Clark County commissioners will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday to interview the three finalists chosen Monday in the contest to fill a vacant 49th legislative district seat. Precinct committee officers in the 49th chose former legislative lobbyist Sharon Wylie, former mayoral campaign manager Temple Lentz and legislative session aide Jeremy Zegas on Monday as finalists for appointment to fill the vacant 49th Legislative District seat.
Commissioners will interview the candidates from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., then meet in executive session to discuss the candidates, according to a commission staff member. They’ll take the vote in open session at noon, and the winner will be sworn in by a Clark County Superior Court judge at 12:15 p.m.
The Legislature is in the final stages deliberating on a budget for the 2011-13 biennium and is scheduled to adjourn April 24. The appointment is to fill the seat formerly held by Rep. Jim Jacks, D-Vancouver, who resigned March 25.
The swift action by elected 49th District precinct PCOs was something of a surprise after several Democratic elected officials, including 49th District Rep. Jim Moeller, urged a more deliberative process late last week. But Mike Heywood, chairman of the 49th District Democratic Central Committee, said that at two Democratic Party gatherings over the weekend, “there was a renewed determination to get on with the process.”
Meeting at the Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union Hall in downtown Vancouver, the 25 elected precinct committee officers gave each candidate five minutes to describe his or her experience and qualifications to serve in the Legislature.
Wylie, 61, who won a runoff with Lentz for first place on the second ballot of the night, declared herself an environmentalist and “a huge fan of light rail.” She recounted her experience serving two terms in the Oregon Legislature in the 1990s and working as legislative lobbyist for Clark County and other governments for eight years beginning in 2001. Among the legislators shw worked with during her time in Olympia were then-Republican House members Marc Boldt and Tom Mielke. Both are now Clark County commissioners.
Wylie touted her experience establishing a successful farmers market in Oregon and an organization to help victims of sexual assault in Seattle. More recently, she served as a consultant on a project to study the problem of construction defects in homebuilding.
“To me, being a Democrat means you care about social justice, collective action, women’s rights,” she said. “Democrats believe in transparency. My concern is that we not have a schism between the older and the younger people. We need to work together.”
Lentz, 35, who managed Tim Leavitt’s successful campaign for mayor in 2009, called the 49th District “the last progressive stronghold in Clark County,” and said she had the experience and drive to win it and hold it in 2012. She stressed her roots in social activism, noting that in Ohio, where she grew up, her mother worked for a community action agency and her father taught in a prison. “These are not the jobs of the rich and famous,” she quipped. “These are the jobs that make our country run, the jobs that protect and restore what’s left of the American dream.”
Government exists to help people, Lentz said. “If we’re not helping each other, nothing else matters. That sense that people matter most of all is what makes me a Democrat.”
She promised to fight for women’s right to make decisions about their bodies, to make sure labor is at the table on economic issues, and to close “egregious loopholes” that benefit the rich. She also vowed to advocate for the Columbia River Crossing.
Zegas, who is state Sen. Craig Pridemore’s session aide, was the youngest candidate in the field of seven at age 28. He stressed his legislative and campaign experience, noting that he has worked on four political campaigns, including Pridemore’s 2010 congressional campaign, since he arrived in Vancouver in 2008.
“I’ve been working in the Legislature all session,” he said. “A major part of my job is to know which bills are moving, which aren’t, how to get a bill to the floor.” He said he’s filled in for Pridemore in meetings with constituents, which has given him “a great understanding of what is important in the 49th.’”
Zegas noted that the winner of the appointment will face primary and general election campaigns both this year and in 2012. He said he’s ready. “All I’ve done in Vancouver is campaign.”
Other candidates vying for the appointment were Brian Beecher, Cal Meek, Mike Teefy and Ryan Topper.
