Primary’s A Cakewalk For District Candidates No Opposition For Mccaslin, Orr, Galizia, Crouse, Sterk

There will be no winners or losers in the 4th Legislative District in the Sept. 17 primary.

None of the five candidates for three positions is opposed.

In the November general election, Republican Bob McCaslin, the incumbent, will face off against Democrat George Orr in a battle for a Senate seat.

In the House, Democrat Frank Galizia is trying to oust Republican Larry Crouse in one race. Mark Sterk, the GOP incumbent, is unopposed in the general election for the other position.

The district encompasses most of the Spokane Valley and part of Hillyard.

The two Senate candidates have the most experience.

Seeking his fifth term, McCaslin, a 70-year-old former Kaiser employee and real estate agent, is the elder statesman.

McCaslin said his top legislative priority is to tackle the state’s Growth Management Act. He has vowed to either repeal the law or change it, allowing counties to opt out of the now-mandatory rules regulating urban development.

Orr served two terms as a state representative beginning in 1990 before Crouse unseated him in 1994.

The Spokane Valley firefighter said he would focus on education and protection of natural resources. He hopes to foster relationships between schools and industry to better prepare high school graduates for college or work.

If elected to the House, Galizia promises to push for a rollback of 1993 increases in the state business and occupation tax.

The 36-year-old Valley optometrist pledged to find ways to improve public schools and the juvenile justice system without raising taxes.

First Galizia will have to unseat Crouse, 51, who also intends to scrutinize the tax structure, saying legislators have to put the brakes on rising property taxes.

To help fight crime, the former Kaiser machinist advocates building more prison cells for hard-core criminals.

, DataTimes