By The Herald Editorial Board
As you prepare for summer outings — and Independence Day — it’s also time to start preparing for a decisive election year that will see not only presidential and congressional contests, but will elect state officials, state lawmakers and others and put consequential ballot issues to voters.
The Herald Editorial Board, as part of voters’ preparation for the Aug. 6 primary and Nov. 5 general election, offers its endorsements of candidates. While specific candidates are endorsed, the board strives to represent all candidates fairly, providing voters another tool as they make their decisions.
For purposes of the Aug. 6 primary election, the board has focused on several local legislative races — as well as local ballot measures — where more than two candidates have filed. In races where only two candidates have filed, setting the ballot for November, the board will announce those endorsements in the weeks prior to the general election.
In addition to these recommendations, voters also are directed to their local voters’ pamphlet — also mailed to registered voters — the state’s online voters guide at www.vote.wa.gov and a series of recorded candidate forums available at the website of the Snohomish County League of Women Voters at lwvsnoho.org/candidate_forums.
The county voters’ pamphlet will be mailed to registered voters on July 17, but an online version is now available at tinyurl.com/SnoCo2024Primary.
Ballots, which are scheduled to be mailed by July 18, can be returned by mail or placed in one of several county election office drop boxes. Ballots must be postmarked or placed in a drop box before 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6. A list of locations for official drop boxes is available at tinyurl.com/SnoCoElexBox.
More information on voting, registering to vote and the primary and general elections is available at tinyurl.com/ElexSnoCo.
32nd Legislative District, Rep., Pos. 2
The 32nd Legislative District, serving Lynnwood, parts of Mountlake Terrace, Woodway and Shoreline, straddles the Snohomish-King county border.
The incumbent, Rep. Lauren Davis, D-Lynnwood, is seeking her fourth two-year term. She is challenged by fellow Democrat Dunia Wabenga and by Republican Lori Theis, who didn’t provide an email or phone number in her filing for office and was not reached for an interview.
Wabenga and Davis were interviewed separately by the editorial board.
Wabenga, a Shoreline resident, is a program assistant with the International Program in Public Health Leadership and served in the Washington Army National Guard for five years. Wabenga, born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, left with his family when he was 4, then lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for 10 years, before immigrating with his family to the United States. He is currently studying social sciences at the University of Washington.
As a high school student, Wabenga took inspiration from U.S. history and his teacher, leading him to join the National Guard and seek further service to his country and state.
In U.S. history, Wabenga said, “there are multiple examples of a country that always finds its way.”
Wabenga said he has concerns about the state’s regressive package of taxes, in particular the sales tax that disproportionately burdens lower-income families and individuals. Wabenga also has concerns about state funding for public education, noting that the Seattle Public Schools is considering the closure of 20 percent of its schools.
“We have enough wealthy individuals in the state that I don’t believe we should have a lack of funding anywhere, but certainly not for our public education,” he said.
Wabenga also hopes, through his run for office to serve as inspiration for others and improve the racial and cultural diversity of the state Legislature and other public offices.
During her previous terms, Davis has drawn from her work in substance abuse recovery — as an instructor in mental health policy at the UW School of Social Work and as the executive director of the Washington Recovery Alliance — to propose legislation and advise fellow lawmakers on addiction treatment, domestic violence, law enforcement and related topics.
Among legislation for which she was the primary sponsor:
House Bill 1715 strengthened the provisions of temporary protection orders for victims of domestic violence, preceding a court hearing; encourages judicial training on domestic violence issues; adopted rules on electronic monitoring to notify victims; and reformed the process for surrendering firearms and other weapons to close a lengthy delay.
House Bill 1696 reformed standards for the state’s stalking laws.
House Bill 2311 addressed wellness and peer support for first responders, requiring the state’s Criminal Justice Training Commission to convene a task force, develop a 40-hour training program for peer supporters and establish a grant program to fund a peer support services program.
While several of her bills have enjoyed significant bipartisan support, some of her legislation, including that addressing the potency of the retail cannabis products available has faced tougher odds among fellow Democrats.
In one attempt, a bill that Davis proposed sought to adjust the state’s tax on cannabis products based on potency, prohibit advertising on higher-potency products, set an age limit of 25 for higher-potency products and require warning labels for those products. Another bill sought to regulate high-potency cannabis concentrates.
Davis said she’ll continue to seek reconsideration of the state’s retail cannabis policies.
“At the time of legalization black-market cannabis in this state was about 10 percent potent, and now it’s up to 99 percent potent. So we basically have a tenfold increase. … And the effects on human health, it’s basically a totally different drug,” she said.
Along with that campaign among her colleagues, Davis also is gearing up to bring more attention to issues of crime and law enforcement, especially concerned with the state’s outlying rise in violent crime as compared to other states and the comparatively low numbers of law enforcement officers in agencies across the state.
“There’s a direct correlation between the presence of law enforcement and crime. You all might be uncomfortable hearing that, but it’s factually correct. So that is one contributing factor. We’ve lost a bunch of cops and we can’t for the life of us seem to get anyone to come to be a law enforcement officer,” she said.
Wabenga’s education, military and community service and drive to represent his district and its communities are worthy of praise; and this should not be his only run for office. He has much to offer.
But Davis, especially as the state and her district continue to grapple with an addiction crisis and related issues around crime and homelessness, has provided and promises too much in experience, knowledge and ability not to return her to her seat in Olympia. That she can bring Republicans to support her legislation and encourage Democrats to reconsider their positions makes her a valuable lawmaker to her district and the state.
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