3rd district promises colorful race

Spokane’s 3rd Legislative District is a place of diversity.

It holds the city’s central business core, three major hospitals, active neighborhoods and the region’s greatest concentrations of minority and impoverished residents.

Four candidates running for the Position 1 House seat want to serve that diverse constituency and the issues that come with it.

Longtime Democratic Rep. Alex Wood is seeking his seventh term, having first been elected in 1996 in one of the most reliably Democratic districts in the state. He is being challenged in the Aug. 19 primary by two Republicans – Laura Carder and Chris Bowen – and an independent, John Waite. The top two vote-getters will advance to the general election.

Wood, 62, said the No. 1 issue facing district voters this year is high gas prices, which are well beyond the influence of a state lawmaker. “It’s an international problem,” he said.

But lawmakers can seek better conservation measures, including green building and clean-car measures adopted in recent years, he said.

Closer to home, he said he is working on maintaining funding for a North Spokane freeway, keeping health care insurance benefits for working families and finding money to improve public education.

Today’s economic slowdown may cause lawmakers to turn to the budget knife, although an $850 million savings account could help ease any potential cuts, he said.

Waite, 43, said he filed as an independent because he doesn’t think the two major political parties are doing a good job of running government, in part because they are constantly on the lookout for campaign money.

“How can you fix problems when your main concern is to raise money and get elected?” Waite said.

Waite runs Merlyn’s Science Fiction and Fantasy store downtown and hosts a weekly radio talk show on KYRS-FM. He’s worked in retail his whole life, and he has two bachelor’s degrees from Eastern Washington University in education and humanities. He is running a low-budget campaign.

Waite supports open government, often called transparency, and is an advocate for an environmentally conscious, sustainable economy.

Carder, 61, is on her second run against Wood, having challenged him unsuccessfully two years ago. She is a former computer programmer from California who moved to Spokane several years ago. She serves as a precinct committee officer and volunteers in the community, including playing the viola in various settings.

She has a strong desire to protect U.S. citizens in competition for jobs with non-residents and wants to make English the official language. Her views include promoting health education as a way to reduce health-care costs. In schools, she would like to see “creation science” taught alongside evolution.

“There is way too much government spending,” she said.

Bowen, 30, said Republicans likely will have a rough time in the coming election, especially in the 3rd District where only one Republican has won a seat in several decades.

Owner of a small moving company, Bowen said he is testing the waters for a future in political affairs. “This has been a dream all of my life,” he said. In his low-budget campaign he said he wants voters to know that he is looking out for their interests.

The top issues are education, economic development, crime prevention and roads, he said.

“My sole objective is to increase the quality of life for the city,” he said. “I’m not doing this for me.”