Housing, taxes hot topics for rural Snohomish County senate candidates

LAKE STEVENS — Three military veterans are vying for the 39th Legislative District’s seat in the state Senate.

The district includes eastern Skagit and Snohomish counties and northeastern King County. It is mostly rural, and Republicans hold all three of its positions in the Legislature.

Keith Wagoner is running for re-election. A Navy veteran and former Sedro-Woolley mayor, he aims to improve public safety and affordability as well as increase parental involvement in education.

John Snow, who was medically discharged from the Navy, is hoping to launch a political career centered around “minimizing harm,” by resolving issues in education, health care access, cost of living and overall quality of life.

Tim McDonald is a Vietnam veteran, tree farm owner and former Arlington School Board member. His campaign focuses on housing and education. Namely, he wants to increase landlord rights, promote one-on-one time in schools and educate the public on the democratic process.

Candidates say the most important issues are education, taxes and housing.

Ballots are due Aug. 6. The top two candidates from the primary will advance to the general election in November.

Keith Wagoner

Wagoner, a Republican who took office in 2018, is proud of both his role supporting parental rights in education and revisions to the state’s police pursuit policy.

He also sponsored a co-response curriculum that trains police officers and mental health professionals to resolve situations in tandem.

He said he remains focused on reversing “bad policy” put forward by Democrats. Earlier this year, he resisted a bill that would allow the state to raise the growth rate of property taxes.

“People are struggling to keep their homes, struggling to avoid foreclosure, and people on fixed income just can’t take constant increases in their property taxes,” Wagoner said. “I’m going to remain strong and vigilant to make sure that bill, if it comes back … we can put that back in a bottle where it belongs.”

He supports educational decisions made at the local level.

“I have noticed that if you have involved parents, you have students who do better and have better outcomes and are better set up for a future life, as good, productive citizens,” Wagoner said.

Wagoner endorsed Dave Reichert for governor, and said he’ll vote for Donald Trump in November’s presidential election.

As of Friday, he had raised $59,860 in campaign funds, according to state Public Disclosure Commission filings.

John Snow

Snow believes all the issues he’d tackle in Olympia are interconnected.

“I don’t think any issue by itself is a monolith,” Snow said. “They all feed into each other and make each other worse. But conversely it could make each better if you start attacking different things.”

Snow said he would bring the cost of housing down by restricting the activity of private equity firms. These firms buy affordable housing and refurbish it, raising the area’s property values and forcing out other lower-income residents.

He introduced policy at the Washington State Democratic Convention the party incorporated into its platform, to limit these firms when purchasing housing.

Amid inflation, Snow wants to ease the tax burden on lower- and middle-class workers, he said.

He said he would assess each tax and what it actually does for the people, then pursue decisions based on the data, such as on value-added taxes. These are flat taxes paid at each step of the supply chain. While some argue consumers pay a larger burden of these taxes, Snow believes they are more difficult for the wealthy to avoid.

Snow said he would introduce legislation to increase teacher wages and access to supplies and resources for students, funded by the state’s budget surplus.

“Democracies thrive when within a well-educated populace,” Snow said.

Health care is another of Snow’s priorities. He wants to protect the right to abortion by codifying it in the state Constitution.

The Snohomish County Democrats, Skagit County Democrats and 39th Legislative District Democrats have all endorsed Snow.

Snow endorsed Bob Ferguson for governor.

His campaign has raised $10,423.

Tim McDonald

McDonald describes himself as a “conservative Democrat.” His campaign focuses on housing and education.

A landlord himself, he wants to increase their rights.

“Being a mom and pop rental, this is not a friendly state,” said McDonald, 79. “The Legislature is against you.”

He said he’s passionate about schools, advocating for increasing one-on-one time with students and promoting reading programs.

The goal of his campaign is to get people involved in the democratic process, he said.

“My major point is educate the public,” he said. “Tell them how to file for office. Tell them the need.”

McDonald praised the state for bringing residents into discussions on tax changes like school levies and fire district taxes. He said he opposes a state income tax because he doesn’t believe it would lead to lowering other taxes.

As for solutions: “I’ll find out when I get there,” McDonald said.

McDonald said his tenure would be brief.

“I’m going to be as much upfront as I can with what I’m spending and how I’m getting elected,” he said. “I’m only going to serve one term.”

McDonald has not reported any campaign fundraising.

Connor Zamora: 425-339-3037; connor.zamora@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @cgzamora02.