Fairley will seek a third term in state Senate

Published 11:11 am Monday, March 3, 2008

By Kathy F. Mahdoubi

For The Enterprise

For a dozen years, state Sen. Darlene Fairley, D-Lake Forest Park, has served the 32nd District and this year she intends to run once again.

“I enjoy the job,” she said.

Fairley’s long-standing incumbency has been a productive one, she said. Fairley is chair of the Financial Institutions, Housing and Consumer Protection Committee, is a ranking member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and is former chair of the capital budget committee, which has allowed her to wield a good amount of control over the budget, she said.

Some of Fairley’s funding projects include funding for the Edmonds Center for the Arts and for Shoreline Community College, as well as money for road improvements. Medians on a segment of Aurora Avenue North in Shoreline will be installed this year, which should allow for smoother traffic and fewer accidents, she said. General improvements also are due for State Route 522, which runs through Lake Forest Park.

One project of which the senator is especially proud is the proposed new Shoreline/South County YMCA on the south end of Echo Lake.

“It’s going to be an amazingly beautiful facility,” Fairley said.

An advocate for affordable housing, Fairley recently backed a bill that will enable the Washington State Housing Commission to increase its budgeted $3 billion in funding to $4.5 billion. This will allows developers of affordable housing to take out loans at low rates, spurring further development throughout the state, she said.

As chair of the committee for consumer protection, Fairley specializes in credit-card and insurance fraud, uninsured motorist issues and identity theft.

“There’s a lot within it that directly affects each constituent I have,” Fairley said. “I like solving constituent issues.”

The senator often drafts constituency bills, legislation born of contact with people within the district. During the last two years, Fairley has sponsored 12 such bills.

“I make sure that my district gets what they need and want,” she said. “I have a real interest in the towns and suburbs; we’re different than Seattle.”

One of Fairley’s recently passed bills will provide handicapped parking for drivers of blind passengers. The legislation was met with fierce opposition from people who felt that it would send the wrong message about blind people, she said. Rather than gear the legislation toward individuals who have been blind for a substantial amount of time and are self-sufficient, the senator strove to target newly blind people who are in need of extra assistance, she said.

Being a self-declared “100 percent environmentalist,” Fairley has made parks and open spaces a priority as well. Last year she acquired $275,000 from the capital budget to help preserve the Juanita Woodlands, a forested area in unincorporated King County.

“We’re so built out and urban,” said Fairley. “Any open space we have is important to our kids.”

If reelected, the senator said she hopes to finally push through a simple majority bill that would make it easier for local schools to pass bond issues. The bill died in the Senate last year. Currently, local school districts have to get a 60 percent affirmative vote to pass school bond measures.

“I have great hopes that it will pass this next year,” she said of the bill.

Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park, supports Fairley’s reelection. As chair of the House Children and Family Committee, Kagi works closely with Fairley on many issues.

“I work with her a lot to make sure that programs and services that serve children and families get included in the Senate budget,” Kagi said, “and she has very effectively accomplished that several times.”

With Fairley’s help, constituent Carolyn Armanini, a former Lake Forest Park Council member, said she was able to get $25,000 for school playground equipment at Brookside Elementary, making the playground more accessible for children.

“Sen. Fairley stepped up and found capital funding,” said Armanini. “We put together a remarkable playground and it’s been a huge success. Without her help, it would not have happened.”

Prior to being elected to the state Senate in 1995, Fairley served on the Lake Forest Park City Council. Fairley runs an antique business in Pioneer Square with her husband; the couple has one son.

Kathy F. Mahdoubi is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.