House: District 9, Postition 1

Two mainstream candidates and one maverick are vying for the District 9 Position 1 legislative seat.

In his fourth House bid, GOP Rep. Larry Sheahan of south Spokane faces Cheney Democrat Annette Hendricks and Palouse Libertarian John Gearhart.

Sheahan, a Rosalia native who chairs the House Law and Justice Committee, touts the successful 1997 passage of a juvenile reform bill, along with House-sponsored welfare reform and tax cuts.

Sheahan supported harsher penalities for repeat drunk drivers and helped secure funding for a Hepatitis A vaccination program. He plans to introduce legislation addressing school safety and violence.

“We want to make sure the tragedies in Oregon, Tennesee and Arkansas don’t happen here,” says Sheahan.

After retiring from the U.S. Navy in 1992, Hendricks is now getting a second bachelor’s degree and a master’s in embryology from Eastern Washington University.

She’s criticized Sheahan for endorsing term limits in 1992 and then running for a fourth term, hesitating to oppose a proposed EWU-WSU merger, and legislating morality by supporting abortion restrictions and a ban on gay marriage.

Hendricks, a former Republican who opposes raising taxes, wants more budget emphasis on education and crime prevention rather than prisons.

Legislators should bring more federal tax dollars into Eastern Washington, and develop new economic development incentives, she said.

The third candidate, Palouse drapery shop owner and City Councilman John Gearhart, sits on the Executive Committee of the Washington Libertarian Party. It’s his third run against Sheahan.

His campaign has focused on the economic benefits of allowing farmers to produce industrial hemp for fiber, a move several European countries and Canada have already made, Gearhart said.