Candidates with varying political ideologies look to fill open seat in 6th Legislative District

OLYMPIA – Voters in the 6th Legislative District will have options across the political spectrum when deciding who should represent them in the state Capitol next year.

First-time candidates Julia Payne, a Democrat, and Aaron Croft, an independent, join former Spokane City Councilman Jonathan Bingle, a Republican, in seeking to replace outgoing state Rep. Jenny Graham, a Republican who announced earlier this year she would not seek re-election.

While the seat will be represented by a new member, state lawmakers will find themselves in a familiar position. Faced with what is likely to be a multibillion -dollar budget deficit for the third session in a row, Gov. Bob Ferguson has already announced he plans to propose a budget that does not include any revenue increases.

With what is expected to be a challenging session for the state budget, their approaches to closing the gap vary.

“You just got to get back to the basics of government, which is focusing on building the infrastructure and keeping the people safe. That’s really it,” Bingle said in an interview. “So if we have spending that’s outside of those two goals, we need to cut that spending.”

Bingle said he would “rule out” tax increases to close the gap.

“We don’t have an income problem, we have a spending problem,” Bingle said.

Bingle said there are “a lot of areas” where he would look to make cuts, and that the state’s budget has become “bloated” over the past 10 years.

“We’re spending a ton of money on homelessness without any meaningful progress; we’re spending a ton of money in social services, and again, there’s well-documented fraud in these spaces that take money away from actually needy families,” Bingle said. “So getting a crackdown on that, I think, would be really helpful as well.”

Bingle said he also would support more audits on government spending and lower the audit threshold of $750,000.

Croft, who initially filed to run for Congress before shifting his focus to the state House, said there are “definitely cuts that could be made” to state spending, and said he’s identified programs that are living up to their intended goal.

“There’s definitely waste that we can get around,” Croft said. “Republicans are really fond of saying ‘We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem.’ They’re partially right.”

Croft said Democrats “stack tax on tax on tax” without closely examining where the money is going.

“I think we have to be smarter about the money we are bringing in,” Croft said.

Croft pointed to the Digital Navigator Program, a program run by the Department of Commerce that distributed $92 million in grants over three years before it was shut down. A state audit later found that it had “pervasive failures” and lacked basic accountability standards.

“That’s a perfect example of administrative failure hamstringing a well-funded initiative,” Croft said. “So if it’s not going to be used the proper way, if they’re not going to follow the rules, let’s do away with it.”

Croft said he’s developed a new budget plan that focuses on revenue neutral swaps, and to “slowly build up” spending to show confidence in state government.

“I’ve already floated this plan to people on both sides of the aisle, and there’s been an incredibly positive reception to it,” Croft said.

While he would enter the session as a freshman lawmaker without a political party, he also believes that legislative leaders would be receptive to his ideas.

“An independent getting elected in a very red district, that is a shot across the bow to both parties,” Croft said.

Payne, a longtime community volunteer, said she’s noticed a “real disconnection” with local state lawmakers while participating in lobbying events for Planned Parenthood, which prompted her to enter the race.

“Like, we would travel all of the way to Olympia, and they wouldn’t be available,” Payne said. “Or, you know, you send an email or a letter or a form of contact, and you’re lucky if you get a form letter back. But most of the time you don’t get anything at all.”

Payne said while she hadn’t heard much about the income tax on millionaires until it was passed by the Legislature earlier this year, she doesn’t “necessarily disagree with the direction that it’s trying to go.”

“I believe that our regressive tax code is a serious problem,” Payne said. “It’s interfering with the revenue that we have available to help citizens in our community who need help, and struggling to make ends meet, especially with the rising costs.”

Payne said while the tax is a “step in the right direction,” it’s going to “need amendments.”

“I do feel like right now, the reality is that our middle-class people pay more in taxes than individuals with millionaire-level assets. And that’s wrong.”

To help close the state’s deficit, Payne said she would look to “refine” tax breaks for companies.

“I think that we need to focus on the fact that tax revenue is one of the biggest things that helps feed that deficit,” Payne said. “I’m sounding a little bit like a broken record; it comes back to the regressive tax code.”

Cuts to state spending, Payne said, would need to be on a “case-by-case basis.”

“I would have to do some serious reading if it was presented to me as something that should be cut,” Payne said. “I will say that I am pretty against cutting anything that provides social services or appropriate programs to help people get back on their feet.”