Lampert In Hunt Again, Facing Rodgers No One Should Run Unopposed, She Says, So Hat Went Into Ring

Here’s the sum total of soul-searching and strategizing that preceded Barbara Lampert’s decision to run against Spokane City Council-woman Cherie Rodgers:

She walked into the county courthouse on the last day for candidates to file, noted that Rodgers was running unopposed for the Position 1 post and signed up.

Never mind that the two candidates share similar views on many issues. No one should run unopposed, said Lampert, adding that she probably would have run against someone else if Rodgers had been challenged.

It’s not the first time the Democratic Party volunteer has jumped into a race without much forethought. It may not be the last, unless she wins.

Lampert vows to run for office every year “until I win something or turn 70.” The 51-year-old is off to a good start.

In 1989, she asked to replace Sheri Barnard on the City Council after Barnard was elected mayor. The council appointed Bev Numbers, instead.

In 1992, Lampert ran for county freeholder, losing to Bob Dellwo. In 1993, she sought appointment as county treasurer.

In 1996, she ran for the state Legislature, losing the Democratic primary to Jerry Hopkins. Rep. Duane Sommers won the general election.

That last race shows Lampert’s pluck, said friend Curt Pavola. Lampert, who vows to spend no more than $2,000 on this year’s election, spent just $1,200 on the legislative race. Yet she lost the primary by just 58 votes.

“She went door-to-door and worked doggedly,” said Pavola, coordinator for Running Proud, an Olympia-based group that encourages gays and lesbians to run for office. Lampert, who is gay, is a member of Running Proud’s steering committee.

Pavola also praises Lampert’s work to unseat Dexter Amend after the county coroner accused homosexuals of sodomizing a 9-year-old girl who was murdered. Lampert was co-leader in the recall effort, which collected 35,000 petition signatures but died when the state Supreme Court ruled Amend hadn’t broken any laws.

“It was a wonderful effort that was very well organized,” Pavola said.

The daughter of elementary school teachers, Lampert graduated from North Central High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Washington. She said the closest she ever got to using that degree was when a bank interviewer told her, “If you were a man, I’d hire you in a minute.”

Her resume lists 18 jobs in the 29 years since she left UW. The most recent was at Manor Care Convalescent and Rehabilitation Center, where she worked five years as a nursing assistant.

Lampert wouldn’t say why she left Manor Care, referring questions to the center itself. The human resources director would say only that Lampert “did a fine job. We were sorry to see her go.”

Lampert also was a board member for New Horizons Care Centers Inc., which provides drug and alcohol treatment. Executive director Hal Lotzenhiser called her “well prepared, .. very active in decisions.”

Citing the Lincoln Street bridge as one example, Lampert said the City Council needs to stop rehashing decisions long after they’re made. And it needs to stop second-guessing the experts.

“I’m not a bridge engineer. I’m not interested like some citizens in poking apart this entrance ramp or that off-ramp,” she said.

Indecisiveness has doomed projects like the long-discussed North Spokane freeway, Lampert said.

“Make a decision and then do it,” she said. “When you’ve started into something there’s no reason to reconsider it or stop it.”

Lampert said she supports the gas tax voters are being asked to approve Nov. 4, but also thinks the city should lobby harder for more state transportation money. West Siders might part with that money, she said, if Eastern Washington politicians could convince them that it might make more people leave there to come here.

The waste-to-energy plant is overloaded and should be augmented with a second incinerator, she said.

“Burning is a good way to get rid of garbage.”

Lampert said her decision to limit spending to $2,000 is her way of encouraging campaign finance reform. The movement must start with local candidates like her if it’s ever going to get the attention of Congress, she said.

“Of course, my argument will be much better once I win,” she said. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

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