The race between state Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, and Republican challenger Dennis Richter pits an experienced hand against a fresh face.
Richter, 57, also of Bothell, is an electrical engineer at Boeing in Everett who has never before run for office.
McAuliffe, 68, is seeking her fifth four-year term in the state Senate. She’s finishing up her 16th year. The election is Nov. 4.
“I thought I’d come in and I’d fix education and then I’d leave. But I’ve realized that fixing education is a process,” said McAuliffe, who is chairwoman of the Senate Early Learning &K-12 Education Committee.
“I still have a passion for education,” she said.
Richter said he was motivated to run for the 1st District because of the $3.2 billion projected state budget deficit.
“We have to find a reasonable way to tell the state they only have so much money to spend,” Richter said. “My personal philosophy is that government should be limited. I understand that the Republican party has not always been true to those principles.”
Richter said he would push for a permanent spending reduction of up to 2 percent.
“I wouldn’t do it immediately, I would ratchet it down from where we are now over five to 10 years so it wouldn’t be so much of a shock,” he said.
He and McAuliffe agree education shouldn’t be cut. In fact, Richter would make an across-the-board cut in other departments to pay for an increase in teacher pay.
“Our state has not made the commitment to our teachers that we need to make,” he said.
Regarding the expected deficit, McAuliffe said committee leaders, including her, are working with Gov. Chris Gregoire to see what can be cut before the 2009 legislative session.
“Hopefully we can get into January with less of a deficit than we have now,” McAuliffe said. “I think we all know it’s not much different from your budget at home or mine. You invest in good times and you tighten your belt in bad times, and we’re doing that,” she said.
McAuliffe said the biggest accomplishment in education recently is the creation of the Department of Early Learning, which provides financial help with child care for families in need and is developing a rating system for preschools.
“They really look to have high-quality child care and preschool to get our children ready to enter kindergarten,” she said.
More investments also are being made to help struggling students do better in math, science and technology, she said.
She said the WASL, the often-criticized student assessment test, has done some good but can be improved.
“It has driven us to focus on the child and learning,” she said. “We have to keep working on making sure we create a system where when we do assess kids, it’s a tool for learning, so we can help them get better at what they do.”
Another important issue for both candidates is transportation. McAuliffe supports Sound Transit’s $17.8 billion tax measure for light rail and more bus service.
Richter opposes it because light rail would not be elevated above other traffic. He believes a monorail or an elevated rail system similar to Chicago’s is needed — one that can go 70 mph or faster.
“We have to get people where they want to go quickly,” he said. “The only way we’re going to get out of our cars is if we have a better alternative.”
Regarding how to pay for it, “it would probably have to be some type of sales tax,” he said. “I just don’t see any other way we could do that.”
If the Sound Transit measure is approved, the Sound Transit package is expected to result in a new half-cent sales tax hike per dollar spent, or 5 cents on a $10 purchase.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
Rosemary McAuliffe
Age: 68
Hometown: Bothell
Occupation: State senator; owner of Hollywood Schoolhouse, a wedding and conference center
Party: Democratic
Education: Graduate of Holy Names Academy, Seattle; Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, Seattle University
Related experience: Washington state senator, 1993-2008; served on Northshore School District Board of Directors, 1977-91
Dennis Richter
Age: 57
Hometown: Bothell
Occupation: Electrical engineer, the Boeing Co.; lead engineer, 777 seat electrical systems
Party: Republican
Education: Bachelor of Science, electrical engineering, University of Washington, 1982; Associate of Arts and Sciences, chemical technology, Shoreline Community College, 1973
Related experience: None
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