39th District face-off is a repeat

Published 10:46 pm Monday, October 6, 2008

Incumbent Dan Kristiansen is facing off against Scott Olson, a Monroe Democrat, for a representative position in the 39th District in the November general election. It’s a rematch from 2006, when Kristiansen, a Snohomish Republican, narrowly defeated Olson.

“That indicated we were on the right track,” said Olson, a former Sultan City Councilman. “We just couldn’t reach enough people.”

Kristiansen is seeking his fourth two-year term in the district, which stretches over rural areas in Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom and King counties. It’s his experience in Olympia that helped to win about $14 million for safety improvements along deadly U.S. 2, he said. His bills about the highway got hearings in the House Transportation Committee, controlled by Democrats, he said.

“It takes a while to get established there,” Kristiansen said. “Now that networking is paying off. Last year, we finally got some money for U.S. 2.”

Olson said that none of the bills sponsored by his opponent got out of the committee. And overall improvements for the highway are expected to cost more than $2 billion.

The $14 million “is too little,” Olson said.

If elected, Olson said he will be more effective to improve U.S. 2 because he belongs to the majority party. He wants to work hard to get money for specific safety projects along the highway, instead of trying to fix the whole corridor at once.

“There is no way we can get $2 billion,” he said. “That’s going to take years and years.”

In addition to U.S. 2, Olson said that health care and education are his top issues. The state shouldn’t cut money for education despite the tough national economy.

“Education is so important at so many different levels,” Olson said.

If elected, he aims to make quality health care affordable for families, Oslon said.

“The cost is too high for most folks,” he said.

Kristiansen said that health care and education are important, but need to be paid for by a strong economy. His priority is to balance the state’s budget next year mainly by cutting spending, he said.

“We have to make sure we will not increase the burden on our taxpayers to solve economic situations,” he said.

Before becoming a state lawmaker, Kristiansen said he used to own a small construction firm and retail stores. That experience has helped in Olympia, he said.

“Now is the critical time to make sure that we’ve got people in the Legislature who really understand budget issues,” he said.

The incumbent has been in Olympia for too long, Olson said. It’s time for a change.

“I don’t think there was any progress being made,” he said.

Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.