RSSList of 14th District contenders grows
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YAKIMA -- Two weeks after Mary Skinner announced her pending retirement from the state House, both parties have candidates lined up for her 14th District spot.
Skinner, a Yakima Republican who served seven terms, had said a month earlier that she planned to seek an eighth. Since her surprise about-face, no fewer than a half-dozen prominent local figures have publicly considered a run. On Wednesday three of them -- Yakima school board President Vickie Ybarra, a Democrat; former Union Gap School District Superintendent Bob McLaughlin, a Republican; and Yakima City Councilman Norm Johnson, a Republican -- formally announced their candidacy.
Meanwhile, a few others have ruled out running for the spot this year. Yakima attorney Rod Nelson, a Democrat, said he won't run, as did radio newsman and former local TV anchor Chris Severy, a Republican. Former Yakima Councilwoman Susan Whitman, a Republican, said she remains undecided.
VICKIE YBARRA
Flanked by local school officials and Democratic Party leaders, Vickie Ybarra said her top priorities are health care and education. She said she'll work alongside Gov. Chris Gregoire to insure all children in Washington state by 2010, partly by expanding public coverage. She also pledged to work for better funding for schools, particularly those in districts with challenges such as small tax bases and high rates of non-English-speaking students.
"Too many of those for whom (the current funding system) is not working reside here in Central Washington," she said.
It's been 15 years since the 14th District has elected its last Democratic state representative, Dave Lemmon. Despite that, Ybarra, 47, said her party affiliation could be an asset because it will allow Yakima to be part of the majority caucus in Olympia.
"The Yakima Valley deserves to be at the table when decisions are made," she said.
That notwithstanding, Ybarra went at length to describe herself as a political moderate. A registered nurse and director of planning and development for the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, Ybarra has worked with members of both parties on education and health care initiatives in Olympia. She served on the state Board of Health from 1998 to 2004 and is chairwoman of the governor's Interagency Council on Health Disparities.
That ability to bridge political gaps would help her be an effective lawmaker just as it has helped her on the school board, Yakima School District Superintendent Ben Soria said. Her greatest strength, however, may be her ability to handle a broad range of complex issues, he said.
"Vickie's understanding of the issues would be an asset to this community like I haven't seen in the past," Soria said. "There's probably nobody that understands policy better than Vickie."
BOB MCLAUGHLIN
Bob McLaughlin, positioning himself as the most conservative candidate, pledged in his announcement speech to adopt the slogan "No new taxes without a direct vote by the people."
If that means cutting funding to local governments already struggling with revenue shortfalls, so be it, he said.
"They'll do what everybody else does, they cut back," McLaughlin said.
The 67-year-old retired educator and administrator also pointed to education as a priority. He believes the state's requirement the Washington Assessment of Student Learning tests be passed in order to graduate has led students and teachers to work harder and with more focus. Still, he said, there should be some alternative for students who work hard but just can't pass it.
"There has to be some other way to treat them with dignity," McLaughlin said.
Criminal justice also would be a priority if he were elected. Although he lauded the gang bill successfully championed by Ross earlier this year, McLaughlin said more can be done to fight gangs. He also insisted something needs to be done about case backlogs in Yakima courts. But he did not know just what he could do about that as a legislator.
"I just want to make it a major issue," he said. "I don't have an answer right now."
Asked how he differed from Johnson, who has the backing of so many prominent local Republicans, McLaughlin said there are more similarities than differences.
"But I'm very conservative," he added. "I would think Norm Johnson is considered more of a moderate."
McLaughlin's campaign manager, Glen Blomgren, who lost his own bid for the state Legislature in 2006, said McLaughlin has the integrity to take strong conservative stands.
"He will stand up and speak strongly on behalf of the people of the 14th District," Blomgren said.
NORM JOHNSON
Norm Johnson had the local Republican establishment behind him in full force Wednesday afternoon when he announced his candidacy in front of City Hall.
Sen. Curtis King and Rep. Charles Ross of the 14th District praised Johnson and read statements from former legislators Sid Morrison and Alex Deccio. Also on hand, county commissioners Mike Leita and Rand Elliott, Yakima council members Kathy Coffey and Rick Ensey and a host of other public figures.
Against that formidable backdrop, Johnson said he is eager to join King and Ross in Olympia "to fight the street gangs and the criminals who are endangering our way of life."
He also listed efficient government as a priority and said performance audits of government entities, such as the one the Yakima City Council requested this month, are a path to that goal. A former teacher and principal of Eagle High School in Toppenish, Johnson, 69, also emphasized the need for accountability among students, teachers and staff in schools statewide. Though he conceded he didn't yet have any specific ideas to reach that school-accountability goal, Johnson said "we just need to insist upon it."
A Yakima councilman since 2005, Johnson has more than two decades experience in city government. Prior to moving to Yakima he served on the Toppenish City Council and the Mabton Town Council. He was also mayor in Toppenish.
"My background has proven that I'm able to work with people," he said.
King vouched for that, saying he's supporting Johnson despite having a high opinion of Democrat Vickie Ybarra, who backed him last year in his state Senate race.
"He is a man of principle, who is not afraid to stand up for what is right and just," King said.
