During her first term in Washington’s House of Representatives, the deadly Oso mudslide hit her legislative district, the 39th.
Now Republican Rep. Elizabeth Scott is facing opposition in her re-election bid for the Position 2 seat from a political newcomer who questions her remarks about the worst natural disaster in Snohomish County history.
Democratic challenger Charles Jensen, 51, of Sedro-Woolley, accuses Scott of “political grandstanding” during the crisis. He is critical of Scott’s frustration over the response to the disaster by government agencies.
Responds Scott: “I expected to take some political heat for that, but it was my job to speak up.”
The district encompasses most of Snohomish and Skagit counties and the northeastern corner of King County. It includes the Oso area, site of the March 22 mudslide that killed 43 people and destroyed about 40 homes when it spread debris across a square-mile along the North Fork Stillaguamish River.
In the aftermath of the slide, Scott said, she stood behind the people of her district, fighting for separate chains of command for the Darrington and Arlington posts. She also urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency to let locals, like Darrington loggers, work alongside government responders.
Scott, 48, of Monroe, doesn’t have ideas for new laws as a result of the mudslide. She is waiting for word from an independent commission that is expected to make recommendations for improved emergency coordination and better building regulations in areas susceptible to landslides.
Jensen supports new laws aimed at ensuring land is safe to build on before construction starts. He cited a controversial rezoning issue in east Monroe as one that would need to be considered if such rules were passed.
Jensen, a teacher, considers himself a moderate Democrat. Scott, who is also a teacher, said she’s a conservative Republican who wholly stands behind the party’s platform.
In the August primary election, Scott got 57.7 percent of the vote to Jensen’s 42.2 percent. She is outspending her opponent considerably, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. She has spent $38,307, compared to Jensen’s $11,774. Scott has raised $57,176 versus her opponent’s $21,504.
If re-elected, Scott plans to focus on jobs, education and fiscal responsibility. She said she’ll fight for lower taxes, decreased regulation and stronger schools.
Jensen takes a different approach, though he, too, has his sights on creating jobs, funding education and improving transportation.
“With the whole idea of less taxes and smaller government, that’s not going to get done,” he said.
Both candidates agree that finding the money to satisfy the state Supreme Court’s mandate to pay for public education is perhaps the biggest challenge for lawmakers in the upcoming session.
Jensen favors revoking corporate tax loopholes to pay for public schools. He points to the tax breaks the state offered the Boeing Co., only to see it move jobs out of Washington. Jensen also wants to restructure the tax system to find new revenue without low- and middle-income people paying more.
Scott thinks the money to fully fund K-12 education is within the state budget, but some cuts are needed. Scott said dollars could be saved if schools weren’t spending so much time on testing.
She opposes new taxes, implementing fees or closing tax breaks to increase revenue. Instead, she’d like to see reforms at state agencies to funnel more money into education. She wants the state to stop spending money on things she deems unnecessary, such as art for transportation projects.
Scott also frowns on the state for paying for transportation projects such as bicycle paths and public transportation. Scott prefers transportation dollars be spent solely on clearing congested commutes and making road improvements.
She blames the state’s stringent environmental regulations for adding time and cost to transportation projects. She favors getting rid of some of those rules.
Jensen supports passing a state transportation revenue package so long as some of the money comes back to his district. He favors spending transportation dollars on making safety improvements to U.S. 2, including repaving, widening the road and putting in a median.
“The answer is not putting a sign up that says how many days since the last accident,” he said. Jensen believes the state should go after matching federal dollars to pay for those improvements and others.
Both candidates want to bring more jobs to the state, but they differ on how to do so.
Scott aims to reduce taxes and relax regulations so small businesses can thrive. “That’s the real social program — a job,” she said.
Jensen supports bringing more livable-wage jobs to Washington through education programs, such as aerospace industry training and union apprenticeships.
The two teachers also are split on Initiative-1351, which would require fewer students in each classroom.
Jensen applauds the idea of smaller class sizes but worries about the increased cost. He’ll likely vote in favor of the measure, but he hasn’t finished considering it. Scott said she opposes the initiative because the costs outweigh the benefits.
Both candidates plan to vote against the two competing gun initiatives. They also agreed that cities and counties should share in the tax revenue from the state’s new recreational marijuana system.
Jensen said he wasn’t sure how the state’s medical marijuana system should be handled or whether it needed to be fixed at all. Scott favors leaving the medical dispensary system alone.
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports
The candidates
Name: Charles Jensen
Party: Democrat
Age: 51
Residence: Sedro-Woolley
Website: electcharlesjensen.com
Name: Elizabeth Scott
Party: Republican
Age: 48
Residence: Monroe
Website: elizabeth4state.com
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