Candidate field to replace State Rep. Moscoso gets crowded

Published 3:13 pm Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The field of candidates to replace Democratic 1st District State Rep. Luis Moscoso is getting crowded.

Former 1st Legislative District Democratic Chairman Nicholas Carlson has joined fellow Democrat Kyoko Matsumoto-Wright, Democrat Shelley Kloba and Republican Ed Barton in seeking the position in the State House of Representatives that Moscoso is giving up after three two-year terms to run for the district’s State Senate position.

Carlson is a Bothell small-businessman, Matsumoto-Wright is a Mountlake Terrace city councilwoman, Kloba is a Kirkland city councilwoman and Barton is a member of the Snohomish County Charter Review Commission.

All four have registered as candidates for the position with the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Registering with the Public Disclosure Commission allows a candidate to raise and spend money for the August primary and November general election. Candidates file for ballot position May 16-20.

The top two vote getters for each position in the primary qualify for the general-election ballot.

The 1st District includes most of Mountlake Terrace, all of Brier and Bothell, unincorporated areas of Snohomish County north and east of Bothell, north Kirkland, and unincorporated areas of King County between Bothell and Kirkland.

Moscoso plans to seek the position that State Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe is giving up after six four-year terms. Republican Art Coday and Democrat Guy Palumbo also have said they will seek the Senate seat.

Two Republicans have announced plans to challenge Democratic State Rep. Derek Stanford for the 1st District’s other House seat. Bothell-area Republicans Neil Thannish and Brian Travis both have registered with the state Public Disclosure Commission as candidates for the position.

Stanford plans to seek a fourth four-year term in the State House of Representatives.

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