Republican Robert Zimmerman, the mayor of Monroe since 2009, began campaigning this week to fill the seat of state Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, this fall.
Zimmerman is the second Monroe Republican to enter the race since Pearson said he will run to replace retiring state Sen. Val Stevens in the sprawling 39th Legislative District. The district includes parts of rural Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties.
Elizabeth Scott, who ran for the state Legislature in 2010 while living in Edmonds, declared her candidacy Tuesday.
Zimmerman served two terms on the Monroe City Council before unseating the city’s incumbent mayor, Donetta Walser, in 2009. His mayoral term expires in 2013.
In a press release issued Wednesday, Zimmerman said:
“My record is clear. For nine years I have championed the principles and values that support the core functions of government without creating a greater burden on taxpayers.”
“It is with this same commitment to conservative principles and personal fortitude that I will represent the 39th District in Olympia. The only way to improve our economy is to unleash the power of businesses to create jobs. We need government to be a help, not an obstacle.”
And there is a Democrat in the race.
Eleanor Walters, who originally planned to challenge Stevens, told The Monroe Monitor &Valley News she will seek the vacant seat instead. In 2010, Walters took on state Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish, and lost.
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