The lone contested race in the 1st Legislative District pits a first-time candidate against a career public servant.
Republican Mark Davies said he didn’t decide to run until the last day of the filing period, when he saw that no other GOP candidates had filed to run against Rep. Mark Ericks, D-Bothell.
Still, “I’ve been interested in politics for a very long time,” said Davies, 51, a programmer-analyst at the Boeing Co. for 16 years.
He’s volunteered for many campaigns in the past, he said, doing the grunt work of stamping envelopes and ringing doorbells.
Davies lives in the house where he grew up, between Bothell and Brier.
Ericks, 55, is seeking a second two-year term in Olympia. When elected in 2004 he retired from a 35-year career in civic service, including 12 years as Bothell police chief after 17 years on the Bellevue police force.
Before being elected to the state Legislature, he served for three years as the city of Bothell’s finance director.
“I turned this into my full-time job,” Ericks said of his legislative post.
The 1st District represents Mountlake Terrace, Bothell, Brier, Maltby and an unincorporated area north of Lynnwood.
Ericks said his public sector experience has played out in his appointments to the House finance and capital budget committees.
He’s sponsored bills to help local governments get money for roads and sewers to supplement private development they wouldn’t be able to attract otherwise, he said.
Other bills he’s sponsored include tax breaks for small businesses and strengthening laws on identity theft, he said.
On transportation, Ericks said he successfully pushed for money for improvements to Highways 522, 527 and 9 and ramps on I-405.
Transportation is one of Davies’ three major issues. He says he wants to see carpool lanes eliminated, freeways widened and light rail built.
“Let’s build a system that would serve the entire region,” Davies said.
He knows this will be expensive. A lot of money can be saved by giving more power to the state auditor to force agencies to trim their budgets, he said.
Davies said he is strong supporter of property rights. He backs Initiative 933, which would require government to pay land owners if regulations keep them from using their property. If it doesn’t pass, he’ll push for more protection for property owners if elected, he said.
Davies also supports school vouchers for parents to send their children to any school, public or private.
“This would foster competition in our education system in the state,” he said.
Ericks said he’s against vouchers. “It would take money out of the (public school) system,” he said.
In the other First District race, Rep. Al O’Brien, D-Mountlake Terrace, is running unopposed. Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, is not up for election this year.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
1st District House of Representatives, Position 2
Name: Mark Ericks, Democrat
Age: 55
Residence: Bothell
Occupation: Retired police chief
Name: Mark Davies, Republican
Age: 51
Residence: Bothell
Occupation: Programmer-analyst for Boeing
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