32nd District Candidates for state legislature at the PTA Council Forum

Standing, l to r, Art Coday, Cindy Ryu, Gary Gagliardi  
Seated, l to r, Maralyn Chase, David Baker, Ruth Kagi
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

The six candidates for the state legislature assured the crowd at the Shoreline PTA Council Candidate Forum on October 6 at the Shoreline Conference Center that they were all strong supporters of education and told their stories as proof.

Cindy Ryu talked about getting off the plane with her family when they arrived from Korea. Her father, she said, came to the US for a job, and to get a good education for his children. Cindy and all her siblings have advanced degrees.

Art Coday talked about being the oldest child of a widowed mother and going to work for years after high school to help support his family, then going to night school to get his degree and eventually getting an M.D. from Harvard.

In the race for the open Senate seat, Maralyn Chase talked about the importance of PTA and how her door was always open to education advocates. David Baker talked about being the son of a single mother, dropping out of high school, but eventually getting a doctorate.

Ruth Kagi talked about her background as a volunteer on the site council for Shorecrest, and as an advocate for children for many years with the League of Women Voters. Gary Gagliardi spoke of being in demand around the globe as a trainer and conference speaker.

Attendees at the forum listen intently
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

In the questions about solving the budget gap and dealing with the deficit, the candidates divided along predictable party lines with Republicans talking about fiscal responsibility and Democrats talking about protecting vulnerable citizens.

Cindy Ryu said the solution cannot be all cuts. Art Coday said that you have to diagnose the problems before creating solutions. Maralyn Chase talked about taxing intangible property. David Baker said you have to prioritize, realign spending, and make cuts. Ruth Kagi warned that if the initiatives pass, it could mean an additional 3-400 million out of the state revenue. Gary Gagliardi said the problem is not enough prosperity and we can't tax ourselves into prosperity.

Gary Gagliardi said that the budget solution is to privatize things being done by the State, get programs into the community, and work for cost efficiencies in state programs. Ruth Kagi responded that the state is already doing that. There are 1600 community contracts for child services but you still have to have state staff to oversee and manage them. She pointed out that the drug sentencing reform bill that she sponsored in 2002 is saving 59.2 million dollars a year.

Photo by Steven H. Robinson

Cindy Ryu said she wants to use her experience as mayor of Shoreline and president of the Chamber of Commerce. Art Coday said he wants to use his experience as a physician who sees primarily medicare and medicaid patients to overhaul the state programs.

Maralyn Chase said we need to have a balanced budget and pay attention to the environment, mentioning biodegradable bags as an example. David Baker pointed out that Kenmore, where he is currently mayor, is solvent, paid cash for its new city hall, but set aside three percent of every budget for human services.

The forum was sponsored by the Shoreline PTA Council, which represents all the PTAs in the Shoreline School District, and put on by the Council Legislation team.

The 32nd legislative district includes all of Shoreline, all of Lake Forest Park, the southwest area of Edmonds, all of Kenmore, Finn Hill, and part of Juanita.