Public safety is a central question in south Snohomish County race

SHORELINE — A seasoned legislator, a concerned business owner and a young immigrant are vying for a state House seat representing south Snohomish County.

Rep. Lauren Davis, D-Shoreline, currently holds Position 2 in the 32nd Legislative District representing parts of Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds and Shoreline. Davis is running for a fourth two-year term after taking office in 2019. Rep. Cindy Ryu and Sen. Jesse Salomon, also Democrats from Shoreline, hold the other seats.

Davis, 37, is known for Ricky’s Law, an involuntary drug treatment law passed in 2016 after Davis advocated on behalf of her friend Ricky Garcia. Since taking office, Davis has helped pass bills that expand access to opioid overdose-reversal medication, drug and mental health treatment, and recovery housing.

Lori Theis, a Republican from Shoreline, is challenging Davis as a business owner concerned with the state’s crime rates and housing crisis. In 2022, Theis, 55, ran against Ryu, but garnered just 23%. She previously ran as an independent with the Election Integrity Committee, a branch of the King County Republican Party. She’s now running as a Republican.

Democrat Dunia Wabenga, a 28-year-old African immigrant and veteran, is campaigning on bringing more diverse and younger voices to Olympia. Also a Shoreline resident, Wabenga said he wants to win the seat to be a role model and representative for marginalized groups in Washington, especially Black, poor and immigrant residents.

Ballots are due Aug. 6. The top-two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November.

Lauren Davis

Davis said she is hoping to keep her seat to continue working on behavioral health and public safety policy. She doesn’t see herself as a partisan lawmaker, but someone who works well across the aisle. In the House, Davis serves on the Appropriations, House Rules and Health Care committees.

Her proudest achievement in Olympia so far has been helping create the statewide Recovery Navigator Program. Senate Bill 5476, passed in 2021, provides $22 million annually for each county to have at least two full-time recovery navigators who help residents get treatment for substance use disorder.

“People need somebody to help them navigate this Swiss cheese system that we have,” Davis said, “where it’s much more easier to fail than to succeed.”

Before taking office, she helped launch the Washington Recovery Alliance as well as Forefront, a suicide prevention nonprofit.

This year, Davis worked with Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, to help pass Senate Bill 6228, she said. The law aims to hold providers accountable for removing drug treatment patients for “frivolous rule violations,” reduce barriers to opioid addiction medications and stop insurance companies from denying care based on how long a patient has been off drugs.

Davis said she’s been working with schools and police departments in her district on gun violence prevention. She helped secure $15 million in state dollars for a behavioral health crisis center in Lynnwood, she said, and a reentry program at the nearby jail she hopes will reduce recidivism.

Davis said public safety became a greater focus after 13-year-old Jayda Woods-Johnson was shot and killed at the Alderwood Mall this month. Davis plans to join a youth violence prevention panel in Lynnwood on Aug. 8, and said she’s been researching youth violence prevention programs in other states.

“This is a very top priority for my constituents,” Davis said, “to make meaning out of Jayda’s tragic death and to do something.”

She plans to vote for the Democratic nominee for president.

As of Monday, Davis had raised just over $24,500 with about $4,400 listed as self-contributions, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. Contributors include the Council of Police Political Support, Regence Blue Shield, the Washington Education Association, UnitedHealth Group, the Washington Indian Gaming Association and the Raikes Foundation.

Lori Theis

Two years ago, Theis’ campaign slogan was, “Make Crime Illegal Again.” And crime is why she’s running again.

Crime is “the number one most important issue to Washington voters, both Democrat and Republican,” Theis said.

Theis, the chair of the 32nd Legislative District Republicans and a King County Republican Party board member, decided to seek public office after a string of home invasions in Shoreline, she said. Her main solution is hiring more police officers. If elected, Theis said she would support bills that restrict lawsuits against officers and public disclosure requests of their work. She also wants minimum law enforcement staffing ratios, she said. Theis is not interested in stricter gun laws.

“I don’t think any of the gun legislation that’s been passed has actually done any good,” she said.

“Decades of bad policy and outrageous building regulations” are to blame for the current housing crisis, Theis said. She would support a program giving tax credits to landlords if they lower or freeze their rent rates. She said she also wants the state to expedite and lower costs for housing permits, as well as allocate land for new starter homes and other affordable housing options.

Theis would support requiring cities and counties to dismantle homeless encampments near schools, she said. She wants to establish a Bureau of Narcotics to crack down on fentanyl distribution, she said, and make it a crime to expose “children and vulnerable adults” to drugs. She also would want the state to pardon sex workers, but prosecute those who solicit sex work.

Theis also said she wants to repeal the state’s cap-and-invest program, part of the Climate Commitment Act, that limits carbon emissions in the state. The billions raised from the program have gone toward electric school buses, vehicle chargers, free public transit and air quality monitoring.

“Right now, our tax money is being thrown at problems and nothing gets solved,” she said.

In the upcoming presidential election, “we only have one choice,” Theis said. “President Donald J. Trump.”

Theis was born and raised in Oklahoma. She worked on two presidential campaigns, Ralph Nader in 2000 and Dennis Kucinich in 2004. She owns a dog walking business in Ballard, and helps homeless youth train their dogs to pass public access exams.

She volunteers with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and local heritage organizations.

As of Monday, Theis had raised about $1,400, with over half listed as self-contributions. Contributors include the 32nd Legislative District GOP and National Advertising Consultants, Inc.

Dunia Wabenga

Wabenga said he’s running because he wants to see more diversity in state government. The state’s racial and ethnic minority population was about 37% in 2022. And the 32nd district has one of the largest Black and immigrant populations, he said.

The state’s elected officials “do the best they can, but there’s a clear under-representation,” he said.

If elected, Wabenga said his main priority would be allocating more money to social services, including welfare, low-income housing, job training, food banks as well as mental health and drug recovery clinics.

Wabenga said he would also seek to change the state’s tax structure and provide more money to public schools. He called current state taxes are a burden on low-income families. He said he would propose a proportional tax system similar to policy in Norway, where taxes are dependent on income, with those who make less paying proportionately less in taxes than those who make more.

Wabenga also wants to abolish private prisons, because “corporations shouldn’t profit off incarcerated people,” he said. His plan would be to “phase out” the need for prisons entirely by increasing behavioral health services and mentorship programs like the Boys & Girls Club, he said.

Wabenga spent his childhood and early teens as a refugee in Northern Kenya after his family escaped war in Congo. In 2010, he, his mother and six siblings immigrated to the United States. After high school, he joined the U.S. Army.

Wabenga moved to Washington in 2016. He is set to graduate from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences next year. He’s considering law school after that. He plans to continue his studies if elected.

“I want to be a role model,” he said. “It’s important for a young kid to see a person like him representing his needs.”

Wabenga, like Davis, said he plans to vote for the Democratic nominee in the presidential election.

Wabenga said he doesn’t want to accept money from party committees or organizations, a move that has made his campaign “very difficult.”

“Money isn’t everything,” he said. “The most important thing is to get our voices out there.”

Wabenga had raised almost $700, as of Monday, with all but $10 listed as self-contributions.