Shift has conducted interviews with a few of the legislative candidates the Republicans are running as the party seeks to take control of the Washington State Legislature this November. The battle ground is mostly in Puget Sound suburban swing districts where there are a few open seats and many strong Republican challengers are taking on Democrat incumbents who supported the reckless anti-police and higher tax/fee policies of their party.

We thought the Fourth of July holiday weekend was an appropriate time to revisit many of the candidate interviews we have conducted. We hope the interviews inspire you to become involved in a campaign.

Shift still has many more candidate interviews in the coming weeks (next week we have scheduled 30th LD House candidate Ashli Tagoai), so stay tuned!

We hope you have a safe holiday weekend as our country celebrates the 246th anniversary of our democracy.

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Carmen Goers, who is a community activist, commercial lending officer, and a Republican candidate for the 47^th Legislative District House seat.  Goers was honored last year by the King County Council for her community service with the MLK Medal of Distinguished Service award.  Goers announced in January that she was running against Democrat House Leader Pat Sullivan, who despite raising more than $25,000 in the weeks prior to the start of the legislature, suddenly switched course last month by stating he would not face the voters for re-election this fall.  Goers hopes to bring her extensive community service experience and financial knowledge to the legislature.  Like most of the South King County residents she hopes to serve, Goers is very concerned about the significant increase in crime since the passage of the Democrat’s anti-police legislation. In her interview, Goers describes the importance of listening to police officials when developing public safety legislation, her strong belief in providing educational opportunities, and how she would have supported tax relief to Washington residents with the $15 billion in surplus revenue the Democrats used instead to make state government even larger and permanently more expensive.

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with 44^th Legislative District Republican House candidate Mark Harmsworth, who is running against Democrat Representative Brandy Donaghy who was appointed to the position early this year.  This race in Central Snohomish County is targeted by both parties as the Republicans seek to take control of the legislature this November.  Harmsworth served in the House from 2015 to 2019 after completing two terms on the Mill Creek City Council.  Recently Harmsworth has worked as the Center for Small Business Director for the Washington Policy Center and runs his own IT consulting company. Like many of his fellow GOP candidates, Harmsworth is highlighting public safety issues in his campaign after the Democrats’ 2021 anti-police legislation led to a significant rise in crime across Washington.  In his interview Harmsworth discusses making the state a more affordable place to live and work, repealing the Long-Term Care payroll tax, public safety, helping small businesses, and providing Shift readers with his very unique, yet worthy favorite book.

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Republican state senate candidate Ryika Hooshangi who is seeking to remove controversial Democrat Senator Manka Dhingra.  This 45^th Legislative District (Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, and East King County) contest will be one of Washington State’s most watched campaigns in 2022 as Republicans seek to pick up four seats to take control of the state senate.  Hooshangi is an attorney, small business owner, PTSA president, water commissioner, and mother of two children.  She says she is running for the state senate because “we need real solutions to our problems, not extreme personal agendas.”  Hooshangi’s opponent has received much criticism for her efforts in passing the Democrats’ 2021 anti-police package (Senator Dhingra even went so far as to defend her Democrat colleagues who failed to support a legislative fix to the state’s police pursuit laws which have allowed thousands of suspected criminals to flee police).

In her interview, Hooshangi provides her thoughts on the Democrats’ police pursuit restrictions, education, gas tax relief to help those who are struggling financially, and the Democrats’ “poorly written” Long-Term Care plan and payroll tax. She also provides an interesting choice for her favorite book.

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Spencer Hutchins, Republican candidate for the open House seat in the 26^th Legislative District (which includes most of Bremerton, Port Orchard, Gig Harbor and most of South Kitsap County). The Gig Harbor native and former city councilmember is co-owner of a successful local real-estate company.  Hutchins jumped into the race earlier this year and immediately was able to outraise his likely Democrat opponent by nearly 3 to 1, with nearly all of his contributions coming from individuals who live within the district.  In his interview Hutchins expressed his frustration with the legislative Democrats’ “spending spree” with the state’s $15 billion surplus, providing no tax relief for low- and middle- income households, and “then had the audacity to demand even more from taxpayers.”  Hutchins also states his strong opposition to the Democrats‘anti-police legislation which has negatively impacted individuals, small businesses, and even health care workers who have been the subjects of “a rash of violent incidents.”

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Casey Jones, a police commander for a regional SWAT team, and a Republican candidate for the Washington State House of Representatives from the 30^th Legislative District (Federal Way, Algona, Pacific, and parts of Auburn).  He is challenging first-term Democrat incumbent Representative Jamila Taylor.  Jones has been a Federal Way resident for 23 years and has served in law enforcement for 28 years, first as a narcotics detective and school resource officer before assuming command of the SWAT team.  In his interview, Jones discusses how the Democrat’s controversial 2021 anti-police legislation inspired him to run for office as he has seen firsthand how the liberal public safety policies have negatively impacted communities.  Jones also details his views on Governor Jay Inslee’s abuse of emergency powers (now on Day 839), the tax cuts he would support to help lower- and moderate income families, how to protect our schools, the “unorganized mess” of the Democrats’ Long-Term Care plan and tax, and why he lists a Stephen King classic as his favorite book.

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Susanna Keilman, Republican candidate for the 28^th Legislative District’s House of Representative position currently held by Democrat Representative Dan Bronoske. The former U.S. Air Force medic, has spent the past 22 years in a successful health care career, including in clinical research business development.  Pierce County’s 28^th LD includes Joint Base Lewis McChord, so the needs of military members, their families, and veterans are a top priority – this includes military voting rights, which Keilman wants to make a stronger priority for our government.

During our interview, Keilman asserted that the state’s current public safety laws are “frustrating and disrespectful to law enforcement and law-abiding citizens.”  She wants to close the loopholes which allow criminals to be immediately released after they have been arrested.  Keilman claimed it was a “missed opportunity” by Democrat legislators to not provide any tax relief while the state has a $15 billion revenue surplus.  Keilman stated she wants “a performance and salary audit of every state employee, including the Governor’s office,” and start “cutting the bloat that they’ve created over the last decade.”

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with 30^th Legislative District Senate candidate Linda Kochmar, the former state representative running to unseat failed first-term Democrat Senator Claire Wilson.  This contest is one of just a half-dozen races in swing suburban districts which will determine which party controls the Washington State Senate during the 2023 legislative session.  Kochmar is currently the Federal Way City Council President after having served two terms in the Washington State House of Representatives.

South King County has been severely impacted by the reckless 2021 “police reform” laws passed by the Democrats (and strongly supported by Senator Wilson).  Kochmar has made restoring crime fighting tools to police departments one of her campaign’s central themes.  In her interview, Kochmar describes how Senator Wilson voted against allowing police to pursue suspected criminals even though it has been well-established that criminals know they can simply speed away from police officers under the rules the Democrats have put in place.  Besides crime issues, Kochmar also describes how the Democrats refused to provide tax relief to low- and middle-income households and how Senator Wilson’s support for legalizing drugs is simply adding more homeless individuals to our streets.

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Republican House candidate Karen Lesetmoe, who is challenging two-term Democrat incumbent Dave Paul, who won re-election in 2020 by just 738 votes. The 10^th Legislative District (Island County, NW Snohomish County, and SW Skagit County) race is pivotal if Republicans are to take control of the Washington State House of Representatives by picking up nine seats this November. Lesetmoe is the mother of six, U.S. Navy veteran, and a real estate agent who is running for office to “fight for the American Dream” which she has experienced herself.  She came to the United States from the Philippines when she was six years old with just her family and a suitcase.  If elected she pledges to support law enforcement because “communities cannot thrive without safety.” In her Shift interview Lesetmoe also discusses what the state should have done with the $15 billion it had in surplus revenue this year, long term health care, and how Governor Inslee’s abuse of emergency powers has hurt the most vulnerable in our state.

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Chad Magendanz, GOP House candidate in the 5^th Legislative District (Issaquah, Maple Valley, East Renton Highlands, and East King County) who is challenging two-term incumbent Democrat Representative Lisa Callan.  Many readers will recall Magendanz from his previous service in the legislature from 2013 – 2017, before he ran for the 5^th LD Senate seat and barely lost by just 500 votes.  Magendanz is a U.S. Navy veteran, former Microsoft software developer, and is currently a high school computer science teacher.  Education issues have been important to Magendanz as he was formally the president of the Issaquah School Board and was the Ranking Republican on the House Education Committee.  In his interview Magendanz discusses education, what taxes he would cut, repairing the damage the Democrats have caused with their drug legalization and anti-police bills, repealing Long-Term Care, ending the state’s attempt to socially engineer residents out of their cars by actually causing congestion, and he provides a fun selection for his favorite book.

Our Newsmaker Interview is with Republican legislative candidate Tawsha Dykstra Thompson, a recently retired Bellingham police officer, who is running against first-term Democrat incumbent Representative Alicia Rule in the 42^nd Legislative District (Whatcom County).  Tawsha Thompson and her husband Jay, a Whatcom County Sherriff’s deputy, made news last February when he was one of two officers shot while responding to a neighborhood disturbance.  Thompson’s experiences during the ordeal were told in this local media story. From our interview, it is obvious that Thompson is not only extremely knowledgeable about the Democrats’ disastrous police reform bill (“The liberal majority in Olympia does not want to hold criminals accountable”) but knows far more about most of the issues than many of the legislature’s long time incumbents.  Thompson shares her thoughts about her husband’s recovery, public safety, Long-Term Care, the state income tax on capital gains, the recent floods in Northwest Washington, and on the failure of the Democrats to help low- and middle income households with any type of tax relief (gas, sales, or property).

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