-and-dried answer to the question came from Upthegrove, who said he would impose a hiring freeze, cut funds for out-of-state travel, and make a 1 percent, across-the-board cut to agencies excepting law enforcement. All of which, he added, Gov. Christine Gregoire has done already.

• Levee repairs

Candidates answers varied - or simply weren’t given finished in the allotted one minute - for many of the issues. For a few questions, though, the candidates answered almost unanimously. All but one, for example, supported the idea of using state funds to help rebuild the Green River Levee.

Miller, who is challenging incumbent Sullivan for Position 2 in the 47th District, said he would support state spending on the levee because the consequences of a flood in the manufacturing areas of the Kent Valley would “devastate our state’s economy.”

Sullivan, D-Covington, also supported state spending for the project, saying the state had “learned a lesson from what happened in Lewis County,” in regard to the flooding and massive mud slides that hit the region last year. She recommended the state work together with both the federal government and King County agencies to get the work done.

The lone candidate to voice concern about the state helping with a federal project was political newcomer Hargrove, running as the Republican candidate for Position 1 in the 47th District. Acknowledging that funding for the levee is “kind of a new issue to me,” Hargrove said “I’m not sure that we can be asking Spokane to give up some of its projects to pay for Kent.” He concluded that he would “have to research and get a little smarter on (that issue)” before giving a definitive answer.

•Climate for Business

Another thing that nearly everyone agreed on was that small businesses in Washington are hurting, and that part of the blame for their troubles lies in the state’s B&O (business and occupation) tax. The tax charges businesses based on their gross income, regardless of whether or not the business has made any net profit.

“The B&O tax is an unfair tax,” said Simpson, a Democrat who currently holds Position 2 in the 47th District. He added that in spite of that tax, the Legislature has “worked hard to make Washington a business-friendly state.”

Republican candidates Gibson and Miller both advocated taxing businesses on net income, rather than gross.

Upthegrove, who holds Position 2 in the 33rd District, was the only candidate to speak in uncompromisingly positive tones about the state’s business climate. “We’ve improved our regulatory climate; we’ve invested in transportation infrastructure; we’re doing the things that need to be done, and we’re seeing results,” he said. He did not mention the B&O tax.

• State’s record with schools

On the topic of education, everyone said that there was at the least “room for improvement” in Washington’s policies, though opinions differed as to how much improvement the state needed to make.

Incumbent Simpson acknowledged that “any aspect of government can be improved,” but maintained Washington is going in the right direction regarding education. Hargrove, Simpson’s opponent, disagreed, citing as an example one case of which he personally was aware. “Last year an art teacher had to teach math at Auburn High School,” he said. “That didn’t go so well.” Hargrove’s wife and two daughters all teach or coach at Auburn schools, he said.

Orwall, a mother of two children in the Highline School District, came out strongly against the state’s handling of public education. “I think we have a lot of work ahead of us,” she said, citing the state’s poor ranking nationally in per pupil spending. “Our kids need to be learning more math and science.”

For more information about each of the candidates, visit www.secstate.wa.gov and click on the “Voters’ Pamphlet Online” icon.

State Representative Candidates at a Glance

• 33rd District, Pos. 1

Democrat: Tina Orwall of Normandy Park. www.electtinaorwall.com.

Republican: Todd Gibson of Normandy Park. www.votetoddgibson.com.

(The current office-holder, Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, D-Normandy Park, announced earlier this year that she would not seek reelection after completing her fifth term in office.)

• 33rd District, Pos. 2

Democrat: Incumbent Rep. Dave Upthegrove of Des Moines. www.upthegrove.com.

Republican: Tan Lam of Kent. www.tancares.com.

• 47th District, Pos. 1

Democrat: Incumbent Rep. Geoff Simpson of Covington. www.votesimpson.com.

Republican: Mark Hargrove of Covington. www.markhargrove.com.

• 47th District, Pos. 2

Democrat: Incumbent Rep. Pat Sullivan of Covington. www.votepatsullivan.com.

Republican: Timothy Miller of Auburn. www.millerforchange.com.

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