Any references to chronological age aside, the primary race in the 21st state legislative district pits an “old” Democrat against a “new” Democrat.
Mary Helen Roberts has been a Democrat for more than 30 years. “I registered as a Democrat and I’ve been supporting Democratic candidates ever since,” she said.
Mike Huisman, her opponent in the Democratic primary Sept. 14, ran for the Legislature two years ago as a Republican.
“I’ve always positioned myself down the middle of the road,” he said. “I was a moderate Republican. I’m still in the same position – I’m a moderate Democrat.”
Huisman of Edmonds is making his third try at representing the 21st District in the Legislature. He lost in the 1994 Republican primary to Jeannette Wood for the state Senate and lost in 2002 to Democratic Rep. Brian Sullivan of Mukilteo.
He switched parties because “on a national level, I just didn’t quite identify with the (Republican) party,” he said. “The party’s gone right while I’ve stayed in the middle.”
Roberts of the Picnic Point area north of Edmonds is making her second try. She also lost to Wood in 1994, as the Democratic nominee in the general election. Since then she’s served eight years on the Edmonds Community College Board of Trustees and has been chairman of the Children’s Campaign Fund.
These activities are reflective of her deepest values, she said: education and children.
She said increased funding is needed in areas such as early childhood education, foster care, child abuse prevention, prison education and worker retraining.
“You don’t start addressing (dropout rates) when kids get to high school, you start addressing it in preschool,” she said.
Roberts also would push for reducing the percentage required for approval of school levies from 60 percent to 50 percent.
Educational programs will generate the revenue needed to pay for them by creating well-paying jobs, Roberts said.
Jobs are the cornerstone of Huisman’s campaign. They are offset by the projected $2.7 billion state budget deficit, he said.
He proposes tax breaks for companies that add jobs, a two-year moratorium on taxes for companies that relocate here from out of state, and would like to create a new class of business called “microbusiness” for those with 10 employees or fewer. He would offer extra tax breaks to that group.
“Small business has always been my passion,” said Huisman, who has run several small businesses of his own.
He’d also like to see improvements in health care and child care.
Roberts, who runs a small business of her own importing Chinese art, once worked as a lobbyist for several social-service related organizations. She said she’s the best candidate because of her experience in the legislative process.
Huisman said he’s the best candidate because of his centrist stance. “I can talk with the left, and I can talk with the right.”
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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