Voters have many choices to replace state Rep. Mike Volz
The decision of state Rep. Mike Volz to pursue a different office has sparked vast interest in his seat.
Four Republicans and two Democrats are running for state House Position 1 in the 6th Legislature, more candidates than in any other legislative race in Spokane County this year. Volz was running unopposed for Spokane County treasurer.
The 6th District sprawls to the north and west of Spokane, including parts of the West Plains and going nearly as far north as Chattaroy. It also includes the Indian Trail and Hillyard in Spokane.
Some of the candidates agree on areas they’ve identified as problems, but differ on how to address them. That includes the recently approved income tax on millionaires and the Climate Commitment Act that attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emission by having polluters buy allowances at auction with caps that lower over time.
Sueann Davis, a Republican, said she’s running because of what’s happening in the state.
“It’s just the state of affairs in Washington right now,” she said. “Life used to be a lot easier and better. It’s just chaos.”
Davis said she believes the new income tax on millionaires is unconstitutional and that property taxes and gas taxes are too high. She worries that they will only go higher. “We have no balanced budget, so who knows what the future is going to be in terms of taxes,” she said.
The state, she said, should be doing more to create affordable housing. She’s also firmly against a new state law that sets eligibility requirements for elected sheriffs. Previously, police chiefs had to meet certain standards, such as law enforcement experience and lack of felony convictions, but elected sheriffs did not. It also requires sheriffs to be certified by the Criminal Justice Training Commission within nine months or face removal from office.
“I believe we have a right to vote for the sheriff we want,” Davis said.
A recent study showed that up to 70% of Spokane County residents have considered moving out of the county, Davis said.
“I don’t want to leave,” she said. “I want to make this a better place for the next generation. Eastern Washington is a great place to live. It’s just frustrating that they’re making it so hard that people want to leave.”
Michaela Kelso, a Democrat, is a disabled U.S. Army veteran who is on the executive board of the Spokane County Democrats. Kelso identifies lack of affordability, particularly for housing, as a key issue in the district.
“It is ridiculous how much people are suffering,” she said. “Housing is the biggest expense right now, except for health care.”
More housing needs to be built but, Kelso said, many of the new apartment complexes are too expensive.
“I have nothing against new,” she said. “It just needs to be affordable.”
Kelso was born in Germany and came to the United States in 1993 as the spouse of a military member. She has since become a U.S. citizen. She said she misses the health care system in Germany because she was often ill as a child but her parents never had to worry about medical bills. No one should have to bankrupt themselves to receive the health care they need, Kelso said.
She believes officials can start with making incremental changes to its health care system, starting with the too -frequent denials for needed procedures and medications.
“Some of those denials can result in death and we don’t have the death penalty in Washington,” she said.
Kelso said the state should improve education funding by reducing the threshold required to pass a construction bond from 60% to a simple majority. Most other states in the country only require a simple majority.
“Our schools should not literally have to beg for money to build a new school or renovate one,” she said. “There’s a bunch of things in education we could do better.”
Airway Heights City Councilwoman Jennifer Morton was adopted from Haiti and grew up in Davenport. She join ed the U.S. Army Reserves as a way to afford college and deployed to Iraq for a year in the middle of her time at college. Morton said her success on the City Council helped convince her that she could make a difference at the state level.
“I love serving on the council,” she said. “I enjoy serving the community. Maybe I can do some good at the state level as well.”
Morton said she is focused on public safety, affordability and accountability. She said she wants people to feel safe in their community and in their home. Washington has a low number of police officers per capita and Morton said public safety is the backbone of every thriving community.
“We don’t have enough law enforcement on the street,” she said.
Morton said legislators need to closely examine the rising costs in state government. She said officials need to stop reaching into people’s pockets and give them a chance to breathe.
“We have to hold our elected officials accountable,” she said. “It’s about the people you’re serving, not ideology or some rhetoric.”
Republican Alan Nolan, a U.S. Air Force Veteran and current Mead School Board member, said he’s running for the 6th District seat for the same reason he ran for the school board.
“I saw problems and felt like I had the skills and drive to help solve them,” he said.
He points to his work on the school board to balance the district’s budget and restore the focus on educational outcomes.
“We have focused on results,” he said.
Nolan said he believes Washington state has a spending problem and that the high cost of living in the state is driven by bad fiscal policy at the state level.
“There’s a complete lack of fiscal responsibility,” he said. “We are still in a deficit problem. They continue to add new taxes.”
Too many burdens are being placed on small businesses, he said. “Those are threatening opportunities for our state,” he said. “The business environment is not especially conducive to small business.”
The cost of new housing is expensive and Nolan said that’s partly because of fees and regulations and he’d like to see those lowered. He cited a study from the National Association of Home Builders that estimates that government regulations add about $130,000 to the cost of a new home.
“Home ownership is good for communities,” he said.
The state Legislature has undercut the ability of law enforcement to operate with several recent laws that were passed, Nolan said. The education system is also in need of reform because it doesn’t do a good job of making sure students have the basic skills they need, he said.
Nolan said he’s also campaigning against the Spokane Transit Authority’s attempt to renew a two-tenths of 1% sales tax to pay for ongoing and expanded services, which would sunset in 20 years. He said he believes STA has too much money in reserves to be asking for more tax money.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for them to go for another 20 years of this,” he said. “They’ve been banking money this entire time.”
Democrat Nicolette Ocheltree works as the manager of housing and homeless initiatives for the City of Spokane and considers herself a community activist. She participated in counter protests when people she calls “religious extremists” protested against a drag queen story hour and abortion access. She created the Facebook group “500 Drag Queen Strong” to rally support.
She said those experiences made her become outspoken about issues she saw in the community and she became a regular attendee at City Council meetings.
“I was that gadfly at City Council meetings every week,” she said.
Ocheltree said she’s concerned about the high cost of housing. More housing for all income levels needs to be built, she said.
“We are woefully underbuilt, especially for lower -income housing,” she said.
She said she would push for better solutions to PFAS contamination in the well water of many West Plains residents caused by the use of firefighting foam at Fairchild Air Force Base and the Spokane International Airport.
Ocheltree said people need immediate access to clean water, adding she’s concerned about how the chemical contamination will be cleaned up.
“Everybody deserves to have clean drinking water,” she said.
She said the Spokane Waste-to-Energy Plant should have received the same exemption for the Climate Commitment Act that landfills did. The trash burning plant was scheduled to start paying $8 million annually in penalties for greenhouse gas emissions in 2027 until legislation was approved to remove those penalties temporarily. Ocheltree said that only “kicks the can down the road” and the issue still needs to be solved.
“If landfills can get an exemption, so should Waste-to-Energy,” she said.
Ocheltree has come under fire during the campaign for her friendly relationship with former Spokane City Councilman Jonathan Bingle, who is running for the other 6th District House seat. Bingle, a Republican, holds opposing views on many issues. She said that she believes in working with everyone and their relationship is an example of her efforts to discuss issues without arguing.
“There’s a lot of things we don’t agree on,” she said. “I’m not going to forget my values at the door. I always like to talk to people who disagree with me. I think it makes me a better thinker.”
Republican Isaiah Paine, who works for the Spokane Home Builders Association, said he’s helped run several political campaigns.
“I’ve got four kids now,” he said. “I want a Washington they want to and can afford to live in. It’s not looking that way right now. It feels like right now, we’re chasing jobs and investment out of the state. I feel like I could step in pretty quickly and get to work.”
Paine said the issues he hears about the most from residents is the lack of affordability and taxes. He said big increases in taxes have affected businesses, especially small operations.
“It’s really hard to have a business grow in Washington state and a lot of that is because of the tax structure,” he said.
He said he’s also worried the recently approved income tax on millionaires will expand.
“Most people don’t buy for a second that it’s going to be limited to millionaires,” he said.
Paine said he believes more legislation should have sunset clauses so lawmakers can assess whether laws working as intended.
“Our structure assumes that more legislation is good,” he said. “Then we get layer upon layer upon layer. More legislation is not always better. More rules are not always better.”
Davis said being a lifelong resident of the area gives her a unique perspective.
“I’m the only Republican that was born and raised in Washington,” she said. “I know who I am and what I stand for. I’ll fight a fight if it needs to be fought. They just don’t have the lifelong connection to what it used to be like.”
Kelso pledges to work in a bipartisan manner if she’s elected and said she’s willing to listen to and fight for all her constituents.
“I will listen to all sides of the story before I make a decision,” she said. “I’m not an expert on anything, except which weeds to pull from my garden.”
Kelso said the 6th District has reliably elected Republicans but questions how effective they can be when the Democrats have the majority in state government.
“How are we going to be represented any better if any of them make it?” she said of her Republican opponents. “What has a Republican representative done for our district? What have they accomplished? What legislation have they brought forward?”
Morton said she wants to serve everyone in her community. “I’ve served in government for the last six and a half years, so I have an understanding, at least on the city level, how government works,” she said. “I genuinely want to make a difference at the state level. I’m an optimist and I’m hopeful. I truly believe the state of Washington has a bright future ahead.”
Nolan said he’s shown the ability to lead and run organizations and work within bureaucracies.
“I’ve got a sustained record of achievement in different areas,” he said. “I’ve shown that I can adapt and thrive in new environments.”
Ocheltree said she thinks it’s important a Democrat is elected to the seat to have more of a say in policy.
“There’s no better time than now and no better person than me to flip this seat,” she said. “I’m not afraid to say the thing that needs to be said to the person who needs to hear it. I’m not afraid to do bold things and I do my homework.”
Paine said he understands how to do the job.
“I’ve been working on policy already,” he said. “I’ve worked with people on both sides of the aisle. I think we really need some balance in the state and that’s not going to come until we change the complexion of the state Legislature.”