Local candidates set sights on 3 upcoming legislative races

In a sign of the approaching election season, Democratic and Republican candidates have emerged for three area legislative races.

A former Island County commissioner has launched a campaign to unseat Republican state Sen. Barbara Bailey while a Sauk-Suiattle tribe executive is vying for an open House seat serving east Snohomish County.

And this week a Lake Stevens planning commissioner announced she’s running for the seat occupied by Democratic state Rep. Hans Dunshee of Snohomish.

Janice Huxford, a Republican, is making her first run for state office. She and her husband own Snohomish Valley Roofing and she pens the “Let Me Be Candid” column for the Lake Stevens Ledger.

She said she wants to bring the perspective of a small business owner into the Legislature where too often regulations are passed that hurt rather than help companies like theirs.

“People are more upset than ever that politicians don’t listen to our concerns, don’t represent us and definitely don’t work on our behalf,” said Huxford. “This campaign was born out of a desire to see things change.”

Huxford, 49, may not end up facing Dunshee, a Snohomish resident, in the 44th Legislative District.

He is up for an appointment to the Snohomish County Council. If he gets it, he’s expected to vacate his legislative seat.

John Lovick, a Democrat and the former Snohomish County executive, has already announced his intention to seek the position.

In the 10th Legislative District, Angela Homola, an Oak Harbor resident who served one term on the Island County Commission, is the second Democratic challenger to Bailey.

Nick Petrish of Anacortes began his campaign for the office last fall.

“I am running for the Senate to restore accountability when it comes to our tax dollars and to ensure the residents of Island, Skagit and Snohomish Counties get their fair share in services from our state government,” Homola said in a statement.

Homola was elected to the Island County commission in 2008, beating incumbent Republican Mac McDowell in a race so close it required a recount to determine the winner.

Four years later, Homola was out after losing to her Republican challenger, Jill Johnson.

Homola, 56, completed a masters in Environmental Law and Policy in 2015. She is principal and sole proprietor of Straight Edge Architecture, LLC.

Bailey will be seeking a second term in the state Senate where she currently is the chairwoman of the Committee on Higher Education. She served five terms in the House before unseating the incumbent Democratic senator, Mary Margaret Haugen, in 2012. Nearly $1.3 million was spent by the candidates and political committees supporting them in that bruising battle.

In anticipation of a tough challenge, Bailey raised nearly $110,000 before the 2016 legislative session started. State law bars lawmakers from collecting campaign contributions until the session ends.

In east Snohomish County Ronda Metcalf, a Democrat, is running for the 39th Legislative District seat that Rep. Elizabeth Scott, R-Monroe, is vacating to run for Congress.

Metcalf, 54, is an Army veteran and former corrections officer in Oregon. She is currently the general manager for the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe.

“Our families are dealing with economic uncertainty, the difficulty of keeping a roof over their heads, the spread of illegal drugs in our communities, and the challenges and joys of raising children,” she said in a statement. “Our families need a voice in Olympia. So do the veterans who are part of many of our families.”

This will be her first try for state office and she’s going up against a veteran of the political scene, Republican John Koster.

Koster served three terms in the state House in the 1990s and three terms on the Snohomish County Council, leaving in 2013 due to term limits.

Koster spent his first year out of office working as the county ombudsman. Last November he was elected to a one-year term on the Snohomish County Charter Review Commission.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.