State Legislature - 9th District

Education and government regulation are at the top of candidates’ concerns in the District 9 primary races for state legislative seats.

The primary will decide the senate race, since no Democrats are running. Republican John Gearhart - who says he’s really more of a Libertarian - is taking on fellow Republican Sen. Eugene Prince, seeking his eighth term in the Legislature.

Gearhart, 57, of Palouse, owns a drapery business. He says he’s running to prevent the further erosion of civil liberties, and wants to profoundly cut back on government regulation. He says he’s a moderate Libertarian, with a pragmatic approach to politics.

Prince, 66, a Thornton farmer, sounds a similar alarm on regulation. He says constituents feel oppressed by agencies telling them how to live their lives. His experience and sense of compromise make him the man for the job, he said.

In the race for state Rep. Larry Sheahan’s seat, Sheahan has no Republican opposition in the primary.

Two Democrats, however, will square off to determine who takes on Sheahan, a Rosalia attorney, in November.

Cal Chase, a 49-year-old Tekoa farmer, has been on the Tekoa School Board for 17 years. Education - and funding for it - are high on his list of priorities, he said. He’d like to see Initiative 601, which voters approved to limit government spending, modified to allow more spending of such non-tax money as tuition or interest.

Brian Day, 25, is a Washington State University junior and Air Force veteran who said he’d bring a sense of compromise to the statehouse. He also said he’d set up a committee to ensure that higher education money is spent efficiently.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: 9TH DISTRICT The 9th District includes Adams, Whitman and parts of Asotin and Spokane counties.