Spokane lawmaker Ormsby faces teacher who left SPS over COVID masks, parolee who served time for 2nd-degree murder

Veteran Spokane lawmaker Timm Ormsby faces two political newcomers, who’ve been in the news, in his bid for re-election to the 3rd District’s Position 2 in the state House of Representatives.

His challengers are Republican Natalie Poulson, a long-time teacher until she was escorted from her school in north Spokane for refusing to wear a mask last year, and Patrick Spurlock, who has no party affiliation and was recently released from prison after being convicted of second-degree murder in 2005 in Cowlitz County.

In 2003, Spurlock was staying with a woman at her home in Longview, Washington, when he shot 43-year-old DeWayne Williams in the abdomen after an argument broke out between Spurlock, Williams and Williams’ girlfriend. Spurlock, who grew up in Compton, California, then tied up the homeowner and Williams’ girlfriend while robbing the house of valuables, and fled to Los Angeles. He was apprehended by police in Los Angeles a few weeks later and extradited to Cowlitz County.

Spurlock maintained his innocence during the trial, entering a Newton guilty plea, in which a defendant maintains innocence while acknowledging a jury would likely find him guilty. Spurlock was sentenced to 17 years in prison and was released earlier this year. He said he landed in Spokane as a condition of his release. He said he decided to run for office after his last appearance in Cowlitz County in front of a judge, who encouraged Spurlock to get involved with civic life. He sees himself as the people’s candidate and decided to run to combat corruption in the government.

Poulson gained attention in November for her public opposition to mask and vaccine mandates in area schools, and she said Gov. Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandate for state employees led to her leaving her job in the Spokane Public Schools district. Poulson was one of a handful of Finch Elementary School employees, including the principal, who were escorted out of the building after refusing to wear masks in the building.

Poulson grew up in Spokane Valley, and graduated from University High School before attending Spokane Community College, Gonzaga University and Whitworth University. She earned a bachelor’s degree specializing in both elementary education and special education, before earning her master’s in education from Whitworth.

Poulson spent the past 18 years working for Spokane Public Schools, teaching at several schools, including Stevens Elementary, Balboa Elementary and Woodridge Elementary schools. She said she has lived in the same house in north Spokane for 25 years, raising her three children as a single mother.

As the only Republican in the race, Poulson has received endorsements from Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich. She said she decided to run for office to address what she considers public safety issues, like education, rising rates of homelessness, crime and government overreach.

A cement mason by trade, Orsmby was appointed to the seat in 2003 and was elected in 2004. He has been re-elected every two years since. He is the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for writing the House version of the state’s operating budget. He’s also a member of the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee.

Ormsby is a graduate of Spokane’s North Central High School, and has worked as a business representative for the Northeastern Washington-Northern Idaho Building and Construction Trades Council since 2000.

Where they stand on the issues

Last month’s Supreme Court decision ending the constitutional right to abortion gave wide authority to states to restrict abortion.

In Washington, abortion is allowed up to 24-25 weeks of gestation, and Inslee has said he is working with lawmakers to further protect abortion access in the state.

Ormsby said he supports Washington’s laws on abortion, and said he has a long history of supporting women’s reproductive health rights and takes his cues from the women in his life.

Spurlock said he is a firm believer in individual sovereignty and said he does not believe the government should have a say over what an individual decides to do with their body. Neither of the two believe there should be any restrictions on contraception.

Poulson described herself as “Pro-Life,” and declined to elaborate further on abortion issues. When pressed, she indicated that she would not support allowing exceptions for women who are raped.

“You can’t fix one sin by adding another, and I think we need to focus more on, you know, what is our quality of life right now? Are we dealing with public safety issues? Are we dealing with homelessness and the mental health crisis?” Poulson said.

Last year, the Washington Legislature passed a ban on large capacity magazines for firearms. The candidates are seeking election to the Legislature amid a nationwide push for more gun reform after another bout of mass shootings, including the tragedy at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 19 children, a teacher and another school employee.

Poulson said she does not believe there should be a ban on large-capacity magazines, and believes schools should have armed officers stationed inside with only one point of entry into the building. Spurlock said he does not support the magazine ban and believes there should not be any limitation enacted by the government. Ormsby supports the ban.

Over the past two years, the Legislature has enacted police reform laws aimed at reducing unnecessary uses of force and providing recovery resources for individuals addicted to controlled substances. Spurlock said he was not very familiar with it, but supported the changes because the people of Washington called on their legislators to pass reforms. Orsmby supports the reforms as well.

“I think there’s more work to do and further refinement,” Ormsby said. “As with all public policy, it is an ongoing process.”

Poulson said she does not support the new reform laws, and believes the changes made it much harder for police officers to do their jobs. She said she feels unsafe in Spokane as of late, and would like to see the laws overturned.

Due to the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Poulson also would like to see the governor’s emergency powers reformed, as she believes it gives the the governor too much power. Spurlock agrees, but was incarcerated for much of the pandemic and therefore could not speak on Inslee’s pandemic response.

“I think we’re getting away from what our structure is, being a republic and being able to have a legislature where people come, discuss things and come up with what they feel is best for the people,” Poulson said.

Ormsby said he is open to examining the governor’s emergency powers, and believes the governor has relied on the best available science to make decisions.

“I’m a strong advocate for a separation of powers and roles and responsibilities as distributed to the various branches of government,” Ormsby said. “I believe that everything that has been done up to this point has been within the letter and intent of the law, as we have it.