The political playhouse is about to get thinned out following the Tuesday primary election.
Ballots for the mail-only primary election must be postmarked by Tuesday, Aug. 17 and the results will decide what two candidates will line up against each other in races in the 47th and 5th districts.
The state now uses the top-two primary, which means the two legislative candidates in each race with the most votes move on to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. Races with two candidates are listed on the primary ballot, which allows voters to write-in a candidate.
The 47th State House race for Position No. 1 has drawn a considerable amount of attention with incumbent Democrat Rep. Geoff Simpson, D-Covington, facing two Republican challengers, Nancy Wyatt and Mark Hargrove.
Simpson, a firefighter with the Kent Fire Department who has been serving in the Legislature 10 years, was charged by the Seattle City Prosecutor with gross misdemeanor assault for a May 22 domestic violence incident at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Simpson was arraigned in Judge Kimi Kondo’s Seattle municipal courtroom July 26. He filed a plea of not guilty. His pretrial hearing is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 16.
He also faced domestic-violence charges during the 2008 campaign. Covington Prosecutor Thomas Hargan dropped the charges without prejudice May 28, 2008.
Hargrove ran against Simpson two years ago and lost.
Simpson received 27,439, about 53 percent and Hargorve 24,707, about 47 percent.
Simpson lists his priorities as strengthening the economy, supporting small business and creating family-wage jobs.
Hargrove is a Boeing flight instructor whose focus is cutting government spending and helping businesses in the state.
Wyatt is a first-time candidate who served as president of the Covington Chamber of Commerce and is currently the president of the Auburn Chamber of Commerce.
She is campaigning on fiscal restraint in state government and job creation.
In the Position No. 2 State House race in the 47th, Democrat Rep. Pat Sullivan is seeking re-election to a third term.
Republican Rodrigo Yanez is challenging Sullivan. Yanez describes himself as a business owner specializing in exporting northwest agricultural products. He wrote in his statement he is troubled with taxing small business and working families to protect government jobs.
Sullivan outlines his commitment to making government more efficient and cheaper. He pointed to his opposition to raising the sales tax and education reforms he supported in the Legislature.
The 47th District Senate race features Sen. Claudia Kauffman, a Democrat, seeking a second term.
She is being challenged by Republican Joe Fain, who is chief of staff for King County Councilman Pete von Reichbauer. Fain is campaigning on less government spending.
Kauffman outlines the need to control spending and help families and special-needs children.
In the 5th District race for Position No. 2 in the State House, Republican Glenn Anderson is seeking a fifth term. He is facing challenges from two Democrats, David Spring and Dean Willard.
Spring describes himself as a small business owner who lives in North Bend. He is campaigning on helping schools and rebuilding the economy.
He ran against and lost to Anderson in 2008. Anderson won with 51 percent, 35,913 votes and Spring had 48 percent, 33,712.
Willard was a vice president at T-Mobile and is now an information technology consultant. He plans to focus on creation of new business and reforming schools.
Anderson is a business management consultant who supports economic reform and points to his record of voting against raising taxes.
Position No. 1 in the State House has two candidates. Republican Rep. Jay Rodne is seeking re-election.
Gregory Hoover, a Democrat, is challenging. Hoover is a small business owner who wants to change the partisan bickering in Olympia and believes full funding of education should be the Legislature’s top priority.
Rodne stated the Legislature cannot keep spending and he plans to fight tax increases and overspending. He also cites the need to rise above partisan politics.
Reach Dennis Box at dbox@covingtonreporter.com or 425-432-1209 ext. 5050.
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