The race to fill the position of U.S. Representative in the 1st Congressional District has two challengers vying to unseat incumbent Jay Inslee.
Inslee, D-Bainbridge, faces Republican Randy Eastwood and Libertarian Charles Moore in the Nov. 2 election.
Inslee, 53, has served the district since 1998. He previously worked in the state Legislature and represented the 4th District when he lived for a time near Yakima. He was also regional director for the Department of Health and Human Services.
If re-elected, Inslee said his top two issues are the Apollo Energy Independence Project and increasing jobs in the state.
The Apollo project would address both issues; the program is designed to break the dependence on foreign oil and address the problem of global warming using the local work force.
“I believe we are a country with a can-do attitude – we’re tinkers and inventors,” Inslee said. “The economy flows from job creation.”
Eastwood, 35, works as a real estate agent and has no previous political experience. Two of his top issues are job creation and oil independence.
Eastwood suggests tax breaks and reduced-cost health care for businesses would help boost the economy.
“When business owners get to keep more of what they make, they are more inclined to use their entrepreneurial drive and create more jobs,” Eastwood said. “Businesses through Association Health Plans should be able to pool their employees with other employers to gain the buying power enjoyed by large companies, enabling better health care for less money.”
Eastwood said he also believes drilling for oil within our own shores would create new jobs.
“Right here in the Northwest, we are the gateway to Alaska. Washington state will get the jobs from that vast untapped resource,” Eastwood said.
He added that traffic and national security also are high on his list.
“We need to do everything we can to support our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Eastwood said.
Similarly, Moore said his top issue is protecting the United Sates from terrorism. He suggests a three-prong plan, including withdrawing U.S. troops from overseas, ceasing to provide military and financial aid to foreign governments and pursuing free trade with all nations.
“The first two steps serve to keep us out of the internal quarrels of other nations and regions,” Moore said.
“The third step reduces terrorism by promoting global prosperity. Free trade not only benefits America, but is also the most powerful force at our disposal for lifting the world’s poor out of poverty.”
Moore, 43, works as a computer programmer and has no previous political experience.
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