SNOHOMISH — Two candidates running for the 44th district state House seat agree that transportation and education are among the top issues on the minds of voters.
Republican incumbent Mark Harmsworth and Democratic challenger Katrina Ondracek differ on how to solve these issues. The district includes Lake Stevens, Snohomish, and Mill Creek.
Harmsworth said he has objected to the I-405 tolls since they were implemented in 2015, calling it “an unmitigated disaster.”
It forces people to choose between paying tolls or spending another hour in traffic every day, he said. Neighborhood streets are becoming more congested with people trying to find alternative routes, he said.
He said he favors eliminating the tolls entirely, having four general purpose lanes and adding an HOV lane for cars with two or more passengers.
Harmsworth also said he opposes ST3, the proposed $54 billion plan, paid for with tax increases, for expansion of Sounder, light rail and bus routes in the Puget Sound region.
“I think we have a much better chance of moving more people by going to bus rapid transit and not spending as much money,” he said.
The Legislature has been ordered by the state Supreme Court to fully fund public education. The solution to finding more money for public education will likely be “a jigsaw puzzle of pieces,” he said. “We’re going to have to be careful how we do it, fair to the taxpayers and students and all the individual school districts as well.”
This is the first time Ondracek, who is an executive vice president at United Way of Snohomish County, has run for public office. She said she agrees with her opponent that the tolls should be removed from I-405, but disagrees with him on ST3, which she supports.
With projections for significant population growth in Snohomish County over the coming decades, “it’s not the time to say it’s too expensive and it will take too long,” she said. The problem has grown so big and complicated, that multiple types of mass transportation will be needed, she said.
On increasing funding for public education, Ondracek said that she would first take a look at the state’s tax loopholes. There are some 650 on the books, some of which have no expiration dates. Some are important and should remain and others are out of date, she said.
As she’s talked to voters Ondracek said she’s heard stories of adults in their 70s, 80s and 90s caring for their adult children in their 50s and 60s with developmental disabilities. People can wait years for an opening in one of the county’s current stock of 1,400 housing units for the developmentally disabled, she said.
“I think the state has an obligation to help these folks,” she said.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
The candidates
Name: Mark Harmsworth
Age: 47
Residence: Mill Creek
Party: Republican
Website: www.markharmsworth.com
Name: Katrina Ondracek
Age: 38
Residence: Lake Stevens
Party: Democrat
Website: electkatrina.com
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