State Turns Attention To 9Th District Legislative Race

One 9th District candidate’s e-mail address says it all:

Tiebreaker@annettehendricks.com.

Washington state’s political dynamic has historically spun on a West Side axis.

But the 49-49 split between House Republicans and Democrats is likely to be decided in the rural 9th District, defined by its reliance on agriculture, Lower Granite Dam and two state universities.

Both parties say the Palouse will likely be ground zero for one of the most intense state legislative races ever.

“It will be a hotly contested race,” said state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt.

The incumbent Republican, retired Colfax school superintendent Don Cox, has never run for office.

Neither has attorney Mike Connelly of Latah, one of two announced Democrats who hope to capture the seat.

The other challenger, retired Navy electronics specialist Annette Hendricks from Cheney, collected nearly 34 percent of the vote last fall when she ran for the same seat against Larry Sheahan. Five months ago, Sheahan was appointed to the Senate and the little-known Cox was picked to take his place.

Psychologically, a win by either party would mean bragging rights and momentum heading into the 2000 elections. The race is almost certain to attract slick campaign advertising from outside interests.

All the money and attention could disappear quickly if another House seat were to become vacant between now and the filing deadline at the end of July. But that becomes less likely every day.

Cox, Connelly and Hendricks, meanwhile, hope they can prevent what’s normally a low-key race from becoming loud and dirty.

“We will run our campaign with a lot of respect,” said Ian Walton, Connelly’s campaign manager. “People are really sensitive to dirty pool, and they don’t want to be a part of it.”

Even so, Walton predicts it’ll feel like a congressional race. It could be the most expensive House race ever, surpassing last year’s $323,528 battle in the 24th District on the Olympia Peninsula.

DEMOCRATIC HOPEFULS While the filing deadline is weeks away, two Democrats are already campaigning for Don Cox’s seat: Mike Connelly.The 45-year-old attorney from Latah, Wash., was born and raised in Spokane. A Liberty School Board member, Connelly was recently named “attorney of the year” by the Spokane County Bar Association’s volunteer lawyers program. He has a bachelor’s degree in history and education from the University of Washington and a law degree from Gonzaga. Connelly is making his first bid for public office. His father, James Connelly, is U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington. Annette Hendricks. A retired Navy electronics specialist, Hendricks, 44, was born in Spokane and lives in Cheney. She joined the Navy at 18, became an air traffic controller and later worked for the Federal Aviation Administration. She has a degree in biology from Eastern Washington University and is working on her master’s. Hendricks received 34 percent of the vote last fall when she ran unsuccessfully in the 9th District against then-Rep. Larry Sheahan.