6th Legislative District - House
The 6th District has lured mostly political newcomers to vie for its two state House seats.
Only Rep. Duane Sommers, the Republican who holds the Position 2 seat, is a political veteran, having served in the statehouse from 1987 to 1992. He was tapped in November to finish the last year of Rep. Todd Mielke’s term.
His competitor in the general election will be either Jerry Hopkins or Barbara Lampert.
Lampert, 50, is a Democratic rabble-rouser, a gay activist who helped lead the unsuccessful drive to oust Coroner Dexter Amend. The nursing aide’s position paper advocates 10 positions, including equal treatment for all - from plants to people of color to all sexual orientations.
Hopkins, 58, may not have run for office before, but he knows politics. As president of the Spokane Education Association, he worked with as many as 3,000 members and tried to bring decision-making to the local level. He advocates youth programs and education to prevent crime.
Three political newcomers are trying to represent Position 1 in the 6th District.
Republican up-and-comer Brad Benson, 37, is an Air Force veteran, a former bank officer and an ice-cream store owner. He advocates local control of schools and cuts in government waste.
He’ll face either Judy Personett or Kerry Luciani in the general election.
Luciani, 35, is a health care analyst for Group Health Northwest. He doesn’t believe in career politicians and considers himself a middle-of-the-road candidate. He’d like to cut regulations that hinder small businesses and take the paperwork out of patient care in health care.
Personett, 55, worked as a Veterans Affairs nurse for 22 years. She’s now a health-care management consultant and teaches and writes about health care. She wants to ensure that poor and elderly people aren’t forgotten by government.
, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: THE JOB The 6th Legislative District snakes from Moran Prairie to the Stevens County border, mainly following the Spokane River. It sprawls east to state Highway 395 and west to Rambo Road.