By The Herald Editorial Board
The race for Washington’s 8th Congressional Distinct offers a choice between two women, skilled in their professions, pragmatic in their approach and seeking the best outcomes: incumbent Rep. Kim Schrier, a Democrat, and challenger Carmen Goers, a Republican.
Redrawn following the 2020 census, the 8th District’s eastern Snohomish County boundaries start from the county line with Skagit County to include communities along the Stillaguamish River Valley, including Arlington Heights, Oso and Darrington, and extend south to Granite Falls and the communities along U.S. 2, east of Monroe, including Sultan, Gold Bar and Index.
Schrier, who lives in Sammamish, is a pediatrician, one of two women physicians of 15 medical doctors in the House. Seeking her fourth two-year term, she was first elected to Congress in 2018, but this is only her second election before Snohomish County voters.
Goers, an Auburn resident with 20 years in Washington state, is a commercial banker and has served on the Auburn Human Services Committee and its public facilities district. A former military spouse — and living in Berlin, when the Berlin Wall came down — she haspreviously worked as a civilian in finance for military families. She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
She has used her financial background to assist and advise local chambers of commerce in their legislative appeals for small businesses and other issues, with experience in working with members of both parties on state legislation. That work, she said, made the case that “the strength of communication, having a listening ear and working diligently through those hard conversations, really helps grow our communities.”
Goers ran for the state House two years ago, but did not advance past the primary. Still, she said, that “built the fire” to again seek office, with an eye toward improving the economy and the hope of home ownership for her children and others.
Among issues she’d like to focus on:
Goers notes that as many as 80,000 U.S. foster youths are eligible for federal benefits, but a number of states — including Washington — intercept those payments as reimbursement for their care. Goers would back legislation to require that states hold those funds in trust for foster youths until they are adults.
On immigration, Goers doesn’t support a mass deportation plan but would back immediate deportation of undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes.
“I don’t want to rip families apart, but we are looking to manage the situation,” she said.
Regarding affordable housing, she said she does want to find ways to assist first-time homebuyers, and sees “the heart” in Vice President Kamala Harris’ proposal of down payment assistance but believes that could actually drive up the cost of available homes.
Goers also is concerned with the continuing loss of family farms in the state and across the nation. She wants to see a modernization of the federal farm bill to address those concerns and aid farming families and provide protections to keep land in agricultural production.
Schrier, who first ran for Congress in part to defend the fledgling Affordable Cares Act, has expanded her work beyond health care, and has seen success during both the Trump and Biden administrations, getting 18 pieces of her sponsored legislation signed into law. Even during the current term — slowed by Republican infighting — Schrier has earned at least House passage on several bills meant to improve children’s Medicaid enrollment, directing the FCC to issue rules for internet connectivity in emergencies, amending the federal food and drug act to reauthorize user fee programs for animal medications, and reauthorizing an emergency medical services act for children.
Her approach, she said, has been in seeking shared goals.
“It turns out that when you’re nice and disarming and you’re looking for common ground, Republicans want to work with you,” she said.
For example, she’s worked with the Republican chair of the agricultural committee on a provision in the farm bill to allow whole milk to be provided through the national school lunch program in addition to fat-free and low-fat milk.
“He got a pediatrician on board, and I got the certainty it’s going to pass the House, because it’s the chairman’s legislation,” she said.
Another bill on which she worked with both parties seeks to speed licensing and permitting for small modular nuclear reactors.
“We need non-(carbon)-emitting electricity sources. And the deeper I dive into this in my committee, the more clear it becomes that nuclear is going to be a big part of that equation,” she said.
Among other issues she intends to pursue in a coming term, Schrier still has attention turned to improving the ACA and lowering the costs of prescription drugs; on the proposed Kroger-Albertsons grocery chain merger, which she opposes; responding to far-reaching effects of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade; stemming illegal immigration on the southern border and fixing the nation’s work visa programs and passing comprohensive immigration reforms; dealing with the fentanyl crisis; and assuring children’s safety online and on social media apps.
On kids and the internet, Schrier joined her fellow Democrat, Rep. Suzan DelBene in voting for the requirement that TikTok’s Chinese owners sell or shut down, but she wants to see broader social media reforms and is the co-lead in the House for the Kids Online Safety Act, which has passed the Senate. The legislation, Schrier said, would apply to all app providers, putting greater responsibility on companies to protect kids from content that is harmful, regarding drugs, suicide, eating disorders and more. Among its provisions, the legislation would mandate stringent privacy settings, forbid companies from tracking child users’ digital footprints and correct the apps’ more addictive features.
Schrier is hopeful the bill can pass the House when it returns to work following the election.
Schrier said she’s held some 150 town halls in the 8th District during her term, listening to the concerns of residents to direct her agenda. A good pediatrician has to know how to listen to her patient. Schrier has applied the same skills to her work in Congress.
Whether for this post or another, Goers’ abilities in working toward common ground and commonsense will serve her constituents well. But Schrier has put those same abilities into practice for three terms and should continue for a fourth.
Candidate forums
Voters are invited to live and live-streamed forums sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County and the Forum Coalition. A full schedule of forums with links is available at tinyurl.com/LWVSC2024Forums.
Ballots are scheduled to be mailed to registered voters on Oct. 17.
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