Democratic state Sen. Jean Berkey will have an opponent this fall after all.
On Friday, the final day for political parties to enter candidates for vacant seats, Republican Tim Hanley of Everett filed to challenge Berkey in the 38th Legislative District.
Had Hanley not acted, Berkey would have been unopposed in her bid to continue serving Everett, Marysville and the Tulalip Reservation
Also Friday, Republican Erv Hoglund of Everett entered the race for a House of Representatives seat in the 38th District. He will face the winner of the Sept. 14 primary between Democrats Rep. David Simpson and Mike Sells.
Candidate filing ended last week, but state law grants political parties an additional week to fill vacancies in partisan races. Hanley and Hoglund stepped forward after reading about the uncontested races.
Hanley is a real estate agent and owner of Cascade Mechanical. He has been a precinct committee officer and is active behind the scenes aiding local Republican candidates.
He said his focus will be on bolstering the region’s economy. “We have a tremendous opportunity to improve the business climate,” he said.
Hoglund is well-known to voters. He has run for the state House three times without success, losing in 1998 to now County Executive Aaron Reardon, in 2001 to Berkey and in 2002 to Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip. McCoy beat him by only 559 votes.
“I haven’t changed the issues that are important to me,” said Hoglund, whose wife, Frauna, is chairwoman of the Snohomish County Republican Party. He said he would focus on transportation, education, performance audits and health care.
No one filed to run against Rep. Maralyn Chase, D-Edmonds, thus ensuring her re-election Nov. 2.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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