Long-time state Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, who represents Bothell from the 1st Legislative District, announced earlier this month she will not be seeking reelection in November, prompting Rep. Luis Moscoso to seek her position.
McAuliffe served on the legislature for 23 years, and has endorsed Moscoso in his campaign.
The 75-year-old Democratic Senator originally ran on K-12 education platforms and served on the Northshore School Board of Directors for 14 years prior to her 1993 elections.
Business owner and Snohomish County Planning Commissioner Guy Palumbo is competing for the Senate position as a Democrat and Art Coday will run as a Republican.
Public Disclosure Commission reports showed that Palumbo has reportedly raised $45,500 through Friday with no spending. Moscoso will be able to use the money he had raised for a campaign for re-election to the House in his campaign for the Senate; Moscoso has reported raising $22,958 and spending $11,227. McAuliffe retired after raising $67,232 and spending $60,432; state law allows her to return the surplus to donors, give it to other candidates or give it to charity.
In turn, Kirkland City Councilwoman Shelly Kloba has announced that she will be running for Moscoso’s old seat, and said education funding, affordable housing, health care access and environmental issues will be key to her campaign.
“I have always had a very strong commitment to public service and I started out, as many do, with getting involved in my local PTA,” she said. “My eyes were opened that our education system was not meeting the needs of all children.”
If elected, Kloba said she will work in the legislature to bring the state into accordance with the McCleary ruling, where the state Supreme Court found public education was underfunded and began issuing daily fines against the state.
Shaping legislation which would create real estate excise and demolition taxes would be high on her list of priorities she said, citing a regional housing shortage.
Serving on the Kirkland City Council, Kloba said, has given her invaluable experience in governing, particularly dealing with state policies.
“City government is so interesting because it’s where the rubber hits the road,” she said. “All of the statewide policies, we’re the ones that end up implementing them.”
The 49-year-old Kirkland resident has a Bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Illinois and later graduated from the Seattle Massage School. She has also been active in the Washington State PTA, the Kirkland Park Board and the Lake Washington Schools Foundation.
Kloba has advocated for redevelopment in the Totem Lake and Park Place neighborhoods in Kirkland in a bid to create jobs.
Kloba was appointed to position 2 on the council in 2013 to fill a vacant seat, and was elected to the position later that year. Last year she beat out three challengers in an August election.
Kloba has already earned the endorsement of First District Representatives Derek Stanford and Luis Moscoso.
“I’ve had the chance to work with her a little bit as well and I think she’d do a great job representing the district,” Stanford said.
He cited perceived responsiveness to her constituents and advocacy for parks and open spaces and factors that contributed towards his endorsement.
The District encompasses northern Kirkland and the cities of Bothell, Mountlake Terrace, Brier and a large portion of south-central Snohomish County.
Everett Herlad writer Evan Smith contributed to this report.
