Nine candidates are running for one of two 1st Legislative District House of Representative seats. The Reporter has compiled their platforms from campaign websites and articles from the Everett Daily Herald and Reporter files.
Position 1
Neil Thannisch (R)
Thannisch’s main objective is to address transportation issues like congestion along Interstate 405. He sees current government solutions as an attempt at social engineering and unfairly taxing commuters.
He said he will work towards increasing travel efficiency.
Thannisch also said he would like to see the state budget stretched while still meeting needs for children and the elderly.
“I embrace the ideals of the U.S. Constitution where our government is to be a more perfect union, establishing justice, insuring domestic tranquility, providing for common defense, promoting general welfare, and securing the blessing of liberty,” he said in a post on his website. “A government like this will be easier to manage, more economical to fund, and far less intrusive than a bigger government.”
Brian M. Travis (R)
Travis is running on a platform to repeal all tolls on state freeways and bridges and converting all toll lanes to carpool lanes.
He also hopes to repeal and replace the Business and Occupation tax which is charged to a business’s gross sales, replacing it with a corporate income tax.
He support the rights of teachers to have the option of negotiating directly the terms and conditions of their employment with the districts and institutions they work for without the pressure, interference and intimidation of their union bosses. He also believes the legislature should ignore the state Supreme Court’s McCleary ruling which mandates fully funded education in favor of working with school districts independently.
He also supports a state constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds vote of both the house and senate to raise taxes, using market forces to reduce housing prices, repeal the ‘Certificate of Need’ requirements for hospitals and clinics and elevating the WSDOT commissioner to a cabinet level position that requires voter approval.
Derek Stanford (D)
Incumbent Derek Stanford will be running on a platform to more fully fund public education by supporting early learning, local control of schools, simplify testing and recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers.
He also hopes to secure additional transportation funds to combat congestion on area freeways.
Stanford also hopes to strengthen local economies around the state, and points to his support of Buy Washington laws which give local and state companies first crack at government contracts, as well as the Public Works Trust Fund and Community Economic Revitalization Board.
He has worked as vice chair of the Capitol Budget Committee to save open spaces and recreation areas, and supported the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program and state parks, work he hopes to continue.
Kazuaki Sugiyama (D)
No information was available online and requests for comment were not returned by deadline.
Position 2
Aaron Moreau-Cook (D)
Moreau-Cook is focusing his campaign on reviewing government programs on a regular basis to increase accountability.
He also hopes to meet expectations set by the McCleary decision by reforming funding mechanisms, where districts with lower tax bases receive funding from wealthier districts as well as implementing a progressive tax system.
Moreau-Cook supports the Buffett rule which would keep the the wealthiest residents paying a tax rate not lower than middle class families as well as removing corporate tax exemptions, moving Business and Operations taxes from gross receipts to profit-based taxes and adoption of a tax expenditure budget for taxes and revenues.
He is also a supporter of paid family leave, raising the minimum wage to $13.50 in line with Initiative 1433, supports LGBTQ rights and ending daylight saving time.
Kyoko Matsumoto Wright (D)
Wright said it will be hard to know how much money is available for the next budget until education is funded in accordance with McCleary, which she will focus on.
She also hopes to focus on the economy and environment, as well as housing and transportation.
Increasing the budget for human services and aiding the homeless population are also high on her to-do list.
She said her background in real estate gives her an understanding of how problems associated with housing and transportation work, and hopes to tackle both.
Shelley Kloba (D)
Kloba is focusing on education funding, affordable housing, health care access and environmental issues.
She hopes to bring the state into accordance with the McCleary ruling, creating a real estate excise and demolition tax to help address regional housing shortages.
Kloba has earned endorsements from both Luis Moscoso and Derek Stanford.
She has also been an advocate for parks and open spaces and increasing access for residents to access health care.
Affordable housing in the region is a problem she also hopes to tackle if elected.
She is a sitting member on the Kirkland City Council and has been involved in the Eastside Human Services Forum, the King County Domestic Violence Initiative, the King County Cities Climate Collaboration and the King County Board of Health.
Jim Langston (R)
Langston is running on funding public education and thinks representatives should be open to evaluating options, understanding the effects and moving forward with what is selected.
He will focus on reducing congestion with an eye towards meeting the needs of car commuters. He says solutions that take 20 years will not meet the problems of today’s traffic.
As a business owner he thinks tax increases and throwing money at problems are not the right answers. He hopes to fight ‘spend-and-tax’ thinking and hopes to see the state stay within a budget.
Darshan Rauniyar (D)
Rauniyar will work towards reducing congestion on area roads and bringing the area into focus for the state legislature.
He supports bringing light rail to the area and fixing choke points up and down I-405, State Route 522 and State Route 9.
He also plans on prioritizing public school funding in accordance with the McCleary decision. He hopes to bring his negotiating skills to Olympia to fix transporation, public education funding and fiscal responsibility issues.
