Introductory statements from 32nd District State representative candidates

By Evan Smith

Incumbent Democratic 32nd District State Rep, Ruth Kagi of Shoreline faces two Republican challengers in the Aug. 7 primary election.

They are Eric Alvey of Seattle and Robert Reedy of Mountlake Terrace.

The District includes Shoreline, part of northwest Seattle, most of Lynnwood, part of Mountlake Terrace, south Edmonds, Woodway and nearby unincorporated areas of southwest Snohomish County.

The top two vote getters in the primary advance to the Nov. 7 general election.

All three candidates will appear at a primary-election candidate forum April 24 at the Richmond Beach Congregational Church.

Here are statements from the three candidates:

Eric R Alvey

“I am not satisfied with the direction we are taking as a state-are you? Businesses are fleeing and taking good jobs with them. We need to retain them and encourage new business and job creation. The best stimulus is to let us keep our money and the ability to decide how to spend it. The state budgeting process needs to be brought under control. My career has been in construction; as a laborer jobs are scarce when the economy is hurting, as a manager you must control costs to effectively complete projects and keep people working. We all believe in paying our fair share for government, but if we don’t solve economic problems - funding everything government does will continue to be a struggle. It’s time for a fresh perspective and a new set of eyes to look at how we can make a positive change of direction.”

Ruth Kagi

“I came to the legislature because of my concern for children and families, and am extremely fortunate to chair the House Early Learning and Human Services Committee. I have led the legislature's efforts to improve the quality of child care and pre-school and to strengthen our services for foster children.

“My focus is on finding ways to make government more effective. This past session I sponsored and passed major reforms to our child welfare system, requiring services to be performance based, accountable and responsive to the needs of families. I also have passed legislation to assure interstate truck drivers operate safely in Washington, and that drivers secure their loads. My work on drug sentencing reform has saved millions of dollars by allowing non-violent offenders to be treated in the community rather than sending them to prison.

“My priority will continue to be the protection, support and education of children.”

Robert Reedy

“The key is jobs. Jobs provide tax revenue. JFK said, ‘The rising tide lifts all boats,’ so let's create jobs for everyone. The best welfare program is a family wage job. We don't accomplish this by pitting citizen against citizen, nor do we succeed by destroying unions. We need to work together to end unemployment. Let’s put back emergency unemployment compensation for those who lost benefits April 21. Why should they suffer due to government blundering? Did politicians find out if those losing benefits would get jobs?

“I want education to embrace new ideals, not go kicking and screaming into the future. Not everyone wants to go to college or be a white-collar worker. So let’s have opportunities to help young people become skilled craftsmen.

“I support small business; given the choice between taxes or helping small business, I will side with small business to provide jobs for the future.”      

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.