One of several area state legislative races in which the incumbent is not seeking re-election, the contest for state representative in District 1, Position 2 appears to be wide open.
All in all, three political newcomers are trying to take the spot to be vacated by State Rep. Mark Ericks, D-Snohomish.
A former Bothell police chief, Ericks has been nominated to head the US Marshall Service for the Western District of Washington.
Of the three candidates vying to replace Ericks, Democrat Dave Griffin of Woodinville is possibly the most aggressive in promoting himself as a political outsider.
“My thinking is, why not get some fresh blood into the system?” said Griffin, who also was not shy in stating he recently was downsized out of a long-time management position with a local manufacturer. He said that situation gives him firsthand insight into current economic realities.
A second Democrat in the race, Luis Moscoso of Mountlake Terrace said he spent 30 years in public service before retiring last summer. He said it’s unusual for three political novices to be running for the same office. In terms of issues, Moscoso talked first about transportation questions before touching on economic topics.
“I’m an idealist,” he said, adding he would like to see the state helping as many people as possible, doing whatever it can to lend a hand. But Moscoso also added that, given the current economic climate, some programs may have to be reduced or eliminated.
A Bothell Republican, Heidi Munson may be the polar opposite of the other two candidates, particularly Moscoso. Both her comments and her Web site show a strong and unabashed conservative bent.
But Munson also talked about Republicans and Democrats formally coming together to set up mutual spending priorities. It’s an idea Munson borrowed from former gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi, now running for a US Senate seat. She said it’s an approach Rossi and even Democratic leaders trumpeted in the past, but which wasn’t even mentioned during the current budget crisis.
In a way, Griffin might agree with Munson’s suggested approach to state spending.
“The big thing to me is, there is no working together to get things done,” Griffin said, expressing frustration with what he sees as Olympia’s preoccupation with partisanship. On his Web site, he also talks about the legislature being stuck in a pattern of out-of-control spending and tax increases.
“It seems to me the legislature in Olympia doesn’t know or doesn’t want to address what the problems are,” Munson said regarding the budgetary approach of current office holders.
“It’s easy to blame the legislature,” Moscoso said, though he wasn’t directly responding to either Griffin or Munson. He described the state’s money woes as part of a national and even international recession.
“Some people call it a recession, I’d actually call it a depression,” he said. “Blaming people and being angry isn’t going to turn it around.”
Moscoso talked about raising revenues, but also added it’s unfortunate the current legislature looked to do that with taxes on pop and candy.
“We need to look at what we can cut or what kinds of taxes we can or should raise,” he said. But Moscoso also quickly added there may be no new taxes that will solve problems in the long run.
For her part, Munson came out squarely against the pop and candy tax and against new taxes in general.
“My focus will be on creating a sustainable budget,” she said, adding cuts in programming may be needed. She also mentioned privatizing state liquor sales and having state employees pay a larger share of their health-care costs. Munson said those higher premiums would put public employees on a more even footing with the private sector.
Griffin said much the same about the pop/candy tax, terming it “counterproductive.”
“We need to find a way to become more efficient,” he added. “If we have to talk about pinching pennies, then we need to do that.”
