He’s an ordinary guy, fighting to improve the economy and education for folks in Washington.
That’s the image Mike Hope is presenting to voters this election season in the 44th district.
The Snohomish Republican is attempting to unseat appointed Rep. Liz Loomis, one of two Democrats serving the district in the state House of Representatives. And he’s pretty optimistic about his chances of winning, claiming the current Legislature has spent the state into a deficit of more the $2.5 million.
“I think voters are ready for a change,” Hope said. “The Legislature has been very inefficient with tax dollars; they’ve failed to fully fund education and transportation fixes — 27 projects — for our highways.”
Hope, a detective with the Seattle Police Department, ran unsuccessfully in 2006 against the district’s other House Democrat, Rep. Hans Dunshee, also from Snohomish. Hope believes the gravity of issues facing the state this time around will play in his favor.
“I don’t think you can lay blame on Democrats or Republicans alone,” he said. “It’s the Legislature as a whole that’s been ineffective.”
He senses on the campaign trail frustration among voters that the state has failed to fund vital services despite record tax increases.
He hears from his wife, Sarai, a special education teacher, about the challenges she faces on a daily basis to do more with less — less money and less teachers and assistants.
“For eight consecutive years, the Legislature has failed to fully fund teacher pay increases,” Hope said. “That failure bleeds into a lot of other issues that affect the quality of education our children are receiving.”
He pointed to transportation as another area in which the state has failed taxpayers.
“We have one of the highest gas taxes in the nation, but we haven’t come close to funding the transportation improvements that tax is supposed to support,” he added. “I think we really need to get down to the local level and work with city and county governments to determine what programs are needed and what programs can go.”
Hope contends that a fresh set of lawmakers — bringing new perspective to Olympia — is necessary to fix the state’s problems.
In the current economy, small businesses are struggling to keep afloat. The state’s method of assessing fees and taxing business owners’ gross income adds to the burden, he said.
Hope has experienced this first hand, as he recently opened a small training gym in Monroe.
“I couldn’t believe how hard it was getting off the ground,” he said. “With all the fees and taxes we were paying the state, we were losing more than we were making. That’s not a good scenario in this economic climate. It’s time people in the Legislature roll up their sleeves and make better use of tax dollars.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
